New Delhi, Jan. 9 -- Pioneering ecologist Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil, whose seminal report on the protection of the Western Ghats in 2011 warned against the pillaging of the environment and whose approach to conservation prioritised marginalised communities in the battle against the climate crisis, died after a brief illness in Pune on Wednesday night. He was 83. Arguably one of the biggest names in conservation and a columnist for this newspaper, Gadgil also held a keen interest in linguistic and cultural diversity and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981 and the Padma Bhushan in 2006. He is survived by a son and a daughter. Gadgil's wife and noted climate scientist Sulochana Gadgil passed away last year. Born in Pune in 1942, he was educated at Fergusson College in Pune, Mumbai University , and Harvard University, where he did a doctoral thesis in mathematical ecology. Trained in evolutionary biology, Gadgil was among the earliest Indian scientists to use mathematical models to explain processes such as natural selection, population dynamics and ecological sustainability. P2...