Raymond Laurel Lindeman (July 24, 1915 – June 29, 1942) was an

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

whose graduate research is credited with being a seminal study in the field of

ecosystem ecology Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living ( biotic) and non-living ( abiotic) components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components ...

, specifically on the topic of

trophic dynamics A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Position in the food web, or trophic level, is used in ecology to broadly classify organisms as autotrophs or h ...

Graduate research work

Lindeman completed his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

with his thesis work being concerned with the history and ecological dynamics of Cedar Bog Lake, which is located in the

's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in central Minnesota. While a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

with noted

limnologist Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...

G. Evelyn Hutchinson, Lindeman submitted a chapter of his thesis for publication. His manuscript was initially rejected as being too generalized but was published after Hutchinson and others were able to convince the editor of the paper's merits. The publication appeared in the journal ''

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

'' and establishes the ten percent law whereby only 10% of the energy consumed at one trophic level is transferred to higher trophic levels. Having suffered from chronic gastro-intestinal and liver inflammation, Lindeman died in 1942 at the age of 26, probably from

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

Legacy

An annual award in Lindeman's honor is given by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography to the outstanding paper written that year by a young aquatic scientist. Lindeman is also honored today with a lecture series in his name in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, as well as an informative plaque on the same university's Wall of Discovery.

Publications

* Lindeman, RL (1939). Some affinities and varieties of the planktonic rotifer Brachnionus havanaensis Rouss. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 58: 210–221. * Lindeman, RL (1941). "The developmental history of Cedar Creek Bog, Minnesota". American Midland Naturalist. 25 (1): 101–112. * Lindeman, RL (1941). "Seasonal food-cycle dynamics in a Senescent Lake". American Midland Naturalist. 26 (3): 636–673. * Lindeman, RL (1942). "Experimental simulation of winter anaerobiosis in a senescent lake". Ecology. 23 (1): 1–13. * Lindeman, RL (1942). "Seasonal distribution of midge larvae in a scenescent lake". American Midland Naturalist. 27 (2): 428–444. * Lindeman, RL (1942). "The trophic-dynamic aspect of ecology". Ecology. 23 (4): 399–418.

Biographies

*Reif, CB (1986). "Memories of Raymond Laurel Lindeman". ''Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America''. 67 (1): 20–25 *Sobczak, WV (2005). "Lindeman's trophic dynamic aspect of ecology: "Will you still need me when I'm 64?". ''Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin''. 14 (3): 53–57 *Sterner RW (2012) Raymond Laurel Lindeman and the Trophic Dynamic Viewpoint. ''Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin'' 21(2):38-51.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindeman, Raymond American ecologists American limnologists University of Minnesota alumni 1915 births 1942 deaths People from Redwood Falls, Minnesota Deaths from hepatitis