William W. Murdoch

Murdoch, W.W., Chesson, J., and Chesson, P.L. 1985. Biological control in theory and practice. The American Naturalist 125: 344–366. [1] Murdoch, W. W. 1994. Population regulation in theory and practice. Ecology 75: 271–287.[2] Murdoch, W. W., Luck, R.F., Swarbrick, S.L., Walde, S., Yu, D.S., and Reeve, J.D. 1995. Regulation of an insect population under biological control. Ecology 76: 206–217. [3] Murdoch, W. W. and Briggs, C.J. 1996. Theory for biological control: Recent developments. Ecology 77: 2001–2013.[4] Murdoch, W. W., Briggs, C.J., and Swarbrick, S.L. 2005. Host suppression and stability in a parasitoid-host system: experimental demonstration. Science 309: 610–613.[5]

In Environment, William W. Murdoch synthesizes a collection of environmental studies aimed at instructing new generations of ecology students. He was prompted to work on the subject by an over accumulation of data that resulted from the public’s growing interest on environmental problems of the day. The scope of his study focuses primarily on the interplay of science, technology, human values, and institutions that make environmental science not only fascinating, but also relevant to the evolving sociopolitical dynamics of our world. This 1975 book demonstrates how Murdoch’s general theories on population ecology and environmental science were starting to shape up and presents an opportunity for comparison to later works and perspectives.

In 1965, Murdoch joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has conducted research until the present. He has held visiting professorships at various universities around the world including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University College London. Murdoch has also been a McMaster Fellow in Australia, a Miller Research Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, director of the University of California Natural Reserve System, and editor in chief of the journal Issues in Ecology.

William W. Murdoch (born 1939) is a Charles A. Storke II professor of population ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Over the years, his research has focused primarily on the subjects of population regulation, predator–prey dynamics, and biological control. He has also contributed extensively to understanding the scientific and socioeconomic ramifications caused by human overpopulation and environmental degradation. He was the recipient of the 1990 Robert H. MacArthur Award granted by the Ecological Society of America. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Ecological Society of America (ESA).