Symbiont

Alan Emery, marine biologist, has published many scientific papers on the subjects of ecology, evolution, and taxonomy as well as a book on the origins and natural history of coral reefs, the world’s most complex underwater environment. He has led scientific expeditions to the far reaches of the globe to study formerly unexplored ocean regions, often in the company of sharks, poisonous marine snakes, and moray eels. His main interests, however, have always been the development and behaviour of all organisms as they live out their remarkably full and complicated life histories. For 13 years he was president of one of Canada’s national museums, the Canadian Museum of Nature. He has also served on the boards of many scientific and science-related institutions, often in the role of president. This unique combination of experiences gives him several perspectives from which to portray this fictional expedition to a dangerous environment – from that of the director of the organization sponsoring the expedition to those of its scientific, technical, and support members. He is also well-equipped to speculate on the edges of biological theory about the first encounters with alien biology and how surprising that just may turn out to be. He and his wife live on 100 acres of field, swamp, and forest in Ontario, Canada, delighting in studying the myriad wild things that surround them.