Jack F. Talling’s research concerned freshwater ecology and general limnology, with initial work chiefly at the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) near Windermere. A lectureship at the University College of Khartoum, Sudan stimulated his interest in the Nile and tropical freshwater ecology, which was later extended by experiences in Ethiopia and East Africa. He also studied the photosynthesis of marine phytoplankton at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. He was a staff member of the FBA for 31 years and Research Fellow for 20 years.
His principal research focused on the ecophysiology of photosynthesis, primary production and population dynamics in phytoplankton. He continued to undertake wider surveys of tropical inland water ecology, resulting in the book Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Inland Waters (1998), co-written during retirement with Jacques Lemoalle. He assisted in courses for students from developing countries, provided technical assistance within Kenya and Zimbabwe, and lectured at the University of Lancaster. He took part in Royal Society projects concerning acidification of surface waters and the African Freshwater Biological Team’s exploration of Lake George.
Dr Jack Talling FRS died on 20 June 2017.
Biographical Memoir
Subject groups
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Earth and Environmental Sciences
Limnology
