Charles Krebs | |
---|---|
Born | Charles Joseph Krebs 17 September 1936 |
Alma mater | |
Known for | Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance |
Spouse | Alice |
Children | 2 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Population ecology |
Institutions | |
Thesis | The lemming cycle at Baker Lake, N.W.T., during 1959-61 (1962) |
Doctoral advisor | Dennis Chitty |
Other academic advisors | Ian McTaggart-Cowan |
Website | http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~krebs/ |
Charles Joseph Krebs FRSC FAA FRZS (born 17 September 1936) is a professor emeritus of population ecology in the University of British Columbia Department of Zoology. [1] He is also Thinker-in-residence at the Institute for Applied Ecology at the University of Canberra, Australia. He is renowned for his work on the fence effect, as well as his widely used ecology textbook Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance. [2]
Krebs was interested mostly in smaller mammal ecology and in 1965 conducted an experiment on voles. [3] He fenced in an area of grassland in an Indiana pasture about the size of a soccer field and observed what happened to the population of voles living inside the fenced area. [3] This was when he founded the widely known "Fence Effect". [3] Within a year of living in the fenced area the voles had increased by about five times, which is much more than they would in an unfenced area. [3] He then observed that the population experienced a crash, just like the unfenced populations do. [3] Krebs believed this was due to social behaviour among the voles and could be applied to other animals like them. [3] The voles had no place to migrate therefore the final crash seemed to stem from an increase of competition, aggressive behaviour, and decreased resources. [3]
Krebs also worked in British Columbia and Northern Canada for over 40 years to look at cyclic populations of mammals. [4] during this time he was able to transform the field of ecology from a descriptive science to an experimental discipline. [4] For 20 years he studied the 10-year population cycle of snowshoe hares and their predators in the Yukon. [3] He found that the population size of the snowshoe hares is regulated by predators such as the lynx, coyote, great horned owls and goshawks. [3] 90% of their deaths were found to be due to these predators and almost none because of starvation and disease. [3]
During his career, Krebs made the case for basic research.
If someone asks me if my work has economic benefit I say absolutely none. And then they ask 'well why are you doing it' and I say that we need to understand the world we live in. It enriches our lives.
— Charles Krebs, Q&A: Dr. Charles Krebs on a lifetime of science, Canadian Geographic [5]
A summary of Krebs work and his influence on students and colleagues (Judith H. Myers, Stan Boutin, Rudy Boonstra and Tony Sinclair can be seen in a series of seminars entitled "Krebs´ ecologists: on population regulation"
The snowshoe hare, also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Its feet also have fur on the soles to protect it from freezing temperatures.
The Canada lynx, or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws. Its hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so its back slopes downward to the front. The Canada lynx stands 48–56 cm (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 5 and 17 kg. The lynx is a good swimmer and an agile climber. The Canada lynx was first described by Robert Kerr in 1792. Three subspecies have been proposed, but their validity is doubted; it is mostly considered a monotypic species.
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