David W. Macdonald

David Macdonald is the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at Oxford University, which he founded in 1986. He is Oxford’s first Professor of Wildlife Conservation, holding a Senior Research Fellowship at Lady Margaret Hall. David Macdonald’s concept was, and remains, to undertake original research on aspects of fundamental biology relevant to solving practical problems of wildlife conservation and environmental management, and thus to underpin policy formation and public debate of the many issues that surround the conservation of wildlife and its habitats. From his early work on red foxes he retains a specialisation in carnivores, with an increasing emphasis on felids. He has published over 300 papers in refereed international journals, and written or edited more than a dozen books, of which the most recent is Key Topics in Conservation Biology.

Amongst other things he is currently a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, chair of Darwin Advisory Committee, Chair of Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee and board member, a Trustee of Earthwatch Europe and WWF-UK, and council member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. He won the Dawkins Prize for Conservation and Animal Welfare in 2005, he was awarded the American Society of Mammalogists' Merriam Prize for research in mammalogy in 2006, and in 2007 The Mammal Society of Great Britain's equivalent medal. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March 2008.

He has done much to popularize biology with the general public. He is known for his documentary films and his popular books, for which he has twice won The Natural World Author of the Year award. His "Night of the Fox" won the BAFTA for Best Documentary Film of 1976, "Running with the Fox" won the Natural History Book of the Year award for 1987, and "Meerkats United" won the Wildscreen 1988 award. His films include the popular BBC seven-part series "The Velvet Claw", a natural history of carnivores.

David Macdonald's other interests include farming (sheep and sheep dogs), Burns' poetry, rowing and golf.

Bibliography

*"Key Topics in Conservation Biology" Macdonald DW, Service KM, (Editors). 2006 Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 307 p. ISBN 1-4051-2249-8
*"Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids" David W. Macdonald (editor), Claudio Sillero-Zubiri (editor) (Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0-19-851555-3
*"The State of Britain's Mammals" by David W. Macdonald, Fran Tattersall (People's Trust for Endangered Species, 2002) ISBN 0-9540043-2-9
*"Britain's Mammals: The Challenge for Conservation" by David W. Macdonald, Fran Tattersall, P. Barrett (illustrator) (People's Trust for Endangered Species, 2001) ISBN 0-9540043-1-0
*"The Encyclopedia of Mammals" (Facts on File Inc, 2001) ISBN 0-8160-4267-5
*"Mammals of Europe (Princeton Field Guides)" (Princeton University Press, 2001)ISBN 0-691-09160-9
*"The Mink and the Water Vole: Analyses for Conservation" (Environment Agency, 1999) ISBN 0-9529371-2-3
*"The Ethiopian Wolf: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan" Claudio Sillero-Zubiri (editor), David MacDonald (editor) (IUCN The World Conservation Union, 1997) ISBN 2-8317-0407-3
*"The Encyclopedia of Mammals" (Andromeda Oxford Limited, 1995) ISBN 1-871869-62-5
*"Mammals of Britain and Europe (Collins Field Guide)" (Collins,1993) ISBN 0-00-219779-0
*"The Velvet Claw: Natural History of the Carnivores" (BBC Consumer Publishing, 1992) ISBN 0-563-20844-9
*"Rabies and Wildlife" (Oxford University Press, 1991) ISBN 0-19-857576-9
*"Foxes,Wolves,Jackals and Dogs: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Canids" J.R. Ginsberg (editor), David W. Macdonald (editor) (IUCN The World Conservation Union, Switzerland, 1990) ISBN 2-88032-996-5
*"The Fate of Controlled Feral Cat Colonies" Warner C. Passanisi, David W. Macdonald (Animal Welfare, 1990) ISBN 0-900767-67-7
*"Running with the Fox" (Unwin Hyman, 1989) ISBN 0-04-440419-0
*"The Complete Book of the Dog" (editor) (Pelham, 1985) ISBN 0-7207-1606-3
*"Social Odours in Mammals v. 1" Richard E. Brown (editor), David W. Macdonald (editor) (Oxford University Press, 1985) ISBN 0-19-857546-7
*"Social Odours in Mammals v. 2" Richard E. Brown (editor), David W. Macdonald (editor) (Oxford University Press, 1985) ISBN 0-19-857617-X
*"The Encyclopedia of Mammals v. 1 (Unwin Animal Library)" (HarperCollins, 1984) ISBN 0-04-500028-X
*"Encyclopaedia of Mammals" (Allen & U, 1984) (editor) ISBN 0-04-500030-1
*"Expedition to Borneo" (Dent, 1982) ISBN 0-460-04517-2
*"Rabies and Wildlife: A Biologist's Perspective" (Oxford University Press, 1980) ISBN 0-19-857567-X
*"Vulpina: The Story of a Fox" (Collins, 1977) ISBN 0-00-195229-3

External links

* [http://www.wildcru.org/ "WildCRU"] Wildlife Conservation Research Unit of the University of Oxford Department of Zoology
* [http://www.canids.org/ "IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group"] of the World Conservation Union, Species Survival Commission
* [http://carnivoreportal1.free.fr/canidnews.htm "Canid News"] scientific journal
* [http://www.isah.org.uk/ ISAH] Independent Supervisory Authority for Hunting
* [http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/oxfordshire/archive/2000/01/13/FEATURES1VQ.html interview with David Macdonald] about "Meerkats United"