Biodiversity research: data without theory—theory without data

Abstract

Meet two famous researchers from the early days of biodiversity research: Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humboldt. Darwin developed a powerful theory, using a limited amount of data by modern standards. Humboldt, in contrast, compiled a “Cosmos” of data without developing a major theory, although some of Humboldt's observations on latitudinal biodiversity gradients (von Humboldt, 1808) were later used to develop theory. This tension between data and theory still persists today and is perhaps becoming more acute.