Hello, today my guest is someone who's brushed with death from malaria as a young man in Africa,
led him to be obsessed not only with his own mortality,
but more broadly with how all animals and plants thrive or die out in nature.
Using data collected in the field, Tim Coulson, professor of zoology at Oxford University,
develops mathematical models to explain and predict complicated ecosystems,
like the consequences of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park.
how little fish called guppies evolved differently in the streams of Trinidad and the impact of climate change on wild sheep in the outer Hebrides.
When the young Tim was recovering from his bout of malaria,
he promised himself that he'd write a complete guide to science.
His ambitious book, A Little History of Everything,
from the Big Bang to You reflects his extraordinary ambition to comprehend the world.
He says, lots of people in my area work on conservation projects or trying to solve problems.
I just want to understand how it all works.
I always think that's a bit selfish.
Well, I'd argue that we can't make the world a better place unless we understand how it works.
Thank you very much.
Now, when it comes to your own area of research, you've focused on the effect of animal predators.
But it's more subtle than people think, isn't it?
Because there are all sorts of feedback loops affecting both hunters and hunted.
That's absolutely right.