biology

Michael E. Soulé

Michael E. Soulé is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael E. Soulé rather than just read about it. In short: Michael Ellman Soulé (May 28, 1936 – June 17, 2020) was an American biologist, known for his work in promoting the idea of conservation biology. Soulé was born in San Diego, California, the son of Berenice (Ellman) and Herman Herzoff.

Key takeaways

Michael E. Soulé belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael E. Soulé to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael E. Soulé from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael Ellman Soulé (May 28, 1936 – June 17, 2020) was an American biologist, known for his work in promoting the idea of conservation biology. Soulé was born in San Diego, California, the son of Berenice (Ellman) and Herman Herzoff. His father died when he was two, and he was adopted by his stepfather Alan Soulé. He earned a Ph.D. in 1964 at Stanford University in Biology under Paul R. Ehrlich, and later became Research Professor (Emeritus) in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz. His Ph.D. thesis of 167 pages was entitled: Evolution and population phenetics of the side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana and its relatives) on the islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Soulé was a cofounder and first president of the Society for Conservation Biology, founded in 1985. He served on the board of Round River Conservation Studies and the Wildlands Network. Soulé co-edited with Gary Lease a book of essays titled Reinventing nature?: responses to postmodern deconstruction (1995), which was a response to the arguments presented by environmental historian William Cronon and others in Uncommon ground: toward reinventing nature (1995). He has most recently spoken out against approaches to environmental conservation that discount the value of species diversity.

References

External links Obituary from UCSC

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael E. Soulé

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael E. Soulé claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael E. Soulé before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael E. Soulé ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael E. Soulé

In research: Michael E. Soulé appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael E. Soulé in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael E. Soulé is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1936 births, 2020 deaths, 20th-century American biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael E. Soulé outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael E. Soulé in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael E. Soulé means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael E. Soulé out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael E. Soulé in simple terms?

Why does Michael E. Soulé matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael E. Soulé?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael E. Soulé.