Larry Rockwood is Professor of Biology and Environmental Science and Policy, and Chairman of the Department of Biology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. He earned his B.S. degree in Biopsychology and his Ph.D. degree in Biology at the University of Chicago. His early research was conducted in Costa Rica where he studied foraging patterns in leaf-cutting ants. More recently he has collaborated on a variety of projects from human-coyote conflicts to aspects of avian ecology and plant ecology. He has been teaching introductory ecology, population ecology and tropical ecology for almost 40 years. In 2014 Dr Rockwood was presented with the David J. King Award in recognition of 'outstanding contributions to enhancing teaching and learning' by George Mason University.