Jonathan Losos wins E O Wilson award

Just got this in email

Harvard Biologist Jonathan Losos to Receive 2009 E. O. Wilson Naturalist
Award

The American Society of Naturalists is pleased to announce that Dr.
Jonathan B. Losos of Harvard University has been selected to receive
the 2009 E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award. The award, established in
recognition of Professor Wilson's lifetime contributions to ecology
and evolutionary biology, is given each year to a scholar who has made
significant contributions to the knowledge of a particular ecosystem
or group of organisms.

Dr. Losos is the Monique and Philip Lehner Professor for the Study of
Latin America, and Curator of Herpetology, Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard University. His work with anole lizards in the West
Indies has contributed fundamentally to our understanding of the roles
of natural selection, competition, and niche evolution in shaping
assemblages of Anolis species.

Through the pioneering application of molecular phylogenetics and
comparative methods, he has thoroughly characterized the historical
biogeography and evolutionary radiation of anoles in the Caribbean,
including the roles of historical contingency and reiterated adaptive
evolution. His work on ecomorphology established early on the
relationship between morphology and ecologically relevant aspects of
behavioral performance, providing a foundation for work on
morphological evolution in the group. His experimental work with Tom
Schoener has demonstrated rapid selective impacts of introduced
predators, altered competition, and, by chance, hurricanes on Anolis
populations on tiny islands.

His work culminated this year in the publication of a major book on
the biology and adaptive radiation of the genus Anolis.

As Editor of The American Naturalist from 2002 to 2006, Dr. Losos
encouraged the publication of natural history observations in the
context of major issues in ecology and evolutionary biology.

"His enthusiasm as a colleague and mentor has inspired a generation of
biologists," said Dr. Robert Rickfels, a professor at University of
Missouri-St. Louis and chair of the award committee. "Dr. Losos's work
epitomizes the integration of natural history into scientific
investigation at the highest level."

The E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award was established in 1987, the year of
Professor Wilson's retirement from Harvard University. An appropriate
work of art and an honorarium of $2,000 will be presented to Dr. Losos
at the annual meeting of the American Society of Naturalists in June.

http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/losos/