biology

J. Michael Scott

J. Michael Scott is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand J. Michael Scott rather than just read about it. In short: J. Michael Scott (born September 21, 1941) is an American scientist, professor, environmentalist and author.

Key takeaways

J. Michael Scott belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect J. Michael Scott to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of J. Michael Scott from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

J. Michael Scott (born September 21, 1941) is an American scientist, professor, environmentalist and author.

Early life and education Scott is the eldest son of Eileen Rose Busby, an author and antiques expert, and Jim Scott, a Senior Olympics winner who helped pioneer and develop the game of racquetball. He is the grandson of California artist Esther Rose, the nephew of the late Russian Orthodox Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, brother of true crime author Cathy Scott and volunteer Cordelia Mendoza. A graduate of San Diego County's Helix High School, Scott attended the University of Redlands for one year before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in marine biology from San Diego State University and a doctorate in ornithology from Oregon State University.

Career He is a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, a leader with the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research and a professor of Fish and Wildlife Resources at the University of Idaho. In 1963, Scott joined the Peace Corps and served a two-year stint in Cartago, Colombia, where he founded a natural history museum, started a Red Cross swimming program, and coached a number of sports. From 1974 to 1984, Scott served as a research biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Mauna Loa Field Station in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was his first assignment with the U.S. Department of Interior. From 1984 to 1986, he served as project leader of the California Condor Research Center in Ventura. In 1986 he was appointed to his current position as leader of the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in Moscow, Idaho. In addition, he is a professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at the University of Idaho, where he pioneered the Gap Analysis Program and served as program leader from 1989 to 1997. Scott is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Ornithologists' Union. Also, he is a past president of both The Cooper Ornithological Society and the Pacific Seabird Group, and has served on the boards of a number of professional societies and the science advisory boards of several non-profit conservation organizations.

Awards In April 2011, Scott was awarded the rank of Distinguished Emeritus Professor from the University of Idaho. The distinguished professor rank, which was given to two other professors in addition to Scott, was done to recognize "sustained excellence, as judged by peers, in scholarly, creative, and artistic achievement; breadth and depth of teaching in their discipline; and university service as well as service involving the application of scholarship, creative, or artistic activities that address the needs of one or more external publics," according to a news release. He received the American Ornithologist's Union 2006 Conservation Award, an International award presented for extraordinary scientific contributions by an individual to the conservation, restoration, or preservation of birds and their habitats. Scott is a past president of both The Cooper Ornithological Society and the Pacific Seabird Group, and has served on the boards of a number of professional societies and the science advisory boards of several non-profit conservation organizations. In 2010, he was honored by the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife with its Spirit of Defenders Award for Public Service. In 2006, Scott received the U.S. Department of Interior's Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given to a career employee for a lifetime of service. Also, his professional accomplishments have been recognized by the Society for Conservation Biology with both the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Edward T. La Roe III Memorial Award. He received a Twentieth Century Environmental Achiever Award at the Ninth Lukac's Symposium.

Books Forest bird communities of the Hawaiian Islands, 1986 Estimating number of terrestrial birds 1986, with C.J. Ralph, repint 2003) Evolution, ecology, conservation and management of Hawaiian birds: A vanishing avifauna (2001, with S. Conant and C. Van Ripper III) Predicting species occurrences: Issues of accuracy and scale (2002, with Pat Hegland and others) The Endangered Species Act at 30, Vol. I: Renewing the conservation promise (2005, with D. Goble and F.W. Davis) The Endangered Species Act at Thirty, Vol. II: Conserving biodiversity in human dominated landscapes (2006, with D. Goble and F.W. Davis)

See also List of San Diego State University alumni and faculty

References

External links Spokesman Review Gap Analysis Program Fish & Wildlife Resources Red Orbit news ErekAlert, "The Lands Nobody Wanted" National Wildlife Magazine The Washington Post Arc News Online UI Wildlife Professor Releases Book On Vanishing Hawaiian Birds, 2001

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with J. Michael Scott

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what J. Michael Scott claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to J. Michael Scott before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about J. Michael Scott ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of J. Michael Scott

In research: J. Michael Scott appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses J. Michael Scott in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: J. Michael Scott is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, 21st-century American biologists, Academics from San Diego, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for J. Michael Scott outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study J. Michael Scott in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what J. Michael Scott means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain J. Michael Scott out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is J. Michael Scott in simple terms?

J. Michael Scott (born September 21, 1941) is an American scientist, professor, environmentalist and author.

Why does J. Michael Scott matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study J. Michael Scott?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on J. Michael Scott.