The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has given the Robert H. MacArthur Award to Alan Hastings for outstanding ecological achievement. He is distinguished for the breadth, quality, and impact of his scientific articles, many of which have become classics. Publishing over 170 peer-reviewed papers on topics ranging from metapopulation theory to conservation biology, Hastings's research has launched new subfields.

Professor Hastings is the author of the Springer bestselling textbook Population Biology: Concepts and Models. A second edition of this valuable course book for students is currently being planned. He is also co-editor of Springer's Journal of Mathematical Biology.

The MacArthur Award is presented every other year to an established ecologist in mid-career for meritorious contributions to ecology, in the expectation of continued top-level ecological research. The award was presented at ESA's 91st Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee on August 8, 2006.

Hastings completed his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at Cornell University in 1977 and has been at the University of California - Davis since 1979. There he is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, as well as a member of the Center for Population Biology, part of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences. His interests include topics in theoretical ecology and population biology, and more generally in mathematical biology.