Luc-Alain Giraldeau
| Luc-Alain Giraldeau | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 70–71) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Canadian |
| 🎓 Alma mater | McGill University (BSc 1978; MSc 1981; PhD 1985) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Social foraging; information use in animals |
Luc-Alain Giraldeau (born 1955) is a Canadian ethologist and academic administrator whose research focuses on social foraging and the use of social and public information by animals. He has served as director general (chief executive officer) of Quebec's Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) since September 2017.[1][2]
Education and career
Giraldeau earned a BSc (1978), MSc (1981) and PhD (1985) in biology from McGill University. During his studies he carried out research at the University of Oxford (1982) and later a postdoctoral fellowship in psychology at the University of Toronto (1986–1987).[2][3]
He joined the Department of Biology at Concordia University in 1987, where he became interim department chair (1999–2000) and professor (2000–2001). In 2000 he moved to the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), serving as professor (2000–2017), department director (2007–2010), vice-dean for research (2010–2014) and dean of the Faculty of Science (2014–2017).[2][4] He was appointed director general of INRS in 2017.[1]
Research
Giraldeau's research in behavioural ecology examines how animals acquire and use information in group contexts, including producer-scrounger dynamics in social foraging. His reviews have helped structure the field, for instance a 2004 Science article on public information and cultural evolution and a 2005 Trends in Ecology & Evolution framework on information use by animals.[5][6] With Thomas Caraco he authored the monograph Social Foraging Theory (Princeton University Press, 2000).[7]
Books
Social Foraging Theory (2000)
Giraldeau and Thomas Caraco set out a unified theory of social foraging that treats group foraging as an economic interaction where each individual's payoff depends on what others do. The book frames two central questions: what ecological conditions predict the size of foraging groups, and how group members exploit resources once in a group. It develops producer–scrounger game models, uses concepts such as Nash equilibrium and evolutionarily stable strategies, and links social information use, learning, and phenotypic diversity to testable predictions about equilibrium strategies and group composition.[8][9]
Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Perspective on Behaviour (2008)
Edited by Étienne Danchin, Giraldeau, and Frank Cézilly, this textbook synthesizes the evolutionary and methodological foundations of behavioural ecology. Chapters analyze behaviour in terms of selection pressures and cover topics including natural selection, sexual selection, and gene-level perspectives, with concluding material on human impacts on behaviour. The editors aim for a consistent voice across multi-author contributions so the volume can serve as a teaching text and a field overview.[10][11][12]
Dans l’œil du pigeon. Évolution, hérédité et culture (2016)
This popular-science essay explores how evolution, heredity, learning, and culture shape animal and human behaviour. Using examples that range from instinct and learning to social systems and sex roles, Giraldeau argues that understanding humans benefits from looking across the animal kingdom, not only at primates, and that biology informs but does not prescribe social norms. The book introduces readers to concepts such as cultural transmission, the interaction of genes and environment, and how sensory and cognitive niches frame behaviour.[13][14][15]
Selected articles
- Galef, B. G. Jr.; Giraldeau, L.-A. (2001). "Social influences on foraging in vertebrates: Causal mechanisms and adaptive functions". Animal Behaviour. 61 (1): 3–15. doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1557. PMID 11170692. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- Danchin, Étienne; Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Valone, Thomas J.; Wagner, Richard H. (2004). "Public Information: From Nosy Neighbors to Cultural Evolution". Science. 305 (5683): 487–491. Bibcode:2004Sci...305..487D. doi:10.1126/science.1098254. PMID 15273386. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- Dall, S. R. X.; Giraldeau, L.-A.; Olsson, O.; McNamara, J. M.; Stephens, D. W. (2005). "Information and its use by animals in evolutionary ecology". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 20 (4): 187–193. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.01.010. PMID 16701367. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
Awards and honours
- Grand Prix Moron (Académie française) for Dans l’œil du pigeon (2017).[16]
- Prix Hubert-Reeves (Grand public) for Dans l’œil du pigeon (2017).[17][18]
- Prix Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, Société française pour l’étude du comportement animal (2014).[4]
- Université du Québec Career Research Excellence Award (2012).[4]
Personal
Reliable authority files list his birth year as 1955.[19][20]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chief Executive Office". INRS. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Nomination de Luc-Alain Giraldeau - Note biographique (1 November 2017)". Secrétariat aux emplois supérieurs, Gouvernement du Québec (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Nomination de Luc-Alain Giraldeau - Note biographique (4 October 2023)". Secrétariat aux emplois supérieurs, Gouvernement du Québec (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "À la tête de l'INRS: Luc-Alain Giraldeau nommé directeur général". UQAM Actualités (in français). 3 November 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Danchin, Étienne; Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Valone, Thomas J.; Wagner, Richard H. (2004). "Public Information: From Nosy Neighbors to Cultural Evolution". Science. 305 (5683): 487–491. Bibcode:2004Sci...305..487D. doi:10.1126/science.1098254. PMID 15273386. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Dall, S. R. X.; Giraldeau, L.-A.; Olsson, O.; McNamara, J. M.; Stephens, D. W. (2005). "Information and its use by animals in evolutionary ecology". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 20 (4): 187–193. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.01.010. PMID 16701367. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Caraco, Thomas (2000). Social Foraging Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-04877-2. Retrieved 16 October 2025. Search this book on
- ↑ "Social Foraging Theory (preview)" (PDF). Princeton University Press preview via pageplace.de. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Caraco, Thomas (2000). Social Foraging Theory. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-04877-2. Retrieved 16 October 2025. Search this book on
- ↑ "Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Perspective on Behaviour". Oxford University Press (Canada). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Behavioural Ecology". Guardian Bookshop. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Behavioural Ecology". NHBS. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Dans l'oeil du pigeon — Évolution, hérédité et culture". Éditions du Boréal (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Dans l'œil du pigeon : évolution, hérédité et culture". Renaud-Bray (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Dans l'œil du pigeon : évolution, hérédité et culture". Éole (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Luc-Alain GIRALDEAU — Grand Prix Moron 2017". Académie française (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Senez, Sabica (19 May 2017). "Luc-Alain Giraldeau remporte le prix Hubert-Reeves". Revue Les libraires (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Prix de l'Académie française pour Dans l'œil du pigeon". UQAM Actualités (in français). 12 July 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Giraldeau, Luc-Alain 1955-". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ↑ "Luc-Alain Giraldeau". Bibliothèque nationale de France (in français). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
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