John Dennis Carthy

British zoologist and ethologist

John Dennis Carthy (7 April 1923 – 13 March 1972) was a British zoologist and ethologist whose primary study subjects were the sensory systems and behaviour of invertebrates.[1] He published 11 books and numerous scientific articles.

## Life and career

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John D Carthy went to Bedford School, and received his undergraduate training at Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge.[1][2] During WW2 he served in the Operational Research Section of the RAF Bomber Command,[3][4] after which he returned to Cambridge, and completed first his undergraduate studies and subsequently obtained a PhD at Cambridge in 1950.[1] He joined the faculty of the Zoology Department at Queen Mary College, London in 1950, where he remained until his death in 1972.[1]

In 1967, he became the first Scientific Director of the Field Studies Council,[1] where he led the establishment of the Oil Pollution Research Unit at Orielton Field Studies Centre, Pembrokeshire and the setting up of the Epping Forest Conservation Centre.[1][4][5][6] He was a fellow of the Institute of Biology and a Secretary of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and the Society for Experimental Biology and a council member of the Royal Entomological Society (vice presidency in 1962).[1] In honour of his contributions, a prize is awarded annually to a final year BSc Psychology student at Queen Mary University of London who shows substantial academic achievement.[7]

John Carthy was a prominent science communicator, with many appearances on popular radio and television programmes,[1][4] e.g. the BBC’s "Meet the Professor", "Tonight", "Nature Parliament" and "Young Scientists of the Year".[8][9][10]

## Books

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* John D Carthy "Animal Navigation: how Animals Find their Way about" Allen & Unwin, London, 1956
* John D Carthy "An Introduction to the Behaviour of Invertebrates" Allen & Unwin, London, 1958
* John D Carthy "The World of Feeling" Phoenix House, London, 1960
* John D Carthy & Charles Lionel Duddington (eds) "Viewpoints in Biology" Butterworths, London 1962
* John D Carthy & Francis John Govier Ebling (eds) "The Natural History of Aggression" Academic Press, London, New York, 1964
* John D Carthy "The Behaviour of Arthropods" W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1965
* John D Carthy & Aaron E Klein "Animals and their ways; the science of animal behavior" Natural History Press, Garden City, 1965
* John D Carthy "The Study of Behaviour" St Martins Press, New York, 1966
* John D Carthy & G.E. Newell "Invertebrate Receptors" Academic Press, New York, 1968
* John D Carthy & Don R Arthur "The Biological Effects of Oil Pollution on Littoral Communities: Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Orielton Field Centre, Pembroke, Wales, on 17th, 18th and 19th February 1968", Field Studies Council, London, 1968.
* John D Carthy & Colin Threadgall "Animal Camouflage" McGraw Hill, New York, 1972.

## Articles

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* Odour trails of Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Nature, 166, 1950, p. 154;
* The orientation of two allied species of British ant. I. Visual direction finding in Acanthomyops niger. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 275–303;
* Odour trail laying and following in Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 304–318;
* Do animals see polarized light? New Scientist, 10, 1961, pp. 660–662;
* Color vision in invertebrates. In: Symp. of the Inst. of Biology, No. 12 "Colour and Life", London 1964

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary – Dr John Dennis Carthy". Nature. 236 (5348): 472–473. 1972. doi:10.1038/236472c0. PMID 4555366. S2CID 13304282.
2. ^ "John Carthy". Journal of Biological Education. 6 (2): i. April 1972. doi:10.1080/00219266.1972.9653749.
3. ^ "Contributors". New Scientist. 239: 674. 15 June 1961.
4. ^ a b c "Polish Ethological Society".
5. ^ "Obituary- Dr J D Carthy". Habitat. 8 (4). 1972.
6. ^ "J. D. Carthy M.A., Ph.D". F.I. Biol. Journal of the School Natural Science Society. 9 (2). 1971.
7. ^ "Teaching in Psychology - School of Biological and Chemical Sciences".
8. ^ "A Listen and Learn Series THE ANIMALS' WORLD - Network Three - 1 June 1960 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
9. ^ "Science Fair 66 - BBC One London - 18 August 1966 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
10. ^ "Who Knows? - BBC Home Service Basic - 30 October 1959 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.

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