Edward O. Wilson, an American naturalist known as “modern-day Darwin,” died Sunday in Massachusetts at the age of 92, his foundation said in a statement.
Along with British naturalist David Attenborough, Wilson was considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on natural history and conservation. Wilson’s Half-Earth project calls for protecting half of the planet’s land and seas by having enough diverse and well-connected ecosystems to reverse the course of species extinctions, which may not happen in 10 million years. Happening at the observed rate.
The United Nations has urged countries to commit to conserving 30 percent of their land and water – which is now almost twice as much as under some form of protection – by 2030, a goal known as “30 by 30”. Known as and is somewhat inspired by Wilson.
Born in the southern US state of Alabama, Wilson’s trajectory as an entomologist, someone who studies insects, was established at age 10, when he spent hours collecting insects and butterflies in the wild.
He spent 70 years as a scientist at Harvard University, serving time as a professor and curator in entomology. During his career, Wilson discovered more than 400 species of ants. He said one of his greatest achievements was working out how ants communicate danger and food marks, for example, by emitting chemicals.
Wilson attracted controversy when his 1975 book “Sociobiology: The New Synthesis” was interpreted by some scientists as implying that human behaviors such as benevolence or hostility are determined by genes, or “nature”, Not the environment, or “nurture”. Critics of the time denounced the theory as echoing eugenics.
He was living in a retirement community in the northeastern United States and had recently published the latest in a long series of books on biodiversity.
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