Vladimir Dinets is an American zoologist known for his studies of Crocodilian behavior and of numerous rare animals in remote parts of the world, as well as for popular writings in English and Russian.
Dinets' early zoological studies were conducted in remote areas of the USSR, China and South America; he also participated in a number of conservation projects in Russia, Mongolia, Israel and Peru.[6] In 1992 he solved the mystery of the ability of rock ptarmigans to winter on Arctic islands in total darkness: they survive by feeding on rich vegetation on sea cliffs where seabird colonies are located in summer.[7]
In 1996-1999 Dinets conducted a study of international trade in endangered insects and consulted the governments of Nepal and Sikkim on the issue, providing a set of recommendations for improving anti-poaching and anti-traffic control.[8][9]
In 2005-2013 Dinets conducted a comparative study of social behavior of Crocodilians, working in 26 countries.[6] In 2005 he discovered "alligator dances".[14] By 2010 he elucidated the roles of many signals used by Crocodilians,[15] and proposed their possible evolutionary history.[16] In 2009-2013 he documented the ability of crocodiles and alligators to use coordination and role separation during cooperative hunting[17] and to use sticks as lures for hunting birds looking for nesting material.[18] He also conducted the first scientific studies of play behavior in crocodilians[citation needed] and on coordinated hunting in snakes.[citation needed]
In 2011 Dinets took part in WWF expedition to Vietnam to study saola, and became the first zoologist to find and photograph saola tracks in the wild.[19]
In 2017-2021 Dinets was a Science and Technology Associate and later a Visiting Researcher at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology,[30] working on behavior, ecology and conservation of birds and mammals in Asia.[31][32][33][34][35][36] During that time he participated in OKEON Project[37] conducting a long-term study of Okinawa ecosystems, and discovered the first case of permanent endothermy in an invertebrates (semi-sessile lanternflies); that discovery has important implications for paleontology, evolutionary physiology, and invasive species control.[38]
Since 2022 Dinets is teaching Mathematics at Rutgers University.,[39] while continuing research on behavioral ecology and conservation.
Books
In 1993-1997 Dinets wrote a number of books about travel that remain popular in Russia.[40]
Volumes of Encyclopedia of Russian Nature series, Actual Biology Fund, 26,000 copies published:[41] A. Beme, A. Cherenkov, V. Dinets, V. Flint. Birds of Russia (1995); V. Dinets, E. Rotshild. Mammals of Russia (1997); V. Dinets, E. Rotshild. Domestic Animals, 1998.
J. Newell (ed.) The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development.[42] Daniel & Daniel Publishers (2004).
V. Dinets. Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations[43]Arcade Publishing (2013), softcover edition 2021 [44]Arcade Publishing.
^Dinets, V. Winter ecology of willow and rock ptarmigans at the northern limit of their range. Ornitologia 29: 326-327 (in Russian with English summary)
