Gene Likens

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Gene Likens
Gene Likens 2015 Mariel Carr.JPG
Gene Likens, 2015
Born
Gene Elden Likens

(1935-01-06) January 6, 1935 (age 88)
Pierceton, Indiana
Nationality American
Alma mater Manchester University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Known for Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
Institute of Ecosystem Studies
SpousePhyllis Irene Craig Likens (1983–2014)
Awards Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Austrian Academy of Sciences, National Medal of Science, BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Scientific career
Fields Ecology
Institutions Dartmouth College, Cornell University, University of Connecticut, University of Uppsala

Gene Elden Likens (born January 6, 1935) is an American limnologist and ecologist. He co-founded the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in 1963, and founded the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York in 1983. [1]

Contents

A leading pioneer in long-term multidisciplinary ecological studies, Likens examines energy flow and biogeochemical flux models in the ecosystems of forests, streams and lakes. Likens is best known for leading the team of scientists that discovered acid rain in North America, and connected fossil fuels with increasing acidity of precipitation. [1] [2] In addition to its scientific impact, this work has influenced public debate and governmental policy, particularly the United States Congress's Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. [3]

Education

Gene Likens was born in Pierceton, Indiana. [4] Likens received his B.S. in zoology at Manchester University (North Manchester, Indiana) in 1957, [5] followed by his M.S. in zoology in 1959 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. [1] [6] He received his Ph.D. in zoology in 1962, also from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for his thesis on Transport of radioisotopes in lakes. [7] [8]

Career

Dartmouth College

Likens was an instructor and associate professor at Dartmouth College from 1963 to 1969. [1] In the 1960s, Likens did early work in the dry valleys of Antarctica, [9] examining the thermal structures of Lake Vanda and Lake Bonney. [7]

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, 2015 Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest 2015 Mariel Carr.JPG
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, 2015
Mirror Lake, 2015 Mirror Lake 2015 Mariel Carr crop.jpg
Mirror Lake, 2015

Likens was co-founder in 1963 of a group with F. Herbert Bormann, Robert S. Pierce and Noye M. Johnson working on the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. [10] [11] The study immediately found that the rain was abnormally acidic, and the group carried out one of the first scientific studies linking acid rain to air pollution such as sulphur dioxide from the use of fossil fuels. [12] [13]

In 1988, Hubbard Brook was designated by the National Science Foundation as an LTER, a site for collaborative long term ecological research. [3] [11] [14] In 2005, Hubbard Brook celebrated 50 years of research at the site. [11] Likens' work in the area is considered "one of the world’s most comprehensive studies on how air pollution and land use shape forested watersheds". [3] Work at Mirror Lake, at the lower end of the Hubbard Brook Valley, has been particularly important in understanding the importance of physical, chemical, and biological linkages involving the lake and its watershed and airshed. [15] Liken has extensively studied biogeochemical cycles describing the flow of matter within ecosystems. [16] Riparian zones linking water and land are particularly important in maintaining the health of wild lands. [17] Liken has also done important work on deforestation and its potential impact on the chemistry of watersheds. This research has had significant impacts on programs for forest management, in particular the United States Forest Service's adoption of a 100–year rotation policy. [2] [18]

Likens and others devised a range of highly influential long-term experiments on an ecosystemic scale. These include the small-watershed model of nutrient cycling, in which all water entering and leaving a naturally-bounded watershed is measured, enabling scientists to calculate the hydrologic budget of the watershed. [11] This model has been "extremely influential" in the examination of ecosystems, and is central to the examination of urban ecosystems such as Baltimore. [19] Likens' work is considered "classic", [1] [19] and he is credited with establishing a "guiding paradigm" for other ecologists. [1]

Cornell University

In 1969, Likens joined the faculty of Cornell University. He served as an associate professor from 1969 to 1972, and as a full professor from 1972 to 1983. [1] In addition to being a professor of ecology in the Section of Ecology and Systematics (later named the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology), he served as its acting chairman (1973-1974) and chairman (1982-1983). [20] [21] In January 1983 he was named Cornell University's Charles A. Alexander Professor of Biological Sciences. While at Cornell University, he served as chairman of the Section of Ecology and Systematics. [22]

Institute of Ecosystem Studies

External media
Gene Likens in Lab 2015 Mariel Carr.JPG
Audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg “Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?“, Science History Institute
Video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg “2000 Interview with Gene Likens, Institute of Ecosystems Studies“
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg “Acid Rain: A Long, Unfinished Journey From Discovery to Political Action. Dr. Gene Likens“, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "Gene E. Likens, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies"

In 1983 Likens founded the (now Cary) Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York as part of the New York Botanical Garden. In 1993, the IES became an independent non-profit with Likens as director and president. Situated at the Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum, [1] it is an independent center for ecological research, "whose work is highly relevant to policy concerns." [23] In addition to managing teams of scientists and educators, Likens continued his research at Hubbard Brook each summer. [2] As of 2001, he was appointed to the first endowed chair at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair in Ecology. [1]

In 2007 Likens stepped down as director of the IES and returned to full-time research, currently at the University of Connecticut and as visiting professor at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. In July 2012 he began a three-year term as special adviser to the president of the University of Connecticut on environmental affairs and distinguished research professor. [22]

Likens has published 25 books and more than 580 papers and book chapters. [3] Much of his early work is summarized in U.S. Geological Survey publications. [24] His work has influenced the United States Congress on issues such as the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. [3]

He has been active in a variety of organizations, and has been the vice-president (1975-1976) and president (1976-1977) of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography; vice-president (1978-1979), president (1981-1982) and honorary Fellow (2012) of the Ecological Society of America; president (2002) of the American Institute of Biological Sciences; and president (2001-2007) of the International Society of Limnology. [20] [21]

Awards and honors

Likens has received a substantial number of awards and honors of various kinds. [20] [21] He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1979, [6] and the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1981. [1] He was also elected as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1988, the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1994 and the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2000. [20] He became an elected member in biological sciences of the American Philosophical Society in 2006. [25] He's also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [20]

His awards include the 1988 ECI Prize in Limnetic Ecology, [26] the 1993 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement [27] and the 2001 Huxley Medal of the Institute of Biology, London, UK. [6] He received a 2001 National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush on June 13, 2002. [1] In 2003, Likens and Dr. F. Herbert Bormann received the Blue Planet Prize from Asahi Glass Foundation, for "outstanding scientific research that helps to solve global environmental problems". [12] In 2014, he received the Alfred C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). [3]

He has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees internationally (Universität für Bodenkultur, Vienna, 1992; Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands, 1998) as well as nationally (Manchester College, 1979; Rutgers University, 1985; Plymouth State College, University System of New Hampshire, 1989; Miami University, 1990; Union College, 1991; Marist College, 1993; University of Connecticut, 2004; Montclair State University, 2012). [21]

He has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2016) jointly with Marten Scheffer for contributing decisively to what the jury describes as “one of the major challenges” of this scientific discipline: to understand and, where possible, anticipate ecosystem responses to human-induced alterations of the natural environment.

In 2018 Likens was awarded an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, Sweden. [28]

Family

Gene Likens and his wife Phyllis Irene Craig Likens (1951–2014) of Clinton Corners, New York have three daughters, Heather, Leslie, and Kathy, and a son, Gregory. Phyllis also worked at Cornell University and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies and contributed significantly to the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study. He has seven grandchildren, Sierra, Maxwell, Samuel, Joseph, Noah, Louis, and Jason. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid rain</span> Rain that is unusually acidic

Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions. Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average. The more acidic the acid rain is, the lower its pH is. Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limnology</span> Science of inland aquatic ecosystems

Limnology is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology 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, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, springs, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. Water systems are often categorized as either running (lotic) or standing (lentic).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest</span> Area of land in New Hampshire, U.S.

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest is an area of land in the towns of Woodstock, Ellsworth and Thornton in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that functions as an outdoor laboratory for ecological studies. It was initially established in 1955 by the United States Forest Service for the study of the relationship between forest cover and water quality and supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G. Evelyn Hutchinson</span> British ecologist (1903–1991)

George Evelyn Hutchinson was a British ecologist sometimes described as the "father of modern ecology." He contributed for more than sixty years to the fields of limnology, systems ecology, radiation ecology, entomology, genetics, biogeochemistry, a mathematical theory of population growth, art history, philosophy, religion, and anthropology. He worked on the passage of phosphorus through lakes, the chemistry and biology of lakes, the theory of interspecific competition, and on insect taxonomy and genetics, zoo-geography, and African water bugs. He is known as one of the first to combine ecology with mathematics. He became an international expert on lakes and wrote the four-volume Treatise on Limnology in 1957.

The International Biological Program (IBP) was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies. Organized in the wake of the successful International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958, the International Biological Program was an attempt to apply the methods of big science to ecosystem ecology and pressing environmental issues.

Patch dynamics is an ecological perspective that the structure, function, and dynamics of ecological systems can be understood through studying their interactive patches. Patch dynamics, as a term, may also refer to the spatiotemporal changes within and among patches that make up a landscape. Patch dynamics is ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic systems across organizational levels and spatial scales. From a patch dynamics perspective, populations, communities, ecosystems, and landscapes may all be studied effectively as mosaics of patches that differ in size, shape, composition, history, and boundary characteristics.

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (Cary Institute), formerly known as the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, is an independent, not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to the scientific study of the world's ecosystems and the natural and human factors that influence them. The organization is headquartered in Millbrook, NY on a 2,000-acre (810 ha) research campus. Areas of expertise include disease ecology, urban ecology, freshwater ecology and provisioning, and forest health.

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David William Schindler,, was an American/Canadian limnologist. He held the Killam Memorial Chair and was Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. He was notable for "innovative large-scale experiments" on whole lakes at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) which proved that "phosphorus controls the eutrophication in temperate lakes leading to the banning of phosphates in detergents. He was also known for his research on acid rain. In 1989, Schindler moved from the ELA to continue his research at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, with studies into fresh water shortages and the effects of climate disruption on Canada's alpine and northern boreal ecosystems. Schindler's research had earned him numerous national and international awards, including the Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, the First Stockholm Water Prize (1991) the Volvo Environment Prize (1998), and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen R. Carpenter</span> American lake ecologist

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F. Herbert Bormann was an American plant ecologist whose 1971 research within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire with fellow scientists was credited with the discovery of acid rain. His research was one of the major contributory factors towards changes made in the United States' Clean Air Act in 1990. In 1993 he was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and in 2003 he received the Blue Planet Prize, both awards alongside his colleague Gene Likens. His publications include 8 books and more than 200 journal articles.

John D. Aber is University Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources & the Environment at the University of New Hampshire, and was also for many years affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at UNH. His fields of study included Ecosystem Analysis and Modeling, Global Change, Acid Rain, Nitrogen Deposition and Sustainable Agriculture.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 O'Grady, Richard T. (2002). "AIBS President Gene Likens Awarded National Medal of Science". BioScience. 52 (6): 459. doi: 10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0459:apglan]2.0.co;2 .
  2. 1 2 3 "Unit 8: Gene E. Likens". Pearson Education. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gene E. Likens receives the Alfred C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award". EcoFocus Newsletter. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. May 30, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ Jeschke, Jonathan M. (September 25, 2009). "Likens, Gene E." The Encyclopedia of Earth.
  5. ↑ "Gene Likens Collection, MC2002/188 and MC2002/188b". Manchester University Archives and Brethren Historical Collection. Funderburg Library, Manchester University, North Manchester, Indiana. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "GENE E. LIKENS Institute of Ecosystem Studies" (PDF). University of Connecticut. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Ragotzkie, Robert A.; Likens, Gene E. (1964). "The heat balance of two Antarctic lakes". Limnology and Oceanography. 9 (3): 412–425. Bibcode:1964LimOc...9..412R. doi:10.4319/lo.1964.9.3.0412.
  8. ↑ Likens, Gene E. (1962). Transport of radioisotopes in lakes (Ph.D. thesis). University of Wisconsin - Madison.
  9. ↑ Doran, Peter T.; Lyons, W. Berry; McKnight, Diane M. (2010). Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN   9780511718168 . Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study". National Science Foundation. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Rains, Michael T. (2005). "Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest Celebrating 50 Years as a Forest Service National Scientific Treasure" (PDF). Forest Science Review. No. 5. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "IES Director Dr. Gene E. Likens Receives the Blue Planet Prize". LTER Network News. Vol. 16, no. 2. November 16, 2003. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Acid Rain". Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ Likens, Gene (October 1, 2013). "The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study: Celebrating 50 Years". Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 94 (4): 336–. doi: 10.1890/0012-9623-94.4.336 .
  15. ↑ Winter, Thomas C.; Likens, Gene E. (2009). Mirror Lake : interactions among air, land, and water. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   9780520261198 . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ Likens, Gene E.; Buso, Donald C. (2013). Biogeochemistry of a forested ecosystem (3rd ed.). New York: Springer. ISBN   978-1461478096 . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ Decamps, H.; Naiman, R.J.; McClain, M.E. (2010). "Riparian zones". In Likens, Gene E. (ed.). River ecosystem ecology : a global perspective : a derivative of Encyclopedia of inland waters. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 182–189. ISBN   9780123819987 . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ CONLEY, DANIEL J.; LIKENS, GENE E.; BUSO, DONALD C.; SACCONE, LOREDANA; BAILEY, SCOTT W.; JOHNSON, CHRIS E. (September 2008). "Deforestation causes increased dissolved silicate losses in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest". Global Change Biology. 14 (11): 2548–2554. Bibcode:2008GCBio..14.2548C. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01667.x. S2CID   84326979 . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  19. 1 2 Berkowitz, Alan R.; Nilon, Charles H.; Hollweg, Karen S. (2003). Understanding urban ecosystems a new frontier for science and education. New York: Springer. ISBN   978-0387952376.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Joseph, Heather (2002). "AIBSnews". BioScience. 52 (7): 627–630. doi: 10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0627:an]2.0.co;2 .
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Gene Likens Ph.D. National Medal of Science - Biological Sciences 2001". Ganga Library Inc. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  22. 1 2 "Dr. Gene E. Likens". Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. December 15, 2022.
  23. ↑ Speth, James Gustave (2004). Global environmental challenges : transitions to a sustainable world. Hyderabad, India: Orient Longman. ISBN   8125027408 . Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  24. ↑ Wiltshire, Denise A.; Evans, Margaret L. (1984). Acid precipitation; an annotated bibliography U.S. Geological Survey Circular 923 (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey.
  25. ↑ "Members elected in April 2006" (PDF). News from Philosophical Hall. 10 (2): 10. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ Likens, Gene E. (1992). THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH: ITS USE AND ABUSE (PDF). Germany: Ecology Institute. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  27. ↑ "1993 Tyler Laureates F. Herbert Bormann and Gene E. Likens". Tyler Prize. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  28. ↑ University, Uppsala (January 24, 2018). "Mini symposium with Honorary Doctor Gene E. Likens". www.kalendarium.uu.se. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Phyllis Irene Craig Likens Obituary". Ithaca Journal. December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
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