C. Richard Tracy

C. Richard (Dick) Tracy is an American biologist, a professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Tracy earned bachelors and masters degrees in biology at California State University, Northridge in 1966 and 1968, and then moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a Ph.D. in zoology in 1972. After postdoctral studies in Madison, he held a faculty position at Colorado State University from 1974 to 1995, when he moved to the University of Nevada, Reno. In 1980, Tracy visited the University of Washington in Seattle as a Guggenheim Fellow.
Tracy's research includes physiological ecology and biophysical ecology, as well as population biology and conservation biology, largely of reptiles and amphibians. His modeling research on the biophysical ecology of amphibians is considered foundational to our understanding of the ways in which amphibians interact with their physical environments. He has also conducted research on reptilian herbivores including Galapagos Land Iguana, Chuckwallas, and the federally listed desert tortoise. He has served on the desert tortoise recovery team, and chaired the assessment committee for the U.S. government's desert tortoise recovery plan.

Education

He received a B.A. in 1966 in biology from the California State University, Northridge. He received an M.S. in 1968 in biology from California State University, Northridge. He received a Ph.D. in 1972 in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

From 1974 to 1995 Tracy was a member of the faculty at Colorado State University. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Washington, the University of Puerto Rico, and Pepperdine University. Tracy has also taught at the biological stations administered by the University of Nebraska, Colorado State University, and the University of Michigan. He has served as major professor for 45 graduate students and 13 postdocs. Twenty-four of his Ph.D. students and postdocs have become professors at colleges and universities all over the world, and seven are scientists in the U.S. Geological Service. He maintains a diverse research program including pure and applied projects in physiology, ecology, and conservation biology that has resulted in more than 170 publications. Several projects incorporate principles, data, and analyses into strategies for preserving sensitive biological resources and for conservation planning.

Tracy has been honored as Best Graduate Advisor with three separate awards:

• Vada Trimble Outstanding Mentor Award 1999
• UNR Graduate Advisor of the Year 2008
• Nevada System of Higher Education Most Outstanding Graduate Advisor in the university system 2008

• CURRICULUM VITAE, retrieved 2012-09-14.
• CURRICULUM VITAE, retrieved 2012-10-05.
• CURRICULUM VITAE, retrieved 2012-10-08.
• CURRICULUM VITAE, retrieved 2012-10-06.

Honors

• Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Distinguished Scholar, Pepperdine University
• University Fellow, University of Wisconsin
• Fellow, Association of Western Universities
• Service Award, American Society of Zoologists
• Keynote Speaker, Southwest Association of Animal Biologists
• Conservation Award, Desert Tortoise Council
• Service Award, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Top Director of Graduate Studies Award, UNR Graduate Students’ Association, 1998
• Vada Trimble Outstanding Mentor Award, UNR Graduate Students’ Association, 1999
• Honored Commencement Speaker, California State University, Northridge, 2003
• Best Graduate Mentor, University of Nevada, Reno, 2008
• Best Graduate Mentor, Nevada System of Higher Education, Nevada, 2008

Patronyms

• Scientific Name: Liolaemus dicktracyi
• Species Authority: Espinoza & Lobo, 2003 ~ R.E. Espinoza and F. Lobo. 2003. Two new species of Liolaemus lizards from northwestern Argentina: speciation within the northern subclade of the elongates group Iguania:Liolaemidae). Herpetologica 59(1): 89-105.
• The Argentinian lizard species Liolaemus dicktracyi was named after C. Richard Tracy. *Liolaemus dicktracyi is known only from the immediate vicinity of the type locality, Portezuelo Blanco, 26.5 km west of Famatina on road to Cueva de Perez, Sierra de Famatina, Departamento Famatina, La Rioja, Argentina and a site 8.4 km southeast of the type locality. The area in which this species is distributed is approximately 596 km². It occurs between 2,600 and 2,800 m above sea level. Liolaemus dicktracyi is found in rocky areas of steep cliffs and hillsides in 'pre-puna' habitat, which is characterized by grasses and small shrubs.

• Espinoza, Robert E.; Lobo, Fernando (2003), "Two new species of liolaemus lizards from northwestern Argentina: speciation within the northern subclade of the elongatus group (iguania: liolaemidae)" (PDF), Herpetologica, 59 (1): 89–105, doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2003)059[0089:tnsoll]2.0.co;2 .
• ^ "The ICUN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List. Retrieved 16 September 2012. 

Professional society memberships

• American Association for the Advancement of Science [Fellow]
• American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
• American Society of Naturalists
• Desert Tortoise Council
• Ecological Society of America
• Herpetologists’ League
• International Iguana Society
• Order of Sigma Xi
• Society of Conservation Biologists
• Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
• Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Public service roles

Tracy’s public service roles include:

• Advisor on the original Desert Tortoise Recovery Team for the US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Chair of the Houston Toad Recovery Team
• Advisor to the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan
• Chair of the Science Assessment Committee for the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan
• Chief Science Advisor for Clark County, Nevada
• Science Advisor to the Fish and Wildlife Service on desert tortoise conservation
• Science Advisor for The Nature Conservancy and the Great Basin Bird Observatory in Nevada

In 2004, Tracy was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.