Lawrence B. Slobodkin (1928–2009): Integrating Theory, Models, and Experiments in Ecology

Douglas J Futuyma,Robert K Colwell

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000261

Douglas J Futuyma, Robert K Colwell

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000261

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Journal: PLoS Biology	Publication Date: Dec 22, 2009
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Connecticut, Stony Brook University

Abstract

Lawrence B. Slobodkin (1928–2009): Integrating Theory, Models, and Experiments in Ecology

Highlights

A child of the Bronx, New York City, Slobodkin was strongly influenced by the artistic, intellectual, cultural, and political milieu in which he developed; his mother was a writer and his father a noted sculptor who later became a well-known illustrator and writer of children’s books, including biographies of the legendary revolutionaries Garibaldi and Lenin
Slobodkin played an important role in developing this framework via his research, teaching, and his very influential book, Growth and Regulation of Animal Populations [1], which served as a blueprint for generations of students of ecology at all levels
A detailed study of the role of age structure in the growth of experimental populations of the microcrustacean Daphnia, epitomized his approach—a quantitative experimental test of a mathematical theory that was intended to apply broadly. After completing his Ph.D., Slobodkin worked for two years for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, where he developed a novel, theoretically informed hypothesis for the origin of red tides. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in the Department of Zoology in 1953, where he pioneered the use of calorimetry as a tool for studying the

Summary

Introduction

A child of the Bronx, New York City, Slobodkin was strongly influenced by the artistic, intellectual, cultural, and political milieu in which he developed; his mother was a writer and his father a noted sculptor who later became a well-known illustrator and writer of children’s books, including biographies of the legendary revolutionaries Garibaldi and Lenin. While absorbing the lessons of art and literature, Slobodkin developed a guiding interest in biology, which he pursued first at Bethany College in West Virginia, and later under G.

Results

Conclusion