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Charles Sutherland Elton (29 March 19001 May 1991) was an English
zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
and animal ecologist. He is associated with the development of
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
and
community ecology In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological communit ...
, including studies of invasive organisms.


Personal life

Charles Sutherland Elton was born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, a son of the literary scholar
Oliver Elton Oliver Elton, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (3 June 1861 – 4 June 1945) was an English literary scholar whose works include ''A Survey of English Literature (1730–1880)'' in six volumes, criticism, biography, and translations from severa ...
and the children's writer Letitia Maynard Elton (''née'' MacColl). He had an older brother, Geoffrey Elton, who died at 33, and to whom Charles Elton in many of his writings attributes his interest in scientific natural history. Charles Elton married the English poet Edith Joy Scovell in 1937, a first five-year marriage to Rose Montague having ended in amicable divorce. Charles and Joy had two children, Catherine Ingrid Buffonge MBE and Robert Elton.


Professional life

Charles Elton was educated at
Liverpool College Liverpool College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, Headmasters' Conference. History Liverpool Coll ...
and
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, from which he graduated in zoology in 1922, with a first in his field research project and a third in the exams, and where he subsequently had his entire academic career. During his studies at Oxford he conceptualized his ideas about animal ecology, aiming to turn
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
into the science of ecology by applying scientific methods to studying the lives of animals in their natural
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s and interactions with the environment. While still an undergraduate, Elton assisted
Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...
on the 1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition, where he made an ecological survey of
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
vertebrates Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
. This he continued on three more Arctic expeditions in 1923, 1924 and 1930. He also spent some time on fieldwork in St. Kilda, Scotland. His
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
experience led to a consultancy with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1926–1931, to study fluctuating populations of animal species of interest to the
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
. He later made similar studies of British mouse and
vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...
populations. He spent many years on field research in Wytham Woods, Oxford. Elton's early career was influenced by Alexander Carr-Saunders, Victor Ernest Shelford and Gordon Hewitt. In 1922 Alexander Carr-Saunders wrote ''The Population Problem: A Study of Human Evolution'', where he outlines how the influence of overpopulation in humans has cascading effects on plant and animal life around the world. Elton later applied these ideas of fluctuation to animals. Victor Ernest Shelford wrote ''Animal Communities in Temperate America'' in 1913, where he outlines three main principles of ecology: (1) emphasis on the importance of studying the physiology of the organism, rather than the physiology of a specific organ; (2) evaluation of the "phenomena of behaviour and physiology" in relation to the natural environments; and (3) relation of the ecology of plant life to that of animal life. In Gordon Hewitt's 1921 book ''The Conservation of the Wildlife of Canada'', Elton noticed the Canadian lynx and
snowshoe hare The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sink ...
population cycles, and developed greater understanding of population fluctuations in Arctic vertebrates with the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
. In 1932, Elton established the Bureau of Animal Population at Oxford, which became a centre for collecting data on fluctuations in animal
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
s. In the same year, the '' Journal of Animal Ecology'' was founded, with Elton as its first editor. In 1936, he was appointed reader in animal ecology at Oxford University, and Corpus Christi College elected him a senior research fellow. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Bureau of Animal Population was entrusted by the Agricultural Research Council to find efficient methods for controlling rats, mice and rabbits. After the Second World War, Elton started a 20-year survey of animals and their interrelationships on Oxford University's
Wytham Wytham ( ) is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ( A34). The nearest village is ...
estate, covering those in meadows, woods and water. After his retirement, he did some studies in tropical America. Elton's great interest in
nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...
and problems in management of nature reserves led him to be instrumental in establishing the Nature Conservancy Council in 1949. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1953 and received the society's Darwin Medal in 1970.


Intellectual heritage

In 1927, Elton published his classic ''Animal Ecology'', outlining the principles behind ecological studies of animal behaviour and life history, such as
food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...
s, size of food items,
ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of Resource (biology), resources an ...
, and the concept of a pyramid of numbers to represent the structure of an
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
in terms of feeding relationships. There he also introduced ideas such as the food cycle, the connection between various parts of the ecosystem, and the concept of food pyramid and trophic levels. He also discussed how ecosystems are organized and ordered, in what later became the foundation of the ecosystem concept. Elton was the first to discuss the ecological significance of
population cycle A population cycle in zoology is a phenomenon where populations rise and fall over a predictable period of time. There are some species where population numbers have reasonably predictable patterns of change although the full reasons for populati ...
s. He also described how predators had an influence on prey, and so on generating cycles. In later works on the niche theory, Elton's definition – the Eltonian niche – in terms of functional attributes of organisms (or its position in the
trophic web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Position in the food web, or trophic level, is used in ecology to broadly classify organisms as autotrophs or he ...
), has been viewed by some authors as opposed to
Joseph Grinnell Joseph P. Grinnell (February 27, 1877 – May 29, 1939) was an American field biologist and zoologist. He made extensive studies of the fauna of California, and is credited with introducing a method of recording precise field observations known ...
's earlier definition emphasising states of the environment suitable for the species. Others have argued there are more similarities than differences between the two versions of the niche concept. After the Second World War, Elton became much more concerned with the impact of
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
on natural
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
s. His 1958 book ''The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants'' founded ''invasion ecology'' as a separate sub-discipline. This book became the basis of the study of biological invasions. It was the first of its kind to warn about the harmful effects and damages invasive species can have on an ecosystem. The first part of the book focuses on the invader species and their mode of transport into the new environment. The second part of the book focuses on the struggle between invasive species and the indigenous, though some invaders enter habitats with no prior species filling their specific niche. The final part of ''The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants'' deals with the issue of conservation and its importance to maintain species diversity.C. S. Elton, ''The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants'', London: Methuen and Co. Ltd, 1958.


Bibliography

*''Animal Ecology'', 1st ed., 1927, Sidgwick and Jackson, London. Reprinted several times, e. g. 2001, The University of Chicago Press, . 2nd ed., ''The Ecology of Animals'', 1946, London: Methuen *''Voles, Mice and Lemmings: Problems in population dynamics'' 1st ed., 1942. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Facsimile reprint, 1969, New York: Wheldon & Wesley Ltd. *''The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants'', 1958, Methuen, London. Reprint, 2000, The University of Chicago Press. *''The Pattern of Animal Communities'', 1st ed., 1966, London: Methuen. 2nd ed., 1979, London: Chapman & Hall


References


External links


Charles Sutherland Elton – English EcologistElton's Ecologists: A History of the Bureau of Animal Population
*

Symposium 12–14 November 2008, hosted b
''DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology''
Stellenbosch University, South Africa. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elton, Charles Sutherland 1900 births 1991 deaths Scientists from Manchester Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of New College, Oxford English ecologists 20th-century English zoologists Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Population ecology People educated at Liverpool College