ECOLOGISTS CONTRIBUTIONS & SHORT BACKGROUND

Antony van Leeuwenhoek  Known for discovering bacteria and

creating more than 500 simple
microscopes
 He also discovered sperm cells, blood
cells, protests and microscopic nematodes
 He was made one of the first recorded
observations of bacteria when he studied
the plaque from his teeth and the teeth of
several other people
 He noticed “animalcules” swimming in
the saliva sample
Carl Linnaeus  Classified living organisms as being from
either the plant or animal kingdom
 He described 4,300 species of animals in
his 1735 book “Systema Naturae” and
5,000 species of plants in his 1737 book,
“Geenera Plantarum”
 Scientific contribution was his system of
binomial nomenclature, this system gives
a scientific name consisting of two words
to every plant and animal species
 Linnaeus first developed his classification
system and binomial nomenclature.
Alexander Humboldt  Who was first to describe ecological
gradient of latitudinal biodiversity
increase toward the tropics in 1807

Charles Darwin  The theory of organic evolution by means

of natural selection
 Darwin formulated a theory of species
change he termed descent with
modification through the primary means
of natural selection
 He is best known for his theory of species
change
Herbert Spencer  Society to an organism
 Spencer emphasized that it should be
permitted to develop organically, without
the intervention of the State

Karl Mobius  He was trained for elementary teaching at

a private college in Eilenburg, and from
1844 to 1849 he taught at Seesen in the
Harz Mountains.
 His research on corals and foraminiferans
led to the discovery of symbiosis in
marine invertebrates
 He also proved that Eozoon canadense,
long thought to be a species of living
marine organisms, was actually an
aggregate of minerals
 Investigated mussel and oyster breeding
as well as the artificial cultivation of
pearls
 He helped to develop various impressive
zoological collections

Ernst Haeckel  Invented the term ecology, popularized
research links between ecology and
evolution

Victor Hensen  Invented term plankton, developed

quantitative and statistical measures of
productivity in the seas.
Eugenius Warming  Early founder of Ecological Plant
Geography.

Ellen Swallow Richards  Pioneer and educator who linked urban

ecology to human health