Which biologist was given the nickname "Darwin's natural heir"?

Pioneering biologist, environmental activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 - December 26, 2021) had been given the nicknames "The New Darwin", "Darwin's natural heir", and "The Darwin of the 21st century". His biological specialty was myrmecology (study of ants), for which he was also known as 'ant man'. E O Wilson, a US naturalist died at the age of 92 in Massachusetts, USA on Sunday i.e. December 26, 2021.

Wilson presented his views in more than 30 books, two of which - "On Human Nature" in 1979 and "The Ants" in 1991 - won Pulitzer prizes. Among Wilson's most controversial work was 1975's "Sociobiology: the New Synthesis", in which he wrote that all human behaviour was a product of genetic predetermination, not learned experiences. By coming out in favour of human nature over nurture, he set off a firestorm of criticism, with his harshest opponents accusing him of being racist and sexist.

He even ventured into fiction in 2010 with "Anthill", a coming-of-age novel about an Alabama boy trying to save marshlands. In addition to groundbreaking work in evolution and entomology, in his later years Wilson spearheaded a campaign to unite the scientific and religious communities in an odd-couple pairing, he felt presented the best chance to preserve the earth.