Margaret Bastock
Encyclopedia
Margaret Bastock was a zoologist
and geneticist
. She carried out influential work in the 1950s, establishing links between genes and behaviour.
, but afterwards she returned to Oxford and completed her undergraduate studies in zoology
. Bastock then became a member of St Anne's College, Oxford and studied motivational drives in animal behaviour, working with Desmond Morris
. In 1950 she began working towards her PhD in Niko Tinbergen’s
laboratory . She studied the relationship between behaviour, genetics and evolution using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
. In 1956, she published the first evidence that a single gene
could change behaviour. She studied a mutation
called yellow in Drosophila and showed that this gene or a closely linked gene
affected the fly’s mating behaviour.
After completing her PhD, Bastock continued working on courtship behaviour and wrote a textbook on the subject. She also collaborated with another student of Tinbergen, Aubrey Manning
, whom she married in 1959. Bastock moved to Edinburgh
with Manning in the 1960s and they had two sons. Bastock continued to work in science, studying child development
and aggressive behaviour. She died of cancer 1982.
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and geneticist
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
. She carried out influential work in the 1950s, establishing links between genes and behaviour.
Life and career
Margaret Bastock was born in the mid 1920s. She began a degree at Oxford University, but her studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. During the war she worked for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, but afterwards she returned to Oxford and completed her undergraduate studies in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
. Bastock then became a member of St Anne's College, Oxford and studied motivational drives in animal behaviour, working with Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris
Desmond John Morris, born 24 January 1928 in Purton, north Wiltshire, is a British zoologist and ethologist, as well as a popular anthropologist. He is also known as a painter, television presenter and popular author.-Life:...
. In 1950 she began working towards her PhD in Niko Tinbergen’s
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen was a Dutch ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns in animals.In the 1960s he...
laboratory . She studied the relationship between behaviour, genetics and evolution using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
. In 1956, she published the first evidence that a single gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
could change behaviour. She studied a mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
called yellow in Drosophila and showed that this gene or a closely linked gene
Genetic linkage
Genetic linkage is the tendency of certain loci or alleles to be inherited together. Genetic loci that are physically close to one another on the same chromosome tend to stay together during meiosis, and are thus genetically linked.-Background:...
affected the fly’s mating behaviour.
After completing her PhD, Bastock continued working on courtship behaviour and wrote a textbook on the subject. She also collaborated with another student of Tinbergen, Aubrey Manning
Aubrey Manning
Professor Aubrey William George Manning OBE FRSE FIBiol is a distinguished English zoologist and broadcaster.-Life:...
, whom she married in 1959. Bastock moved to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
with Manning in the 1960s and they had two sons. Bastock continued to work in science, studying child development
Child development
Child development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
and aggressive behaviour. She died of cancer 1982.
Key publications
- “A gene mutation which changes a behaviour pattern”. Bastock, M. 1956. Evolution, 10: 421-439.
- “Some comments on conflict and thwarting in animals”. Bastock, M. Morris, D, Moynihan, M. 1953. Behaviour, 6: 66-74.
- Courtship: a zoological study. Bastock, M. 1967. London, Heinemann.