Edward O. Wilson
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAEdward O. Wilson, Pelegrino University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, is one of the most prominent biologists of our time. As a child, he accidentally pierced his eye with the ray of a pinfish, which left him with an impaired eyesight, no good for stereo or distance vision, but tremendous for small details at close range. His naturalist interests were therefore led towards insects, particularly ants. Though the objects of his studies are small, the insights that he gathered from them are large. Wilson has fathered central and vital fields of evolutionary biology, such as island biogeography (with Robert MacArthur) and sociobiology. His studies of social insects led him to proclaim “Karl Marx was right, socialism works, it is just that he had the wrong species". Ed Wilson is a forceful proponent for nature conservation and protection of biodiversity. He has received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize (twice) and the Crafoord Prize.
ABSTRACTDarwin and the exploration of a little known planet
The circumstance of Earth´s biodiversity can be summarized as follows: Recent research has revealed that the number of species is far greater than previously estimated, and is likely to fall somewhere between 20 and 100 million, in other words greater than 10 times the 1.8 million species known to science. It is also being extinguished at an accelerating rate. It is in the interest of biology and more, of humanity, to complete the revolution begun by Linnaeus and Darwin, and as quickly as possible.
Watch the videos!
Here you can see parts of Professor Edward O. Wilson´s keynote lecture at the Symposium Darwin´s Evolution, at The Swedish Museum of Natural History, 19-20th May 2009.
“What is the total number of species on earth? — We do not know to the nearest order of magnitude....8-100 million! We have neglected to continue to explore the living world to see what is out there."
“...it gives you an idea of what we loose when we loose one species, wondrously adapted to a particular environment. “
“The destructive human activities can remembered by the acronym HIPPO. H for Habitat destruction, I for invasive species, P for [human] population, P for pollution, and O for overharvesting/overhunting/overfishing."
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