Derek Ellis

Associate

With CAPI from July, 1993 - Present

Accreditations: BSc (Edin), MSc & PhD (McGill), Professor Emeritus

Derek Ellis was a professor in the Biology Department, University of Victoria, from 1964-1996, and is now Professor Emeritus. He graduated with a BSc from Edinburgh University, Scotland in 1951, and an Honours Degree in Zoology in 1952. He obtained an MSc degree from McGill University in 1954, and a PhD from McGill in 1957, with a dissertation on biogeographical and biodiversity assessment of arctic benthos. During this time, he made four expeditions to the Arctic (1953-1957).

In 1957 Derek Ellis went to work for the Biological Station in Nanaimo, of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, where he developed techniques for researching salmon biology by the use of Underwater Photography. In 1964, following his appointment as a professor at the University of Victoria, he recommenced marine benthic research. From 1970 he directed his work and that of his graduate students to biodiversity assessment of the seabed, particularly to environmental impact on biodiversity, and recovery from that impact. In the 1980s and 1990s he concentrated his research on the effects of mining wastes on the biodiversity of the seabed, and to the impact of a boat-paint toxin, tributyltin (TBT). He taught in the general areas of marine biology, taxonomy, animal behaviour, and environmental science.

Throughout his career, Derek Ellis collected rare and difficult to obtain limited distribution documents from government and industry. He also developed bibliographies on several of his research subjects.