Dale Hartwell Clayton (born October 23, 1957), a

parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...

and professor of

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. Clayton is the

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...

of ''

Strigiphilus garylarsoni ''Strigiphilus garylarsoni'' is a species of chewing louse found only on owls. The species was first described by biologist Dale H. Clayton in 1990, who named it after cartoonist Gary Larson. Its type host is the Northern white-faced owl (''Pt ...

''.

Information

Dale Clayton named the new species of

feather louse A bird louse is any chewing louse (small, biting insects) of order Phthiraptera which parasitizes warm-blooded animals, especially birds. Bird lice may feed on feathers, skin, or blood. They have no wings, and their biting mouth parts distinguis ...

after his favorite cartoonist,

Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended on January 1, 1995, ...

. Clayton has been interested in the relationships between parasites and their hosts since he was in high school. He was so intrigued with these relationships that he was able to use the research that he gathered in a high school science fair project in his Ph.D. thesis. The information was on the impact of parasites on avian conditions. He is specifically interested in the factors that allow parasite specificity, specification, co-specification, competition, and adaptive radiation. Thus far, his favorite research has been on birds and their feather-feeding lice.

Career

Dale Clayton teaches the following classes: * Ecology and Evolution * Ornithology * Advanced Field Ornithology * Grad Core Seminar: Ecology and Evolution

Education

Dale Clayton has received his education from the following institutions: * NSF-NATO Postdoc, Oxford University (England), 1990–91 * Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1989 * M.S. in Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1983 * B.A. in Biology (Psychology minor), Hartwick College, NY, 1979

Additional Education

* Tropical Ecology (O.T.S.), Universidad de Costa Rica, 1984 * General and Med-Vet Acarology, Ohio State University, 1985

Honors

Dale Clayton has received the following honors: * Nominee: University of Utah Distinguished Innovation & Impact Award, 2011 * Griswold Lecture, Cornell University, 2010 * Nominee: University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award, 2009 * Henry Baldwin Ward Medalist, American Society of Parasitologists, 2008 * E. Paul Catts Memorial Lecture, Washington State Univ., 2008 * Fellow, American Ornithologists’ Union, 2007 * Secretary, Society for the Study of Evolution, 2006–2008 * Strickland Memorial Lecture, Univ. Alberta, 2004 * NSF-CAREER Award, 1997 * Elective Member, American Ornithologists' Union, 1996 * NSF-NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship – Oxford University, 1990 * American Ornithologists’ Union Council Award, 1988

References

21st-century American zoologists University of Utah alumni Living people 1957 births {{biologist-stub