Elton, CharlesSutherland

views updated

Elton, CharlesSutherland (1900–91)A British zoologist who studied animal communities and made major contributions to the development of ecological studies in general and of animal ecology in particular. One of his early books, Animal Ecology (first published in 1927), was very influential. He emphasized the importance of conserving species and habitats. He proposed the existence of niches, occupied by species at particular points in a food-chain. From 1932 until 1967 he was director of the Bureau of Animal Population at the University of Oxford. Elton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1953 and was awarded many scientific prizes.

More From encyclopedia.com