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Darwin continues to be a well-respected evolutionary biologist because of his empirical approach to science. As a developing young scientist, Darwin was able to collect a diversity of specimens and make observations of natural history, which became important background development for his views on natural selection. Darwin's The Origin of Species synthesized evidence that life on Earth had changed over time and many species had become extinct since life emerged on Earth. Also, Darwin read widely, and was influenced by a publication of an economist, Thomas Malthus, who argued in "Essay on the Principle of Population" that unchecked human population growth would lead to food shortage. Although Malthus was commenting on late eighteenth century England, Darwin recognized that animal and plant populations could also be affected by food shortages, which could drive adaptations in population or species.