John Richard Krebs, Baron Krebs, FRS (born 11 April 1945) is an English

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

researching in the field of

behavioural 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 ...

of birds. He was the principal of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, from 2005 until 2015. Lord Krebs was President of the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...

from 2012 to 2013.

Early life and education

John Krebs is the son of Sir

Hans Adolf Krebs Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, FRS (, ; 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981) was a German-British biologist, physician and biochemist. He was a pioneer scientist in the study of cellular respiration, a biochemical process in living cells that extracts ...

, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the

Krebs cycle The citric acid cycle—also known as the Krebs cycle, Szent–Györgyi–Krebs cycle, or TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of biochemical reactions that release the energy stored in nutrients through acetyl-CoA oxidation. The e ...

). He was educated at the City of Oxford High School, and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, where he obtained a BA degree in 1966, upgraded to an MA degree in 1970, and received a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in 1970.

Career

He held posts at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and the University College of North Wales, before returning to Oxford as a University Lecturer in Zoology, with a fellowship at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at Oxford, with part ...

, then Pembroke. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1984. From 1988 to 2005, he held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, where he was based at Pembroke College. He was the chief executive of the

Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British Research Councils UK, research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several envir ...

from 1994 until 1999, and in 1999 was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. From 2000 to 2005 he was the first chairman of the British

Food Standards Agency The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board appoin ...

. On 15 February 2007, the

House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom with oversight of some aspects of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It has two roles: to recommend at least two peopl ...

announced that he was to become a non-party political ( cross-bench) life peer. The peerage was gazetted on 28 March 2007 as Baron Krebs, of

Wytham Wytham ( ) is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ( A34). The nearest village is ...

in the County of Oxfordshire. In 2005, Lord Krebs accepted the role of principal of

, a post he held until 2015. Krebs's career has been both productive and influential. His speciality is

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. His publications include more than 130 refereed papers, 5 books, and 130 book chapters, reviews, or popular pieces. They have introduced new methods to the science of ornithology, including the use of optimality models to predict foraging behaviour, and, more recently, techniques from

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

and

experimental psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...

to assess the mental capacities of birds and to relate these to particular regions of the brain. In 2000, during his chairmanship of the Food Standards Agency, Krebs criticised the

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

movement, saying that people buying such food were "not getting value for money, in my opinion and in the opinion of the Food Standards Agency, if they think they're buying food with extra nutritional quality or extra safety. We don't have the evidence to support those claims." Having led the Randomised Badger Culling Trials, Krebs became one of the UK's leading experts on bovine tuberculosis. The findings of the trials led him to oppose further badger culling in 2012 and he contributed to a paper on the subject written by centre-right think tank The

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with ...

. From 2006 to 2007, Krebs was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, where he chaired the Working Party on ''Public Health''. He took up the chairmanship of the National Network of Science Learning Centres in 2007. He was a member of the independent, statutory body the

Committee on Climate Change The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliamen ...

, and chairman of its Adaptation Sub-Committee, from 2009 to 2017. For his scientific research and leadership he has been awarded honorary doctorates by 16 universities. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2000.

Lectures

In 2005 Krebs gave the

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including yo ...

on ''The Truth About Food''.

Notable publications

Books

*Stephens, D. W. & Krebs, J. R. (1986) ''Foraging Theory''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. *Kamil, Alan C., John R. Krebs and H. Ronald Pulliam. (1987) ''Foraging Behavior'', Plenum Press, New York and London. *Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B. (1993) ''An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology'', 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell *Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds. (1997) ''Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach'', 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell. (1st ed. 1978.) * Dawkins, R. & Krebs, J. R. (1978). "Animal signals: information or manipulation?", ''Behavioural Ecology: an evolutionary approach'' 1st ed. (Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds) Blackwell: Oxford, pp 282–309. * Krebs, J. R. and Dawkins, R. (1984). "Animal signals: mind-reading and manipulation", ''Behavioural Ecology: an evolutionary approach'', 2nd ed (Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N.B., eds), Sinauer: pp 380–402.

Journal articles

* * * * *

References

External links

Faculty biography (Jesus College Oxford)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, John Krebs, Baron 1945 births Living people Scientists from Sheffield Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academics of Bangor University Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Principals of Jesus College, Oxford British people of German-Jewish descent British zoologists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Crossbench life peers Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences People educated at the City of Oxford High School for Boys English zoologists Jewish British politicians International members of the American Philosophical Society Life peers created by Elizabeth II Jewish British scientists