Ilkka Hanski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ilkka Hanski
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Ilkka Hanski in 2009.
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| Born |
Ilkka Aulis Hanski
14 February 1953 Lempäälä, Finland
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| Died | 10 May 2016 (aged 63) Helsinki, Finland
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| Nationality | Finnish |
| Alma mater | Helsinki University Oxford University |
| Known for | Metapopulation Theory |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ecology Biology |
| Institutions | Helsinki University |
Ilkka Aulis Hanski ForMemRS (14 February 1953 – 10 May 2016) was a famous Finnish ecologist. An ecologist is a scientist who studies how living things interact with each other and their environment. Ilkka Hanski worked at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
He led a special research group called the Metapopulation Research Center. This group studied how different kinds of plants and animals live in areas that are broken up into smaller pieces. They worked to understand "metapopulations." A metapopulation is a group of smaller populations of the same species that are separated in space but still connected.
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Life and Work of Ilkka Hanski
Ilkka Hanski earned his first university degrees from the University of Helsinki in 1976. He then went on to get his higher degree from the University of Oxford in 1979. He worked as a professor of zoology at the University of Helsinki starting in 1993. He was also an Academy Professor for the Academy of Finland until he passed away.
Understanding Metapopulations
Ilkka Hanski's main research focused on metapopulation biology. This field looks at how groups of animals or plants survive when their habitats are split up. For example, a forest might be cut into smaller patches. Hanski studied how species can still live and move between these patches.
His work has many important uses in the real world. It helps us understand how to protect different kinds of plants and animals. This is very important for conservation biology. It also helps with planning cities and towns. For example, his ideas can help us plan green spaces in cities so that nature and people can live together.
A famous example of his field research was with the Glanville fritillary butterfly. He studied these butterflies in the Åland Islands. His research helped scientists understand how these butterflies survive in their patchy habitats.
Ilkka Hanski wrote many scientific articles and books. He was one of the most often quoted ecologists in the world. He passed away on May 10, 2016, in Helsinki, at the age of 63.
Advocacy for Nature
Ilkka Hanski was not just a scientist; he also strongly supported protecting nature and its many different species. He often spoke out in public discussions about these topics. He believed that scientists should not just do research. He felt they also had a duty to share their findings and help use that information to make good decisions for the environment.
Awards and Recognition
Ilkka Hanski received many important awards for his scientific work.
- In 2000, he won the Balzan Prize for Ecological Sciences.
- In 2005, he became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS). This is a very high honor for scientists. He was only the second Finnish scientist to receive it.
- In 2006, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2011, he was given the Crafoord Prize in biosciences. He received this award for his important studies on how where animals and plants live affects their populations.
- In 2015, he won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology. This award recognized his work on how species survive in broken-up habitats. It also noted his ability to figure out when a species might be close to disappearing.
- In 2015, he was given the special title of Academician of Science by the Academy of Finland.
