David Macdonald (biologist)

David Whyte Macdonald
Born	1951[1]
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Nationality	Scottish
Fields	Zoology, wildlife conservation
Institutions	University of Oxford
Notable awards	CBE FRSE Dawkins Prize for Conservation and Animal Welfare

David Whyte Macdonald CBE FRSE is a Scottish zoologist and conservationist. He is the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Oxford University, which he founded in 1986. He is Oxford's first Professor of Wildlife Conservation, holding a Senior Research Fellowship at Lady Margaret Hall.^[2] He has been an active wildlife conservationist since graduating from Oxford.

Career

David Macdonald's concept was, and remains, to undertake original research on aspects of fundamental biology relevant to solving practical problems of wildlife conservation and environmental management, and thus to underpin policy formation and public debate of the many issues that surround the conservation of wildlife and its habitats.^[2] From his early work on red foxes he retains a specialisation in carnivores, with an increasing emphasis on felids. He has published over 300 papers in refereed international journals, and written or edited more than a dozen books, of which the most recent is Key Topics in Conservation Biology.

Amongst other things he is currently a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, chair of the Darwin Advisory Committee, Chair of Natural England's Science Advisory Committee and board member, a Trustee of Earthwatch Europe^[3] and WWF-UK, and council member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.^[2]

He has done much to popularise biology with the general public. He is known for his documentary films and his popular books, for which he has twice won the Natural World Author of the Year award. His Night of the Fox won the BAFTA for Best Documentary Film of 1976, Running with the Fox won the Natural History Book of the Year award for 1987, and Meerkats United won the Wildscreen 1988 award. His films include the popular BBC seven-part series The Velvet Claw, a natural history of carnivores.^[4]

Awards and honours

He won the Dawkins Prize for Conservation and Animal Welfare in 2005,^[5] he was awarded the American Society of Mammalogists' Merriam Prize for research in mammalogy in 2006,^[6] and in 2007 The Mammal Society of Great Britain's equivalent medal.^[7] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March 2008.^[8]

Macdonald was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.^[4][9]

Other interests

David Macdonald's other interests include farming (sheep and sheep dogs), Burns' poetry, rowing and golf.

Bibliography

• Macdonald, D.W.; Service, Katrina M., eds. (28 November 2006). Key Topics in Conservation Biology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 1-4051-2249-8. (Part 2 published 2007)
• Macdonald, David W.; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio, eds. (16 September 2004). Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-851555-3.
• Macdonald, David W.; Tattersall, Fran (20 May 2002). The State of Britain's Mammals. People's Trust for Endangered Species. ISBN 0-9540043-2-9.
• Macdonald, David W.; Tattersall, Fran; Barrett, P. (illustrator) (4 April 2001). Britain's Mammals: The Challenge for Conservation. People's Trust for Endangered Species. p. 295. ISBN 0-9540043-1-0.
• Macdonald, David W.; Norris, Sasha (30 August 2006). The Encyclopedia of Mammals (2 ed.). Facts on File. p. 930. ISBN 978-0-8160-6494-6.
• Macdonald, David Whyte; Barrett, Priscilla (26 December 2001). Mammals of Europe. Princeton Field Guides. Princeton University Press. p. 312. ISBN 0-691-09160-9.
• Macdonald, David W.; Strachan, Rob (1999). The Mink and the Water Vole: Analyses for Conservation. Environment Agency. p. 161. ISBN 0-9529371-2-3.
• Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Macdonald, David, eds. (1997). The Ethiopian Wolf: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. International Union for Conservation of Nature. p. 123. ISBN 2-8317-0407-3.
• Macdonald, David W. (6 November 1995). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Andromeda Oxford. p. 895. ISBN 1-871869-62-5.
• Macdonald, David Whyte; Barrett, Priscilla (February 1999). Mammals of Britain and Europe. Collins Field Guides. Collins. p. 312. ISBN 0-00-219779-0.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (June 1993). The Velvet Claw: Natural History of the Carnivores. BBC Consumer Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 0-563-20844-9.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (31 July 1980). Rabies and Wildlife. Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-19-857576-9.
• Ginsberg, Joshua Ross; Macdonald, David W., eds. (1990). Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Canids. Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature. p. 116. ISBN 2-88032-996-5.
• Passanisi, Warner C.; Macdonald, David W. (1990). The Fate of Controlled Feral Cat Colonies. Animal Welfare. ISBN 0-900767-67-7.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (1989). Running with the Fox. Unwin Hyman. p. 224. ISBN 0-04-440419-0.
• Macdonald, David W., ed. (1985). The Complete Book of the Dog. Pelham. ISBN 0-7207-1606-3.
• Brown, Richard E.; Macdonald, David W., eds. (1985). Social Odours in Mammals 1. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-857546-7.
• Brown, Richard E.; Macdonald, David W., eds. (1985). Social Odours in Mammals 2. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-857617-X.
• Macdonald, David W., ed. (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Unwin Animal Library 1 (HarperCollins). ISBN 0-04-500028-X.
• Macdonald, David W., ed. (1984). Encyclopaedia of Mammals 2. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-500030-1.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (1 April 1982). Expedition to Borneo: the search for Proboscis monkeys and other creatures. Dent. p. 180. ISBN 0-460-04517-2.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (July 1980). Rabies and Wildlife: A Biologist's Perspective. Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-19-857567-X.
• Macdonald, David Whyte (1977). Vulpina: The Story of a Fox. Collins. p. 77. ISBN 0-00-195229-3.

References

1. "Library Thing". Retrieved 17 December 2010.
2. "Professor David Whyte Macdonald". Department of Zoology. The University of Oxford. 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
3. "Earthwatch Europe – Board and Governance". Earthwatch. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
4. Jen Rivett (14 June 2010). "University wildlife expert gets CBE for his work". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
5. "The Dawkins Prize for Animal Conservation and Welfare". Balliol College. The University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
6. "Merriam Award Committee". ASM. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
7. "Bursaries, Prizes and Awards". The Mammal Society. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
8. "New Expertise Strengthens RSE Fellowship" (PDF). Press release. Royal Society of Edinburgh. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59446. p. 8. 12 June 2010.

External links

• WildCRU Wildlife Conservation Research Unit of the University of Oxford Department of Zoology
• IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union, Species Survival Commission
• Works by or about David Macdonald in libraries (WorldCat catalog)