Mark W. Moffett
Encyclopedia
Mark Moffett “…has developed a career that combines science and photography, in spite of being a high school dropout. Although his family was not academic, encouraged by his parents he sought out biologists by the age of 12.” He continues to travel to conduct research on ecology and behavior, photograph and write for National Geographic and other magazines, author books, and lecture and appear on television as an ecologist-storyteller. He has been compared to Jacques Cousteau
and Jane Goodall
, and National Geographic has called him “the Indiana Jones of Entomology”.
in Wisconsin in 1979, where he was elected into Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University
in 1989, funded by a National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship. He came to Harvard to study under Edward O. Wilson, who had developed the field of sociobiology
and was at the time popularizing the concept of biodiversity
. After receiving his doctorate, Moffett became curator of ants under Dr. Wilson at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology
, which has the largest collection of these social insects in the world. He remained at the museum as a Research Associate through most of the 1990s while continuing his efforts for National Geographic Magazine. Afterward, he became a Research Associate at Department of Anthropology at Harvard (1997–2000) and Visiting Scholar at Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at University of California, Berkeley (1998–2005).
Moffett is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History
in the Smithsonian Institution
. He travels the world looking for new species and behaviors while studying social behavior and the structure and dynamics of ecosystems, particularly their canopies.
includes Moffett as a character in her book Saving Fish From Drowning
and has his character collect a Chinese species of aphrodisiac plant that in her book is named after him as well.)
Several of Moffett’s expeditions have been noteworthy. During multiple visits to Venezuela, Moffett has explored remote parts of the mountainous tepui regions with the explorer Charles Brewer-Carias on trips in which they found new frogs, insects, and plants. He also has worked on the supertall coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, for which he co-led (with Steve Sillett) the first ascent and study of the world’s tallest known tree at the time, a specimen named the National Geographic redwood that they found to be 365 feet 6 inches in height. In 1999 he joined a group of University of California scientists to survey animals in Iran.
During an expedition into a remote area of northern Myanmar on September 11, 2001, Moffett was standing beside cobra expert Joseph Bruno Slowinski
when Slowinski was bitten by a deadly relative of the cobra called a krait.
). Moffett proposed that a superorganism arises when the members of a society develop an unbreakable common identity, as happens among workers of ant species (much like the component cells of any organism identify absolutely and uniquely with the body to which they belong).
Moffett’s children’s book describes his journeys to find the world’s largest, smallest, and most deadly frogs. Stephen Colbert
said “Face to Face with Frogs” (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2008) “is a gorgeous book. I wish I was in it”.
In 1993 Harvard University Press published “The High Frontier: Exploring the Tropical Rainforest Canopy,” concerning the research of his tree-climbing colleagues. The Boston Globe described Moffett’s book as “a stunning mix of adventure, nature photography, and hard scientific inquiry that ranks with the best work of Jacques Cousteau.”
in the Smithsonian Institution
) to feature a single individual’s perspective on a group of organisms, containing 40 of Moffett’s images. The exhibit will soon travel across the United States. An exhibit of Moffett’s frog images was shown at National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2008, and travelled in 2009 to Singapore and London.
.
Moffett appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on May 23, 2007, and February 7, 2008, and in May is scheduled to appear for the third time on The Colbert Report. He has also been interviewed in such radio programs as National Geographic’s Weekend Edition, NPR programs, West Coast Live!, Voice of America, and Living on Earth.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
and Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, and National Geographic has called him “the Indiana Jones of Entomology”.
Academics
Moffett received his B.A. in Biology at Beloit CollegeBeloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...
in Wisconsin in 1979, where he was elected into Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1989, funded by a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Graduate Research Fellowship. He came to Harvard to study under Edward O. Wilson, who had developed the field of sociobiology
Sociobiology
Sociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...
and was at the time popularizing the concept of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. After receiving his doctorate, Moffett became curator of ants under Dr. Wilson at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology
Museum of Comparative Zoology
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, full name "The Louis Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology", often abbreviated simply to "MCZ", is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three museums which collectively comprise the Harvard Museum...
, which has the largest collection of these social insects in the world. He remained at the museum as a Research Associate through most of the 1990s while continuing his efforts for National Geographic Magazine. Afterward, he became a Research Associate at Department of Anthropology at Harvard (1997–2000) and Visiting Scholar at Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at University of California, Berkeley (1998–2005).
Moffett is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. He travels the world looking for new species and behaviors while studying social behavior and the structure and dynamics of ecosystems, particularly their canopies.
Photography
Moffett taught himself photography to document his doctorate on ants. National Geographic published these novel photographs, and he went on to become a leading photographer and frequent writer for that magazine, with more than two dozen articles and hundreds of images to his credit.Exploration
Moffett has explored every Latin American country, every tropical Asian country, and many parts of Africa. He has discovered and described new species of ants on these journeys, and has had new species of beetle, frog, and ant named after him. (Amy TanAmy Tan
Amy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages...
includes Moffett as a character in her book Saving Fish From Drowning
Saving Fish from Drowning
Saving Fish From Drowning is a 2005 novel written by Amy Tan. It is Tan's sixth and most recent work. The story follows the trials and tribulations twelve American tourists face when they embark on an expedition to explore China and Burma....
and has his character collect a Chinese species of aphrodisiac plant that in her book is named after him as well.)
Several of Moffett’s expeditions have been noteworthy. During multiple visits to Venezuela, Moffett has explored remote parts of the mountainous tepui regions with the explorer Charles Brewer-Carias on trips in which they found new frogs, insects, and plants. He also has worked on the supertall coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, for which he co-led (with Steve Sillett) the first ascent and study of the world’s tallest known tree at the time, a specimen named the National Geographic redwood that they found to be 365 feet 6 inches in height. In 1999 he joined a group of University of California scientists to survey animals in Iran.
During an expedition into a remote area of northern Myanmar on September 11, 2001, Moffett was standing beside cobra expert Joseph Bruno Slowinski
Joseph Bruno Slowinski
Joseph Bruno "Joe" Slowinski, Ph.D was an American herpetologist who worked extensively with elapid snakes.He was born on November 15, 1962 in New York City, New York...
when Slowinski was bitten by a deadly relative of the cobra called a krait.
Books
“Adventures Among Ants” (University of California Press, 2010) combines science and adventure, and is based on several years of Moffett’s travels to many parts of the world looking for remarkable ant species. He documents the ant colony’s numerous parallels to human societies and its similarity to an organism (often called a superorganismSuperorganism
A superorganism is an organism consisting of many organisms. This is usually meant to be a social unit of eusocial animals, where division of labour is highly specialised and where individuals are not able to survive by themselves for extended periods of time. Ants are the best-known example of...
). Moffett proposed that a superorganism arises when the members of a society develop an unbreakable common identity, as happens among workers of ant species (much like the component cells of any organism identify absolutely and uniquely with the body to which they belong).
Moffett’s children’s book describes his journeys to find the world’s largest, smallest, and most deadly frogs. Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
said “Face to Face with Frogs” (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2008) “is a gorgeous book. I wish I was in it”.
In 1993 Harvard University Press published “The High Frontier: Exploring the Tropical Rainforest Canopy,” concerning the research of his tree-climbing colleagues. The Boston Globe described Moffett’s book as “a stunning mix of adventure, nature photography, and hard scientific inquiry that ranks with the best work of Jacques Cousteau.”
Exhibits
In 2009, the exhibition “Farmers Warriors, Builders: the Hidden Life on Ants” became the first and only exhibit of the National Museum of Natural HistoryNational Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
) to feature a single individual’s perspective on a group of organisms, containing 40 of Moffett’s images. The exhibit will soon travel across the United States. An exhibit of Moffett’s frog images was shown at National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2008, and travelled in 2009 to Singapore and London.
Lectures and Media
Moffett is known for combining serious science with quirky adventure stories. He is a frequent lecturer for the National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
.
Moffett appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on May 23, 2007, and February 7, 2008, and in May is scheduled to appear for the third time on The Colbert Report. He has also been interviewed in such radio programs as National Geographic’s Weekend Edition, NPR programs, West Coast Live!, Voice of America, and Living on Earth.
Awards
- Eighty peer-reviewed scientific publications and three books
- Lowell Thomas Medal from the Explorers Club for achievements in exploration
- Roy Chapman Andrews Award for scientific exploration
- The prestigious Bowdoin PrizeBowdoin prizeThe Bowdoin Prize is a prestigious award given annually to Harvard University undergraduate and graduate students. It is considered among the highest academic commendations the University can bestow upon a student...
for writing from Harvard University - National Outdoor Book AwardNational Outdoor Book AwardThe National Outdoor Book Award was formed in 1997 as a US-based non-profit program which each year honors the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watters. Awards are presented in ten categories. The award is announced in early November...
2010, Nature and the Environment category, Adventures Among Ants - 24 articles in National Geographic magazine, and others in Smithsonian magazine, Outside magazine, and International Wildlife Magazine
- Numerous international photographic awards, including from Pictures of the Year International
- Repeat appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Colbert Report
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
- Phi Beta Kappa
External links
- Books by Mark Moffett
- Doctor Bugs
- Adventures Among Ants
- Lowell Thomas Medal for Exploration, 2006
- Roy Chapman Andrews Society Award, 2008
- The Hidden World of Ants
- Studies Nature, Will Travel
- A Walk on the Wild Side
- Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants
- The Savage, Beautiful World of Army Ants