Obituary—Dr Jim Lowry

Abstract

[Excerpt] James Kenneth Lowry devoted his life and career to the study of the Amphipoda. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 2 October 1942 and grew up in Chuckatuck near Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. Living around Chesapeake Bay stirred Jim’s interest in natural places, the sea and estuaries, and led to a BA majoring in Biology at the University of Richmond, Virginia. Jim completed an MA in Marine Science at the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1969. Much of this work was carried out at Palmer Station, a United States Antarctic research station on Anvers Island, where Jim studied the soft bottom benthic community of Arthur Harbour. Jim was recognized for his time at Palmer Station by having Mount Lowry (1,020 m a.s.l.) in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica, named after him. Jim’s interest in the Antarctic was central to his research for the next decade. He was enticed to the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, to undertake a PhD with Professor George Knox, who had extensive experience in studying Antarctic biology and established the Antarctic Research Institute. Jim studied the effects of latitude on marine soft bottom communities and was awarded his PhD in 1976 for his thesis “Studies on the macrobenthos of the Southern Ocean”. Prof. Knox used his many contacts in Antarctic research to secure berths on ice breakers and other vessels to allow Jim to work in Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic waters, including Cape Bird, Campbell Islands, Auckland Islands and Stewart Island. Jim spent two winters at the New Zealand base on Ross Island near McMurdo Station. … (cont.)

Keywords

• crustacea
• amphipoda
• taxonomy
• obituary
• research legacy