Mark Adrian Elgar is an Australian behavioural and evolutionary ecologist, based at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

since 1991. He established his reputation with research on bird foraging strategies and sexual cannibalism in

spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

,Mark Elgar (1992
''Cannibalism: Ecology and Evolution Among Diverse Taxa''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. .Mark A. Elgar, David R. Nash (1988
"Sexual cannibalism in the garden spider ''Araneus diadematus''"
''

Animal Behaviour Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

'', 36(5): 1511-1517 (September–October 1988). , .Mark A. Elgar, Jutta M. Schneider, Marie E. Herberstein (2000
"Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider ''Argiope keyserlingi''
''

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

'', 267: 2439-2443 (7 December 2000). . but now explores a variety of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

ary questions around

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex mate choice, choose mates of the other sex to mating, mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of t ...

social behaviour Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, and encompasses any behavior in which one member affects the other. This is due to an interaction among those members. Social behavior can be seen as similar to an ...

and

chemical communication A semiochemical, from the Greek σημεῖον (''semeion''), meaning "signal", is a chemical substance or mixture released by an organism that affects the behaviors of other individuals. Semiochemical communication can be divided into two broa ...

Research career

In January 1980, Elgar completed his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

with Honours at Griffith University.Mark Elgar profile
'' The Conversation''. Retrieved 10 April 2016. From 1982 to 1985, he undertook his PhD research at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

under Nick Davies, studying the flocking and foraging strategies of

house sparrows The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

. According to Elgar, Davies taught him "the value of asking questions that can be resolved by simple experiments, and of treating colleagues respectfully." Elgar was also influenced by evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith, who attended one of Elgar's seminars at

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

and was enthusiastic about his research. Following the completion of his PhD, Elgar served as a Science and Engineering Research Fellow at

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(1985-1987). He then returned to Australia, working as a University Research Fellow (1987-1989) and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Research Fellow (1989-1990) at

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

. He joined the

in 1991,Mark Elga
investigator Official website: Principal Investigator
Retrieved 10 April 2016.Mark A. Elgar profile
''Loop''. Retrieved 10 April 2016. where he became a professor in 2005. There he has served in several roles including Elected Member, University Council (2004-2007); Associate Dean (Graduate Programs), Faculty of Science (2006-2009); and Domain Leader (Ecology & Evolution), School of BioSciences (2018-2019). From 2013 to 2016 he was Member, College of Experts,

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

. Elgar has served as President of the Australasian Evolution Society and Councillor for the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. He was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the journal ''

Behavioral Ecology Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined four questions to address when ...

'' (2006-2011),"Editor-in-Chiefs' Reports, ''Behavioral Ecology''"
International Society for Behavioral Ecology newsletter, 18(2), November 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2016. and has also been editor-of-chief for the '' Australian Journal of Zoology''. As of 2016, he is Field Chief Editor for '' Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution''. In 2021 Elgar opined that an increase in wasp numbers in residential areas may be due to bushfires destroying their nests in natural environments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgar, Mark Living people Australian biologists Australian zoologists Evolutionary biologists Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Alumni of the University of Cambridge Griffith University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people