Royal Society honours leading ecologist
Posted on 27 May 2005
He is one of Britain's foremost ecologists and has worked at the University of York since 1972. Now Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University, he was Head of the Department of Biology from 1997 to 2004. He is also currently President of the British Ecological Society and Director of the UK Population Biology Network.
Alastair Fitter's research focuses on underground ecology. His work has revealed the importance of symbioses between fungi and the roots of almost all plants. The biodiversity of the fungi that form this symbiosis may determine which plants grow where, and the fungi themselves play a key role in the carbon cycle which underlies the debate on climate change.
His research has highlighted several aspects of the impact of global change on the natural world. He has drawn attention to the dangerous rate of destruction of soils worldwide, despite our total dependence on soil. He also demonstrated how global warming has advanced the time of flowering in hundreds of British plants by over two weeks in the last 20 years.
Election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society is recognised worldwide as a sign of the highest regard in science. Candidates must be proposed by at least six existing Fellows and are assessed by Sectional Committees in each major field of science.
Notes to editors:
- Alastair Fitter's study on flowers and climate change can be seen at: www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/flowers.htm
- Other Fellows of the Royal Society at the University of York:
Professor Alan Baddeley, Psychology
Professor Ed Corrigan, Department of Mathematics
Professor Eleanor Dodson, Department of Chemistry
Professor Guy Dodson, Department of Chemistry
Professor Geoff Pert, Department of Physics
Professor Dale Sanders, Department of Biology
Emeritus Professor Michael Woolfson, Department of Physics (retired)