Theodore Garland Jr.

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Theodore Garland Jr. (born 28 November 1956) is a biologist specializing in evolutionary physiology at the University of California, Riverside.

Contents

Education

Garland earned his B.S in zoology and M.S. in biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, working with William Glen Bradley, a mammalogist, and his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine under Albert F. Bennett, a comparative physiologist.

While in graduate school, he served as President of the Southern Nevada Herpetology Association. During his Ph.D. work, he recorded the maximum speed (34.6 km/h) of what to date remains the world's fastest lizard, Ctenosaura similis . Subsequently, he completed postdoctoral training at the University of Washington with Raymond B. Huey.

Career

He was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for 14 years, served as a program director for the Population Biology and Physiological Ecology Program [1] at the National Science Foundation during 1991–1992, and is Professor of Biology at the University of California, Riverside.

Garland is the Editor in Chief for the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology , [2] a former Topic Editor for Comprehensive Physiology , [3] on the Editorial Advisory Board of Zoology, [4] and has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Morphology , [5] The American Naturalist , and Evolution . [6] He is an associate director for the Network for Experimental Research on Evolution, [7] a University of California Multicampus Research Program.

His major scientific contributions have been in the areas of lizard locomotor physiology and ecology, allometry, phylogenetic comparative methods; [8] and the application of artificial selection experiments to understand the correlated evolution of physiology and behavior, as well as the physiological, neurobiological, and genetic bases of voluntary activity levels (physical exercise).

Awards

In 1983–84, he was a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Wollongong, Australia, hosted by Anthony J. Hulbert.

In 1991, he received a Presidential Young Investigator Award [9] from the National Science Foundation.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas named him College of Sciences Alumnus of the Year [10] in April 2017.

Publications

Books

Selected papers

Related Research Articles

Zoology is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. The term is derived from Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion ('animal'), and λόγος, logos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern synthesis (20th century)</span> Combination of Darwins theory of evolution with natural selection and Mendels findings on heredity

The modern synthesis was the early 20th-century synthesis of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel's ideas on heredity into a joint mathematical framework. Julian Huxley coined the term in his 1942 book, Evolution: The Modern Synthesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herpetology</span> Study of amphibians and reptiles

Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolutionary biology</span> Study of the processes that produced the diversity of life

Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth. Simply, it is also defined as the study of the history of life forms on Earth. Evolution is based on the theory that all species are related and they gradually change over time. In a population, the genetic variations affect the physical characteristics i.e. phenotypes of an organism. These changes in the phenotypes will be an advantage to some organisms, which will then be passed onto their offspring. Some examples of evolution in species over many generations are the Peppered Moth and Flightless birds. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biology emerged through what Julian Huxley called the modern synthesis of understanding, from previously unrelated fields of biological research, such as genetics and ecology, systematics, and paleontology. A person who studies Evolutionary biology is called an Evolutionary biologist. The importance of studying Evolutionary biology is mainly to understand the principles behind the origin and extinction of species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experimental evolution</span> Use of laboratory and field experiments to explore evolutionary dynamics

Experimental evolution is the use of laboratory experiments or controlled field manipulations to explore evolutionary dynamics. Evolution may be observed in the laboratory as individuals/populations adapt to new environmental conditions by natural selection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolutionary neuroscience</span> Study of the evolution of nervous systems

Evolutionary neuroscience is the scientific study of the evolution of nervous systems. Evolutionary neuroscientists investigate the evolution and natural history of nervous system structure, functions and emergent properties. The field draws on concepts and findings from both neuroscience and evolutionary biology. Historically, most empirical work has been in the area of comparative neuroanatomy, and modern studies often make use of phylogenetic comparative methods. Selective breeding and experimental evolution approaches are also being used more frequently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenotypic plasticity</span> Trait change of an organism in response to environmental variation

Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes that may or may not be permanent throughout an individual's lifespan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudskipper</span> Subfamily of fishes

Mudskippers are amphibious fish. They are of the family Oxudercidae and the subfamily Oxudercinae. There are 23 living species of mudskipper. They are known for their unusual appearance and their ability to survive both in and out of water. They can grow up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and most are a brownish green colour that range anywhere from dark to light. During mating season the males will also develop brightly coloured spots in order to attract females. The spots can be red, green or blue. A mudskipper's eyes protrude from the tops of its flat head. Their most noticeable feature however is their side pectoral fins that are located more forward and under their elongated body. These fins function similarly to legs in that they allow the mudskipper to move from place to place. Although having the typical appearance of any other fish, these forward fins allow the mudskipper to “skip” across muddy surfaces and even give them the ability to climb trees and low branches. Because of these fins, mudskippers have also been found to be able to leap distances of up to two feet.

Raymond Brunson Huey is a biologist specializing in evolutionary physiology. He has taught at the University of Washington (UW), and he earned his Ph.D. in biology at Harvard University under E. E. Williams. He has recently been the chair of the UW Department of Biology, but a retirement celebration was held on 4 Oct. 2013 in Seattle.

Genetic assimilation is a process described by Conrad H. Waddington by which a phenotype originally produced in response to an environmental condition, such as exposure to a teratogen, later becomes genetically encoded via artificial selection or natural selection. Despite superficial appearances, this does not require the (Lamarckian) inheritance of acquired characters, although epigenetic inheritance could potentially influence the result. Waddington stated that genetic assimilation overcomes the barrier to selection imposed by what he called canalization of developmental pathways; he supposed that the organism's genetics evolved to ensure that development proceeded in a certain way regardless of normal environmental variations.

Comparative physiology is a subdiscipline of physiology that studies and exploits the diversity of functional characteristics of various kinds of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary physiology and environmental physiology. Many universities offer undergraduate courses that cover comparative aspects of animal physiology. According to Clifford Ladd Prosser, "Comparative Physiology is not so much a defined discipline as a viewpoint, a philosophy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolutionary physiology</span> Study of changes in physiological characteristics

Evolutionary physiology is the study of the biological evolution of physiological structures and processes; that is, the manner in which the functional characteristics of individuals in a population of organisms have responded to natural selection across multiple generations during the history of the population. It is a sub-discipline of both physiology and evolutionary biology. Practitioners in the field come from a variety of backgrounds, including physiology, evolutionary biology, ecology, and genetics.

Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) use information on the historical relationships of lineages (phylogenies) to test evolutionary hypotheses. The comparative method has a long history in evolutionary biology; indeed, Charles Darwin used differences and similarities between species as a major source of evidence in The Origin of Species. However, the fact that closely related lineages share many traits and trait combinations as a result of the process of descent with modification means that lineages are not independent. This realization inspired the development of explicitly phylogenetic comparative methods. Initially, these methods were primarily developed to control for phylogenetic history when testing for adaptation; however, in recent years the use of the term has broadened to include any use of phylogenies in statistical tests. Although most studies that employ PCMs focus on extant organisms, many methods can also be applied to extinct taxa and can incorporate information from the fossil record.

Paul H. Harvey is a British evolutionary biologist. He is Professor of Zoology and was head of the zoology department at the University of Oxford from 1998 to 2011 and Secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 2000 to 2011, holding these posts in conjunction with a professorial fellowship at Jesus College, Oxford.

Patricia Adair Gowaty is an American evolutionary biologist. She received her B.A. in biology at Tulane University and her PhD in zoology at Clemson University in 1980. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen C. Stearns</span> American biologist (born 1946)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Rissler</span> American biologist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extended evolutionary synthesis</span> Set of theoretical concepts concerning evolutionary biology

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Marvalee Hendricks Wake is an American zoologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, known for her research in the biology of caecilians and vertebrate development and evolution. A 1988 Guggenheim Fellow, she has served as president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, International Union of Biological Sciences, and the International Society of Vertebrate Morphology. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy of Sciences, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

References

  1. Kaufman, Donald W.; Courtney, Mark W.; Chu, Penn R. (1982). "The First Three Years of NSF's Population Biology and Physiological Ecology Program". BioScience. 32 (1): 51–53. doi:10.2307/1308755. JSTOR   1308755.
  2. "Physiological and Biochemical Zoology Editorial Board". journals.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  3. "Comprehensive Physiology list of editors". Wiley.com. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  4. "Editorial Board - Zoology - Journal - Elsevier".
  5. "Journal of Morphology". .interscience.wiley.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  6. "Garland Curriculum Vitae Ted Garland CV Theodore Garland CV Evolution Physiological Ecology Evolutionary Physiology Comparative Physiology Exercise Physiology Animal Behavior Quantitative Genetics Biostatistics Herpetology Locomotion Conservation Biology Phenotypic Plasticity Adaptive Plasticity".
  7. "NERE Home Page". Nere.bio.uci.edu. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  8. Peter E. Midford. "Mesquite:PDAP:PDTree". Mesquiteproject.org. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  9. "Presidential Young Investigator Award". Nsf.gov. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  10. "College of Sciences Alumnus of the Year". unlv.edu. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 2018-06-25.