Charles Sutherland Elton
| Charles Sutherland Elton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1900 Manchester, England |
| Died | 1 May 1991 (aged 91) Oxford, England |
| Nationality |
 United Kingdom
|
| Fields | Animal ecology, zoology |
| Institutions | Oxford University |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Doctoral students | Dennis H. Chitty, William W. Murdoch |
| Known for | Eltonian niche, food chain |
| Influences | Julian Huxley, Robert Collet, Victor Ernest Shelford, Alexander Carr-Saunders |
| Notable awards |
Linnean Medal (1967) Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (1976) Darwin Medal (1970) |
Charles Sutherland Elton FRS (29 March 1900 – 1 May 1991) was an English zoologist and animal ecologist. His name is associated with the establishment of modern population and community ecology, including studies of invasive organisms.
Charles Sutherland Elton was born in Manchester as son of the literary scholar Oliver Elton and children's writer Letitia Maynard Elton (née MacColl). He had one older brother, Geoffrey Elton. Charles Elton makes a strong point to attribute his interest of scientific natural history to his brother Geoffrey in many of his writings. Geoffrey died at the age of 33. Charles Elton married the British poet Edith Joy Scovell in 1937; they had two children.
Charles Elton was educated at Liverpool College and Oxford University, from which he graduated in zoology in 1922, with a 1st in Field research project, and a 3rd in the exams, and where he subsequently had his entire academic career. Elton's professional goal was to turn natural history into the science of ecology by applying the scientific method to study the lives of animals in their natural habitats and their interactions with the environment. In 1921, while still an undergraduate, he was assistant to Julian Huxley on an expedition to Spitsbergen. Here, he made an ecological survey of Arctic vertebrates, a project he continued on three subsequent Arctic expeditions in 1923, 1924, and 1930. His Arctic experience led to a consultancy with the Hudson's Bay Company, 1926–1931, which enabled him to study fluctuations in the populations of animal species of interest to the fur trade. Later, he undertook similar studies on British mouse and vole populations.
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