Douglas W. Larson completed his Ph.D. at McMaster University and is currently a Professor of Botany at the University of Guelph. He founded the Cliff Ecology Research Group at the University as a vehicle for the studying of structure and function of the Niagara Escarpment cliff ecosystem. He has also taught ecology for over 25 years. He is co-author, with Peter E. Kelly of "Cliff Ecology", published in 2000 by Cambridge University Press.