Death notice
Ken Lee, earthworm ecologist and taxonomist, New Zealand and Australia.
Born: 7 May 1927, Wanganui, New Zealand
Died: 14 January 2007, Adelaide, South Australia.
Obituary: Yeates, G. ; Churchman, J. 2007: Ken Lee (19272007).
Biology and Fertility of Soils 43: 501-502.
www.springerlink.com/index/K2244083443L6887.pdf
doi 10.1007/s00374-007-0201-2
Born in Wanganui, Ken Lee joined DSIR Soil Bureau in 1948. Over the
next 10 years he compiled a monographic study of New Zealand earthworms
[Lee, K. E. 1959: The earthworm fauna of New Zealand. DSIR bulletin
130: 1-486]. He also studied the ecology of other soil animals. In 1965
he moved to CSIRO, Adelaide , Australia in 1965 initially working on
termites [Lee, K. E. ; Wood, T. G. 1971: Termites and soils. London,
New York,. Academic Press]. His 1985 book "Earthworms: their ecology and
relationships with soils and land use" remains the definitive work,
successor to Charles Darwin's 1881 book. Ken is internationally
acknowledged for his work in soil zoology and soil science. (Source:
Gregor Yeates)