John Endler
Encyclopedia
Professor John A. Endler is an ethologist
and evolutionary biologist noted for his work on the adaptation
of vertebrate
s to their unique perceptual environments, and the ways in which animal sensory
capacities and colour
patterns co-evolve.
degree at the University of Edinburgh
in Scotland
and subsequently worked at the University of California, Santa Barbara
and the James Cook University
of North Queensland, Australia and is currently working at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. Since 2006 he has been Anniversary Professor of Animal Behaviour in the School of Psychology at the University of Exeter
, England. In 2007 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
Endler has carried out extensive work on guppies
, including in 1975 rediscovering the species now known to aquarists
as Endler's guppy, in his honour; this brightly-colour fish is sometimes regarded as a geographical variant of the common guppy Poecilia reticulata, but is now usually treated as a separate species, Poecilia wingei. Although it had been recorded before Endler's discovery, it had not been properly studied and documented. Among biologists, however, he is better known for his experimental work on inducing small-scale evolution
in the laboratory. In addition to his work on guppies he has studied many other species, including investigating the bower-building behaviour of bowerbirds in North Queensland
, Australia. In 2008 the European Research Council
announced that he was among the first cohort of Life Scientists to receive an award under its Advanced Grants scheme.
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
and evolutionary biologist noted for his work on the adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
of vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s to their unique perceptual environments, and the ways in which animal sensory
Sensory system
A sensory system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory receptors, neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for vision, hearing, somatic...
capacities and colour
Animal colouration
Animal coloration is the general appearance of an animal resulting from the reflection or emission of light from its surfaces. The mechanisms for colour production in animals include pigments, chromatophores, structural coloration, and bioluminescence....
patterns co-evolve.
Life and career
Born in Canada, Endler took his PhDPHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
degree at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and subsequently worked at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
and the James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...
of North Queensland, Australia and is currently working at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. Since 2006 he has been Anniversary Professor of Animal Behaviour in the School of Psychology at the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, England. In 2007 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Research achievements
Guppy
The guppy , also known as the millionfish, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poeciliidae family [females long, males long] and like all other members of the family, is live-bearing....
, including in 1975 rediscovering the species now known to aquarists
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
as Endler's guppy, in his honour; this brightly-colour fish is sometimes regarded as a geographical variant of the common guppy Poecilia reticulata, but is now usually treated as a separate species, Poecilia wingei. Although it had been recorded before Endler's discovery, it had not been properly studied and documented. Among biologists, however, he is better known for his experimental work on inducing small-scale evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in the laboratory. In addition to his work on guppies he has studied many other species, including investigating the bower-building behaviour of bowerbirds in North Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. In 2008 the European Research Council
European Research Council
The European Research Council is the independent body that funds investigator-driven frontier research in the European Union . It is part of the Seventh Research Framework Programme ....
announced that he was among the first cohort of Life Scientists to receive an award under its Advanced Grants scheme.
Books
- Endler, John A. (1977). Geographic variation, speciation, and clines. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Endler, John A. (1986). Natural selection in the wild. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Journal articles: most highly cited
- Endler, J. A. (1980). Natural selection on color patterns in Poecilia reticulata. Evolution, 34, 76-91.
- Endler, J. A. (1990). On the measurement and classification of color in studies of animal color patterns. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 41, 315-352.
- Reznick, D. A., Bryga, H., & Endler, J. A. (1990). Experimentally induced life history evolution in a natural population. Nature, 346, 357-359.
Journal articles: recent
- Endler, J. A., & Day, L. B (2006). Ornament colour selection, visual contrast and the shape of colour preference functions in great bowerbirds, Chlamydera nuchalis. Animal Behaviour, 72, 1405-1416.
- Endler, J. A., & Mielke, P. W. (2005). Comparing entire colour patterns as birds see them. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 86, 405-431.
- Endler, J. A., Westcott, D. A., Madden, J. R., & Robson, T (2005). Animal visual systems and the evolution of color patterns: Sensory processing illuminates signal evolution. Evolution, 59, 1795-1818.