Freshwater scientist wins prestigious award

Professor Sam Lake

One of Australia’s most eminent ecologists and freshwater scientists, Emeritus Professor Sam Lake, has been awarded the prestigious Naumann-Thienemann Medal.

Presented to Professor Lake in Budapest this month at the triennial conference of the International Society for Limnology (SIL), the annual award is the highest honour that can be bestowed internationally for outstanding scientific contributions to limnology, the scientific study of inland waters.

A long-term member of SIL, Professor Lake is a stream ecologist recognised internationally for his contributions, and active standing for the conservation of the unique natural history that is Australia’s legacy.

The award recognises Professor Lake’s research over many years on the ecological effects of human and natural disturbances in freshwater systems, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the legacies of mining in Tasmania, and the impacts of disturbance on Victorian streams and lakes. In recent years his attention has turned to the ecology of stream restoration, in particular focusing on degraded rural streams of the Northern Plains of Victoria.

“I was surprised to learn that I was a recipient of the Naumann-Thienemann Medal of the International Society of Limnology, but feel very honoured given the formidable list of previous recipients,” Professor Lake said. Professor Lake’s first limnological endeavours date back to 1963 when as a student at Australian National University he investigated the effects of heavy metal pollution on invertebrates in the Molonglo River, which flows through Canberra.

After going on to complete his doctorate at the University of Southampton in the UK, he was appointed to the Zoology Department at the University of Tasmania in 1967 to lecture in invertebrate biology and endocrinology

“I gradually returned to freshwater ecology, investigating heavy metal pollution and becoming involved in conservation struggles, notably the unsuccessful battle to save Lake Pedder, a jewel in the wilderness of south-west Tasmania,” Professor Lake said.

“Then in 1976, I moved to Monash University. For 40 years or so at Monash I have taught courses in ecology and limnology and researched the effects of disturbance, both natural and human-generated, on the biota of freshwater systems.”

Professor Lake has published almost 200 scientific papers on freshwater ecology and biological invasions. In 1980 he received the Gold Medal from the Australian Society for Limnology, and in 2000 the Award of Excellence from the North American Benthological Society. In 2006 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Ecological Society of Australia.

He has authored and co-authored several books, including a well-received and attractive account of the Australian wetlands, in 2008, Drought, the Creeping Disaster, Effects on Aquatic Ecosystems, a major report for the Australian Government, and in 2011 the book Drought and Aquatic Ecosystem: Effects and Responses.