[1] He wanted to go to graduate school for mathematics, but changed his mind after taking a major biology course from future Nobel Prize winner, George Wald.

At present, Simberloff has a long-term project in Patagonia on the invasion of conifer trees, involving introduced deer, boar, and fungi.

[11] A leading proponent of the theory now writes that "the species-area curve is a blunt tool in many contexts" and "now seems simplistic to the point of being cartoonish" when it comes to management of nature preserves.

[13] Debate on the subject in the ecological literature became so heated that it inspired the name of "Tallahassee mafia" for Simberloff and his associates at Florida State University.

[14] Its high points were a set of papers in a philosophical journal,[15] an entire issue of The American Naturalist,[16] and a published symposium at Wakulla Springs, Florida,[17] that changed the face of the field.