Professor Tim Clutton-Brock FRS

College positions: Life Fellow

University position: Emeritus Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Subject: Biological Sciences; Zoology

Professor Tim Clutton-Brock FRS is a Life Fellow at Magdalene.

Professor Clutton-Brock is a distinguished British zoologist with a renowned expertise in the behavioural ecology of mammals. His comparative studies have focused particularly on red deer and meerkats, offering valuable insights into the social and ecological dynamics of these species. A leading figure in his field, Professor Clutton-Brock's research has made significant contributions to the understanding of animal behaviour and ecology.

Professor Tim Clutton-Brock FRS is the Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge, where he also heads the Large Animal Research Group in the Department of Zoology. He is a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and holds extraordinary professorships at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Zoology and Entomology, as well as the Mammal Research Institute in South Africa.

Research Interests

Professor Clutton-Brock's early research focused on social behaviour in primates, but his more recent work centres on three long-term ecological studies: red deer on the Scottish island of Rùm, Soay sheep on St Kilda, and meerkats in the southern Kalahari. He is a founding member of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, which is widely recognised, including through its portrayal in the television programme Meerkat Manor.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Readings in Sociobiology. Editor with Paul H. Harvey. (1978, W.H.Freeman & Company; ISBN 0-7167-0190-1)

Red Deer: Behavior and Ecology of Two Sexes. With F. E. Guinness and S. D. Albon. (1982, University Of Chicago Press; ISBN 0-226-11057-5)

Life Histories in Comparative Perspective. With P.H. Harvey and R.D. Martin, R.D. (1987) In Primate Societies. Smuts, B.B., Cheney, D.L., Seyfarth, R.M., Wrangham, R.W., Struhsaker, T.T. (eds). Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. pp. 181–196 ISBN 0-226-76715-9

Rhum: The Natural History of an Island (Edinburgh Island Biology). Editor with M. E. Ball. (1987, Edinburgh University Press; ISBN 0-85224-513-0)

Reproductive Success: Studies of Individual Variation in Contrasting Breeding Systems (Editor, 1990, University Of Chicago Press; ISBN 0-226-11059-1)

The Evolution of Parental Care (1991, Princeton University Press; ISBN 0-691-02516-9)

Changes and Disturbance in Tropical Rainforest in SouthEast Asia. Editor with David M. G. Newbery and Ghillean T. Prance. (2000, World Scientific Publishing Company; ISBN 1-86094-243-1)

Wildlife Population Growth Rates. Editor with R. M. Sibly and J. Hone. (2003, Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-53347-3)

Soay Sheep: Dynamics and Selection in an Island Population. Editor with Josephine Pemberton. (2004, Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-52990-5)

Meerkat Manor – The Story of Flower of the Kalahari (2007, Weidenfeld & Nicolson; ISBN 0-297-84484-9)

Mammal Societies (2016, Wiley-Blackwell; ISBN 1119095328)