John Goss-Custard

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Dr John D. Goss-Custard is a British behavioural ecologist; he was one of the first scientists to carry out field work on foraging behaviour making use of optimising models, specifically the . After completing a BSc degree in Zoology at the University of Bristol, he moved to the University of Aberdeen to carry out research for a PhD degree, which he was awarded in 1966. The University of Aberdeen awarded him its DSc degree in 1987.

Goss-Custard's PhD was based on the study of foraging in the Common Redshank.^[1][2] Subsequently, he worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's at Wareham, Dorset, leading an extensive project on the foraging of overwintering Eurasian Oystercatchers on the estuary of the River Exe.^[3] This project led to one of the first uses of agent-based modelling to predict ecological relationships in an extended landscape; the model, developed for the Exe estuary, was subsequently tested successfully on the Wash.^[4] This work was surveyed in a book that he edited.^[5]

Goss-Custard retired from his post at CEH in 2002. Although he did not hold a substantive university post, Goss-Custard held an honorary position at the University of Exeter for many years, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Bournemouth.^[6] He co-supervised PhD degrees with colleagues at the University of Exeter and also the University of Oxford.

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External links[]

• Curriculum Vitae

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