Robert Helmer MacArthur (April 7, 1930 – November 1, 1972) was an American ecologist who made a major impact on many areas of community and population ecology. A student of G. Evelyn Hutchinson, he played an important role in the development of niche partitioning, and with E.O. Wilson he co-authored The Theory of Island Biogeography, a work which changed the field of biogeography, drove community ecology and led to the development of modern landscape ecology. His emphasis on hypothesis testing helped change ecology from a primarily descriptive field into an experimental field, and drove the development of theoretical ecology.

References

• Fretwell, Stephen D. 1975. The Impact of Robert MacArthur on Ecology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 6:1-13

• Pianka, E. R. and H. S. Horn. 2005. Ecology's Legacy from Robert MacArthur. Chapter 11 (pp. 213-232) in K. Cuddington and B. Biesner, eds. "Ecological Paradigms Lost: Routes of Theory Change." Elsevier Academic Press.

Sources

• http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/MacArthur.html

Ecologists | 1930 births | 1972 deaths