John Richard Krebs, Baron Krebs, Kt FRS (born 11 April 1945) is an English zoologist researching in the field of

behavioural ecology Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined four questions to address wh ...

of birds. He was the principal of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, from 2005 until 2015."Elliott Coues Award, 1999: Sir John R. Krebs", ''Jesus College Record'', 2005. Lord Krebs was President of the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

from 2012 to 2013.

Early life and education

John Krebs is the son of

Hans Adolf Krebs Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, FRS (, ; 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981) was a German-born British biologist, physician and biochemist. He was a pioneer scientist in the study of cellular respiration, a biochemical process in living cells that ex ...

, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the

Krebs cycle The citric acid cycle (CAC)—also known as the Krebs cycle or the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reactions to release stored energy through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and protei ...

). He was educated at the

City of Oxford High School The City of Oxford High School for Boys (a.k.a. Oxford High School for Boys and City of Oxford School) was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University. History ...

, and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he obtained a BA degree in 1966, upgraded to an MA degree in 1970, and received a DPhil degree in 1970.

Career

He held posts at the University of British Columbia and the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, before returning to Oxford as a University Lecturer in Zoology, with a fellowship at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research an ...

, then Pembroke. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1984. and, from 1988 to 2005, held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, where he was based at Pembroke College. He was the Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council from 1994 until 1999, and in 1999 was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. From 2000 to 2005, he was the first Chairman of the British

Food Standards Agency The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board ap ...

. On 15 February 2007, the House of Lords Appointments Commission announced that he was to become a non-party political (

cross-bench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

) life peer. The peerage was gazetted on 28 March 2007 as Baron Krebs, of Wytham in the County of Oxfordshire. In 2005, Lord Krebs accepted the role of principal of

, a post he held until 2015. Krebs's career has been both productive and influential. His speciality is

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. His publications include more than 130 refereed papers, 5 books, and 130 book chapters, reviews, or popular pieces. They have introduced new methods to the science of ornithology, including the use of optimality models to predict foraging behaviour, and, more recently, techniques from

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

and experimental psychology to assess the mental capacities of birds and to relate these to particular regions of the brain. In 2000, during his chairmanship of the

, Krebs criticised the

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

movement, saying that people buying such food were "not getting value for money, in my opinion and in the opinion of the Food Standards Agency, if they think they're buying food with extra nutritional quality or extra safety. We don't have the evidence to support those claims." Having led the Randomised Badger Culling Trials, Krebs became one of the UK's leading experts on bovine tuberculosis. The findings of the trials led him to oppose further badger culling in 2012 and he contributed to a paper on the subject written by centre-right think tank The

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with ...

. From 2006 to 2007, Krebs was a member of the

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

, where he chaired the Working Party on ''Public Health''. He took up the chairmanship of the National Network of Science Learning Centres in 2007. He was a member of the independent, statutory body the

Committee on Climate Change The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliament ...

, and Chairman of its Adaptation Sub-Committee, from 2009 to 2017. For his scientific research and leadership he has been awarded honorary doctorates by 16 universities. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 2000.

Lectures

In 2005, Krebs gave the

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sc ...

on ''The Truth About Food''.

Notable publications

Books

*Stephens, D. W. & Krebs, J. R. (1986) ''Foraging Theory''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. *Kamil, Alan C., John R. Krebs and H. Ronald Pulliam. (1987) ''Foraging Behavior'', Plenum Press, New York and London. *Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B. (1993) ''An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology'', 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell *Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds. (1997) ''Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach'', 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell. (1st ed. 1978.) * Dawkins, R. & Krebs, J. R. (1978). "Animal signals: information or manipulation?", ''Behavioural Ecology: an evolutionary approach'' 1st ed. (Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds) Blackwell: Oxford, pp 282–309. * Krebs, J. R. and Dawkins, R. (1984). "Animal signals: mind-reading and manipulation", ''Behavioural Ecology: an evolutionary approach'', 2nd ed (Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds), Sinauer: pp 380–402.

Journal articles

* * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, John R 1945 births Living people People from Sheffield Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford University of British Columbia faculty Academics of Bangor University Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Principals of Jesus College, Oxford British Jews British people of German-Jewish descent British zoologists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Crossbench life peers People's peers Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences People educated at the City of Oxford High School for Boys English zoologists Jewish British politicians Members of the American Philosophical Society Life peers created by Elizabeth II