John Lander Harper (27 May 1925 – 22 March 2009) was a British

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, specializing in

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

population biology The term population biology has been used with different meanings. In 1971 Edward O. Wilson ''et al''. used the term in the sense of applying mathematical models to population genetics, community ecology, and population dynamics. Alan Hastings us ...

Life

He was born in 1925 and educated at

Lawrence Sheriff School Lawrence Sheriff School is a boys' grammar school in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. The school is named after Lawrence Sheriff, the Elizabethan founder of Rugby School. Lawrence Sheriff School was founded in 1878, in order to continue Sheriff's ...

, Rugby. He obtained his degree in Botany in (1946) and his MA and DPhil (1950) from Oxford with his doctoral thesis
An investigation of the interaction of soil micro-organisms with special reference to the study of the bacterial population of plant root systems
'' Dr Harper spent a further nine years conducting research at the Department of Agriculture, Oxford, and a sabbatical as Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at the University of California, Davis, he was in 1967 appointed head of the newly formed School of Plant Biology at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

North Wales. He served as president of the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

(BES) (1966–1968) and of the

European Society for Evolutionary Biology The European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) was founded in 1987 in Basel (Switzerland) with around 450 evolutionary biologists attending the inaugural congress. It is an academic society that brings together more than 1500 evolutionary bi ...

(1993-1995). He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1978 and was their

Darwin Medal The Darwin Medal is one of the medals awarded by the Royal Society for "distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology". In 1885, International Darwin Memorial Fund was transferred to the ...

recipient for 1990. He received the

Millennium Botany Award A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

in 1999 and the Marsh Ecology Award from the BES the same year. He was awarded

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1989. He has authored several

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

s on ecology and population biology. The

awards the John L. Harper Young Investigator's prize annually to the best

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

in ''

Journal of Ecology The ''Journal of Ecology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the ecology of plants. It was established in 1913 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Ecological Society. The journal publ ...

'' by a young author. He was a member of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...

. He died on 22 March 2009.John Harper, 1925-2009
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Publications

Ecology text book

* 2006 - '' Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems'' (4th edition) with Michael Begon and Colin R. Townsend (formerly known as ''Ecology: individuals, populations and communities'', three editions (1986, 1990 and 1996), with Michael Begon and Colin R. Townsend (1996 edition)) * 2003 - ''Essentials of Ecology'' (2nd edition) with Michael Begon and Colin R. Townsend

Scholarly books

* 1997 - ''Plant life histories : ecology, phylogeny, and evolution'', Editor * 1977 - ''Population biology of plants''

Selected highly cited scientific papers

Harper, J.L., J.T. Williams & G.R. Sagar (1965) ''The Behaviour of Seeds in Soil: I. The Heterogeneity of Soil surfaces and its Role in Determining the Establishment of Plants from Seed''. Journal of Ecology 53 (2): 273-286.JStor

J.L. Harper (1967) ''A Darwinian Approach to Plant Ecology''. Journal of Ecology 55 (2): 247-270.JStor

White, James & J.L. Harper (1970) ''Correlated Changes in Plant Size and Number in Plant Populations'' Journal of Ecology 58 (2): 467-485.JStor

Harper, John L. & John Ogden (1970) ''The Reproductive Strategy of Higher Plants: I. The Concept of Strategy with Special Reference to'' Senecio vulgaris L. Journal of Ecology 58 (3): 681-698.JStor

Ross, M.A. & John L. Harper (1972) ''Occupation of Biological Space During Seedling Establishment''. Journal of Ecology 60 (1): 77-88.JStor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, John L. 1925 births 2009 deaths British ecologists Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences British humanists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Non-fiction environmental writers