German biologist (born 1936)
Berthold Karl Hölldobler (born 25 June 1936) is a German zoologist, sociobiologist and evolutionary biologist who studies evolution and social organization in ants. He is the author of several books, including "The Ants", for which he and his co-author, E. O. Wilson, received the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction writing in 1991.
Biography.
Hölldobler was born June 25, 1936, in Erling-Andechs, Bavaria, Germany; he was the son of Karl and Maria Hölldobler. He studied biology and chemistry at the University of Würzburg. His doctoral thesis was on the social behavior of the male carpenter ant and their role in the organization of carpenter ant societies. He was named professor of zoology at the University of Frankfurt in 1971. From 1973 to 1990, he was professor of biology and the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1989, he returned to Germany to accept the chair of behavioral physiology and sociobiology at the Theodor-Boveri-Institute of the University of Würzburg. From 2002 to 2008 Hölldobler was an Andrew D. White Professor at Large at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Since his retirement in 2004 Hölldobler has worked as a research professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. There he is one of the founders of the Social Insect Research Group (SIRG) and the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity.
Research fields and publications.
Hölldobler is one of the world's leading experts in myrmecology. His experimental and theoretical contributions cover sociobiology, behavioral ecology, and chemical ecology. His primary study subjects are social insects and in particular ants. His work has provided valuable insights into mating strategies, regulation of reproduction, the evolution of social parasitism, chemical communications, and the concept of "superorganisms". Publications on these topics include:
Documentary films.
In addition to his published scientific papers and books, Hölldobler's work was the subject of the documentary film "Ants - Nature's Secret Power" the winner of the 2005 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festivals Special Jury Prize.
Notes.
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External links.
Web interviews.
Hölldobler's 2007 interview on the "Ask A Biologist" podcast program details his early life growing up in Germany as well as his interest in ants and writing.