Geoff Parker

Professor Geoffrey Alan Parker FRS (born 24 May 1944) is an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Liverpool^[1] and the 2008 recipient of the Darwin Medal. Parker has been called “the professional’s professional”.^[2]

He has a particular interest in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology, and is most noted for introducing the concept of sperm competition in 1970.^[3] Much of his work from the 1970s onwards has related to the application of game theory (theory of games) to various biological problems, using the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) approach pioneered by John Maynard Smith and George Price. With R. R. Baker and V. G. F. Smith in 1972, he proposed a leading theory for the evolution of anisogamy and two sexes, and in 1979 made the first theoretical analysis of sexual conflict in evolution. He has also investigated the evolution of competitive mate searching, animal distributions, animal fighting, coercion, intrafamilial conflict, complex life cycles, and several other topics.^[4]

^ "Geoff Parker B.Sc., M.A. (Cantab), Ph.D., F.R.S.", University of Liverpool.
^ Pitnick, Scott S.; Hosken, Dave J.; Birkhead, Tim R. (21 November 2008). Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective. Academic Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-08-091987-4.
^ Parker, Geoff (1970). "Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in insects". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 45 (4): 525–567. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1970.tb01176.x. S2CID 85156929.
^ Birkhead, Tim (22 July 2002). "All aboard the sperm train". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

[1] "Geoff Parker B.Sc., M.A. (Cantab), Ph.D., F.R.S.", University of Liverpool.

[2] Pitnick, Scott S.; Hosken, Dave J.; Birkhead, Tim R. (21 November 2008). Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective. Academic Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-08-091987-4.

[3] Parker, Geoff (1970). "Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in insects". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 45 (4): 525–567. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1970.tb01176.x. S2CID 85156929.

[4] Birkhead, Tim (22 July 2002). "All aboard the sperm train". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

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