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48 pages 1 hour read

Edward O. Wilson

Letters to a Young Scientist

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2013

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Index of Terms

Biogeography

Biogeography is a branch of biology that examines how populations adapt to different ecosystems and how geography impacts organisms and populations. Wilson is famous for pioneering the subfield of island biogeography, which explores the process through which living things arrive on islands and diversify in a small space.

Entomology

Entomology is the study of insects. Entomologists might examine insect evolution; how insects interact with each other and with other organisms in their environment; insect interactions with crops, livestock, and humans; or how insect populations proliferate and decline. Wilson was primarily an entomologist specializing in cataloging the world’s ant species.

Evolution

Evolution describes the process whereby all life on Earth developed through random genetic mutations. These mutations caused differentiation among life forms, eventually resulting in a vast array of different species. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to correctly identify the mechanism for evolution: natural selection, wherein favorable mutations stick around, and unfavorable ones die out.

Pheromones

Pheromones are chemical signals that living things can release as a form of intra- or interspecies communication. Insects communicate with each other primarily through pheromones rather than through visual, auditory, or even tactile cues. Wilson did many experiments on insect pheromones.

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is a branch of biology focused on classifying different species and organisms. Life on Earth is divided into domains, kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. Taxonomists use binomial nomenclature, a naming system usually attributed to Carl Linnaeus.

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