Dan Otte
Encyclopedia
Daniel Otte is a noted behavior ecologist, a world expert on crickets
and grasshopper
s and a prominent scientific illustrator. He has made significant contributions to evolutionary biology. He is presently at the Academy of Natural Sciences
, the Natural History Museum in Philadelphia as the Curator and Chairman, Department of Entomology.
Otte was born and educated in South Africa and began his career at the University of Delaware
.
pioneered in the task of placing a catalog of all known species of a major group of insects on the Internet. The Orthoptera Species File provides access to data on one of the most economically important groups, the grasshoppers, historically one of man's important competitors.
Otte is also founder and senior author of the "Mantodea Species File", a catalog of the praying mantis species of the world, and is also founder and principal author of "Phasmida Species File", a catalog of the stick insects of the world.
in the following regions:
, in Lethbridge
, Alberta
.
winner E. O. Wilson
and evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant
.
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s and a prominent scientific illustrator. He has made significant contributions to evolutionary biology. He is presently at the Academy of Natural Sciences
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
, the Natural History Museum in Philadelphia as the Curator and Chairman, Department of Entomology.
Otte was born and educated in South Africa and began his career at the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
.
Areas of research
Otte has contributed to the following areas of research:- Communication and signaling systems
- Origins of organic diversity (speciation, colonization, etc.)
- Behavioral ecologyBehavioral ecologyBehavioral ecology, or ethoecology, is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment...
- Sexual selectionSexual selectionSexual selection, a concept introduced by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, is a significant element of his theory of natural selection...
- Discovery of new cricket and grasshopper species from the Pacific region, the Caribbean islands, western United States and Africa
- Comprehensive systematic treatments of regional faunaFaunaFauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
s (North America, Australia, Hawaii, Caribbean, southern Africa) - Developing world catalogs of grasshoppers, crickets, katydidsTettigoniidaeThe family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are...
, stick insectsPhasmatodeaThe Phasmatodea are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects , walking sticks or stick-bugs , phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects...
, mantidsMantisMantis is the common name of any insect in the order Mantodea, also commonly known as praying mantises. The word itself means "prophet" in Latin and Greek...
and cockroachCockroachCockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es - Publicizing organic diversity via the internet (Orthoptera Species File)
Books written for the general public
Otte also has illustrated the following books for general audiences:- Behavioral Guide to African Mammals by R. D. Estes, University of California Press. 1991
- The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals by R. D. Estes, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., Post Mills, VT. 1992
- The Birds of North America. Alan Poole editor, American Ornithologists Union (contributing illustrator). 1992
Species Files
Otte is the founder and principal author of "Orthoptera Species File", an online catalog provides information on all the world's grasshoppers, crickets, katydids and related species. With the world's largest collection of grasshoppers and crickets and an outstanding library, the Academy of Natural SciencesAcademy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
pioneered in the task of placing a catalog of all known species of a major group of insects on the Internet. The Orthoptera Species File provides access to data on one of the most economically important groups, the grasshoppers, historically one of man's important competitors.
Otte is also founder and senior author of the "Mantodea Species File", a catalog of the praying mantis species of the world, and is also founder and principal author of "Phasmida Species File", a catalog of the stick insects of the world.
Documenting biodiversity
Otte has conducted research which documents the magnitude and origin of organic diversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
in the following regions:
- North America: United States, Canada and Mexico.
- Central America: the Caribbean Islands and Costa Rica.
- South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela.
- Southwest Pacific area: Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.
- Pacific Islands: Galapagos, Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa and Solomons.
- Africa: South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Botwana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Dan Otte symposium
A symposium was held in June, 2009 to honor Otte, Curator of Entomology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. It was held at the University of LethbridgeUniversity of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
, in Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Leidy Medal
Dr. Daniel Otte received the Joseph Leidy Award for scientific excellence on Nov. 12, 2009 at the Academy, where he has worked as curator of entomology for 35 years. Established in 1923, the Leidy Award is given by the nation’s oldest natural history museum to recognize exemplary publications, explorations, discoveries or research in the natural sciences. Past recipients include Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner E. O. Wilson
E. O. Wilson
Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist, researcher , theorist , naturalist and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants....
and evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant
Peter and Rosemary Grant
Peter Raymond Grant and Barbara Rosemary Grant, a married couple, are both British evolutionary biologists at Princeton University; each holds the position of Emeritus Professor. They are noted for their work concerning Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Island named Daphne Major...
.