Lawrence (Larry) Slobodkin (1928-2009)

I just read in the New York Times that the influential ecologist Lawrence Slobodkin passed away on Friday.  You might take a few minutes and give his obituary a read.

One could learn a whole lot of ecology just by reading the many studies and publications that followed from some of his work - particularly the classic 1960 paper by Hairston, Smith and Slobodkin (a.k.a. the H.S.S. paper or the paper that gave us the "green world hypothesis").

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) awarded him their highest honor in 2005, the Eminent Ecologist Award.  They said of him...

Larry Slobodkin is one of the premier ecologists of our time. He has made lasting contributions to the theoretical and empirical development of ecology. Beyond this, however, many of us have been greatly influenced by the wonderfully original and insightful perspectives that flow from his unfettered mind.

References:

1. Hairston N G, Smith F E & Slobodkin L B. Community structure, population control, and competition. American Naturalist 94:421-5, 1960. (PDF)
   
2. More at the Wikipedia page...