John Christy received his undergraduate education at Lewis and Clark College where he was a pre-med and English literature major. Late in his senior year (1970) he read deeper in animal behavior and evolutionary theory and changed paths. Cornell was the only graduate school with suitable courses still accepting applications. Luckily he was admitted. He specialized in the behavior and ecology of terrestrial vertebrates. However, unsatisfied watching partial silhouettes doing uncertain things in the forest canopy of Costa Rica, John stopped watching howler monkeys and sought a more promising research animal. In 1973, he opened a lawn chair on a tropical beach and began what was to become three decades watching fiddler crabs. Beginning with his post-doctoral research (1978 – 80) John has split his attention between trying to understand fiddler crab courtship and mate choice and the adaptive significance of crab reproductive cycles, particularly their consequences for larval dispersal and survival.