to describe Pianka's influence on evolutionary biology and ecology at their business meeting in 2004. In this resolution, they noted that he has had "vast and immeasurable influence on several fields of evolutionary ecology" and that his "years in the field have set the standard for both natural history and for ecological studies, resulting in publications that have lain the foundation for research programs..." Pianka received the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist Award from the Texas Academy of Science. He and his research were featured in a wildlife documentary on monitor lizards — "Lizard Kings" — which premiered nationally on the PBS NOVA series in October 2009. In 2015, Pianka was awarded the Auffenberg Medal in recognition of his extensive research on monitor lizards by the Monitor Lizard Specialist Group. In the same year, he received the highest award of the Ecological Society of America, the Eminent Ecologist Award. Works Pianka had produced about 200 scientific papers, as well as the textbook, Evolutionary Ecology, which has gone through seven editions and has been translated into five languages. In 2003, he also published Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, coauthored with longtime collaborator Laurie Vitt, won the Grand Prize at the Robert W. Hamilton Faculty Author Award at The University of Texas at Austin as well as the Oklahoma Book Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Books Pianka, Eric R. (1983), Evolutionary Ecology (Fourth Edition), Pianka, Eric and Dennis King (2004), Varanoid Lizards of the World, Indiana University Press. Pianka, Eric and Laurie Vitt (2003), Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, University of California Press. References External links Pianka curriculum vitae Transcript of Pianka's speech Transcript of Pianka's St. Edward's Speech March 31, 2006 comprehensive PBS Nova "Lizard Kings" webpage 1939 births 2022 deaths American ecologists American herpetologists Evolutionary biologists People from Yreka, California People from Texas Carleton College alumni University of Washington alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty Fellows of the Ecological Society of America