Russell Lande
Encyclopedia
Russell Lande is an American evolutionary biologist and ecologist, and a Royal Society
Research Professor at Imperial College London
, in Silwood Park
.
where he was a student of Richard Lewontin
, and completed his Postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin under James F. Crow
. He then held positions at the University of Chicago
, University of Oregon
, and University of California, San Diego
.
theory to the context of evolutionary biology in natural populations. In particular, he developed a stochastic
theory for the evolution of quantitative traits by genetic drift
and natural selection
. He also proposed a multivariate framework to describe the effect of selection on multiple correlated characters, thus helping clarify the much-debated notion of genetic constraints in phenotypic evolution. He later applied and extended these results to study a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology, including: sexual selection
, speciation
, the evolution of phenotypic plasticity
, of self-fertilization, of life history
, of a species range in space and time.
Apart from his work in evolutionary genetics, Lande has substantially contributed to the fields of population dynamics
and conservation biology
. In particular, his model on the effect of habitat fragmentation
on the extinction threshold
of territorial species was central to the debate about the conservation of the Northern spotted owl
in the Pacific Northwest. He and Georgina Mace
contributed to clarify the categories for the IUCN red list
, by proposing new criteria based on measurable quantities relating to times to extinction
. He is a specialist of stochastic
population dynamics, on which he co-authored a book with Steinar Engen and Bernt-Erik Sæther, and of methods for estimating density dependence from time series
of population density.
Some of the concepts and tools he introduced, such as the selection gradient (univariate or multivariate, directional or quadratic) and the G matrix, have become standard in evolutionary biology.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
Research Professor at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, in Silwood Park
Silwood Park
Silwood Park is the rural campus of Imperial College London, England. It is situated near the village of Sunninghill, near Ascot in Berkshire. Since 1986, there have been major developments on the site with four new college buildings...
.
Education and career
He received his Ph.D. in 1976 from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he was a student of Richard Lewontin
Richard Lewontin
Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin is an American evolutionary biologist, geneticist and social commentator. A leader in developing the mathematical basis of population genetics and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the notion of using techniques from molecular biology such as gel electrophoresis to...
, and completed his Postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin under James F. Crow
James F. Crow
James F. Crow is Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Some of his most significant peer-reviewed contributions were coauthored with Motoo Kimura. His major contribution to the field, however, is arguably his teaching...
. He then held positions at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, and University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
.
Work
Lande is best known for his early work extending quantitative geneticsQuantitative genetics
Quantitative genetics is the study of continuous traits and their underlying mechanisms. It is effectively an extension of simple Mendelian inheritance in that the combined effects of one or more genes and the environments in which they are expressed give rise to continuous distributions of...
theory to the context of evolutionary biology in natural populations. In particular, he developed a stochastic
Stochastic
Stochastic refers to systems whose behaviour is intrinsically non-deterministic. A stochastic process is one whose behavior is non-deterministic, in that a system's subsequent state is determined both by the process's predictable actions and by a random element. However, according to M. Kac and E...
theory for the evolution of quantitative traits by genetic drift
Genetic drift
Genetic drift or allelic drift is the change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random sampling.The alleles in the offspring are a sample of those in the parents, and chance has a role in determining whether a given individual survives and reproduces...
and natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. He also proposed a multivariate framework to describe the effect of selection on multiple correlated characters, thus helping clarify the much-debated notion of genetic constraints in phenotypic evolution. He later applied and extended these results to study a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology, including: sexual selection
Sexual selection
Sexual selection, a concept introduced by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, is a significant element of his theory of natural selection...
, speciation
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages...
, the evolution of phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to change its phenotype in response to changes in the environment. Such plasticity in some cases expresses as several highly morphologically distinct results; in other cases, a continuous norm of reaction describes the functional interrelationship...
, of self-fertilization, of life history
Biological life cycle
A life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...
, of a species range in space and time.
Apart from his work in evolutionary genetics, Lande has substantially contributed to the fields of population dynamics
Population dynamics
Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of populations, and the biological and environmental processes influencing those changes...
and conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
. In particular, his model on the effect of habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
on the extinction threshold
Extinction threshold
Extinction threshold is a term used in conservation biology to explain the point at which a species, population or metapopulation, experiences an abrupt change in density or number because of an important parameter, such as habitat loss...
of territorial species was central to the debate about the conservation of the Northern spotted owl
Northern Spotted Owl
The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...
in the Pacific Northwest. He and Georgina Mace
Georgina Mace
Professor Georgina Mace, CBE, FRS is Professor of Conservation Science and Director of the Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London.She was the winner of the 2007 International Cosmos Prize...
contributed to clarify the categories for the IUCN red list
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
, by proposing new criteria based on measurable quantities relating to times to extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. He is a specialist of stochastic
Stochastic
Stochastic refers to systems whose behaviour is intrinsically non-deterministic. A stochastic process is one whose behavior is non-deterministic, in that a system's subsequent state is determined both by the process's predictable actions and by a random element. However, according to M. Kac and E...
population dynamics, on which he co-authored a book with Steinar Engen and Bernt-Erik Sæther, and of methods for estimating density dependence from time series
Time series
In statistics, signal processing, econometrics and mathematical finance, a time series is a sequence of data points, measured typically at successive times spaced at uniform time intervals. Examples of time series are the daily closing value of the Dow Jones index or the annual flow volume of the...
of population density.
Some of the concepts and tools he introduced, such as the selection gradient (univariate or multivariate, directional or quadratic) and the G matrix, have become standard in evolutionary biology.
Book
Representative articles
- Lande, R. 1976. Evolution. Natural Selection and Random Genetic Drift in Phenotypic Evolution
- Lande, R. 1981. PNAS. Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits
- Lande, R. and S. J. Arnold. 1983. Evolution. The Measurement of Selection on Correlated Characters
- Lande, R. 1987. American Naturalist. Extinction Thresholds in Demographic Models of Territorial Populations.
- Lande, R. 1988. Science. Genetics and demography in biological conservation.
- Lande, R. 1993. American Naturalist. Risks of Population Extinction from Demographic and Environmental Stochasticity and Random Catastrophes.
- Lande, R. et al. 2002. American Naturalist. Estimating Density Dependence from Population Time Series Using Demographic Theory and Life‐History Data.
Awards
- Sewall Wright AwardSewall Wright AwardThe Sewall Wright Award is given annually by the American Society of Naturalists to a "senior-level" and active investigator making fundamental contributions the conceptual unification of the biological sciences. The award was established in 1991 and named after Sewall Wright. The recipient need...
1992 - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
1996 - MacArthur Fellowship 1997
- Weldon Memorial Prize and MedalWeldon Memorial PrizeThe Weldon Memorial Prize, also known as the Weldon Memorial Prize and Medal, is given yearly by the University of Oxford. The prize is to be awarded...
2010 - Balzan PrizeBalzan PrizeThe International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
2011