American Society of Naturalists

dinner of the American Society of Naturalists

The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance the conceptual unification of the biological sciences."

Founded in Massachusetts with Alpheus Spring Packard Jr. as its first president, it was called the Society of Naturalists of the Eastern United States until 1886.

American Naturalist

Old cover of the journal American Naturalist

The scientific journal The American Naturalist is published on behalf of the society.

Activities

The Society holds an annual meeting, commonly called 'Evolution', joint with the Society for the Study of Evolution, with a scientific program of symposia and contributed papers and posters. It also confers a number of awards for achievement in evolutionary biology and/or ecology, including the Sewall Wright Award (named in honor of Sewall Wright) for senior researchers making "fundamental contributions ... to the conceptual unification of the biological sciences", the E. O. Wilson award for "significant contributions" from naturalists in mid-career, the Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigators Award for promising scientists early in their careers, and also the Ruth Patrick Student Poster Award.

Organization and Notable members

The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) has been led my many prominent ecologists and evolutionary biologists. These include:

Dan Bolnick (president elect, 2024-2028)

Amy Angert (vice-president elect, 2024-2026)

Judith Bronstein (president 2022)

Sharon Strauss (president 2018)

Kathleen Donohue (president 2017)

Anurag Agrawal (vice president 2016)

Dolph Schluter (president 2013)

Hopi Hoekstra (vice president 2012)

Robert Ricklefs (president 2011)

Jonathan Losos (president 2010)

Douglas Schemske (vice president 2009 & 1999)

Sarah P (Sally) Otto (vice president 2008)

Susan Harrison (vice president 2006)

Dan Simberloff (president 2003)

Peter Grant (president 1999)

Janis Antonovics (president 1986)

Peter H Raven (president 1983)

Ernst Mayr (president 1962)

Evelyn Hutchinson (president 1958)

Sewall Wright (president 1952; treasurer 1929; after whom the ASN Sewall Wright award is named)

Theodosius. Dobzhansky (president 1950)

Grove K. Gilbert (president 1885)

References

• The American Society of Naturalists
• American Naturalist
• Archive Records of the American Society of Naturalists (1884) links to other records of the society, and out of copyright issues of the American Naturalist
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)