Thomas Townley Macan (12 September 191012 January 1985; known to many as "Kit", "Kitten" or "T.T.M.") was a British freshwater zoologist (

limnologist Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristi ...

), field studies director and author. He had a particular interest in freshwater invertebrates. He was brought up in southwest England, and educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. Although best known for his work in freshwater biology, his first job (193334) was on a scientific expedition to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The resulting volume on

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

(''Asteroidea'') became part of his PhD thesis. He was awarded his doctorate in 1940. In 1935, he joined the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA). He worked there until his retirement in 1976, broken only by military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1941, he was commissioned as Lieutenant into the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

,; he subsequently rose to the rank of Major; he addressed problems relating to

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

in Iraq, Iran, India and Burma. In 1946, he returned to the FBA as Deputy Director. His earliest work at the FBA was concerned with ''

Corixidae Corixidae is a family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera. They are found worldwide in virtually any freshwater habitat and a few species live in saline water. There are about 500 known species worldwide, in 55 genera, including the genus ' ...

'' (water boatmen) and gastropods. He then concentrated on a detailed

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

study of the British '' Ephemeroptera'' (mayflies), culminating in the publication in 1961 of the first complete guide to their

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

s (most recent edition 1979). During this work, he accumulated much information on the ecology of the various species, especially their habitats and life cycles. His principal locations of study were in Ford Wood Beck, a small stony stream near his home in Outgate near

Hawkshead Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains one ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

; and in Hodson's Tarn, a moorland lake close to the

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

Laboratory of the FBA. After his retirement, he continued his studies in the River Lune, which runs through Cumbria and Lancashire. He was a prolific author of scientific papers and books; his ''Life in Lakes and Rivers'' (co-authored with E. B. Worthington) was at one time a set text in the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. In addition to the teaching he did at the LBA, he was visiting lecturer at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

(196676) and the University of Toulouse (1968), and visiting professor at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

(1972) and

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

(197677). He was the founding editor (197173) of the journal ''Freshwater Biology''. He was closely associated with the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, in which he served as General Secretary and Treasurer (195368), Editor (195362) and Vice-President (196872). Among his outside interests, he was a keen sailor.

Selected bibliography

* 1951: ''Life in Lakes and Rivers'' (with E. B. Worthington). New Naturalist #15. Collins, London. * 1956: ''A Revised Key to the British Water Bugs (Hemiptera-Heteroptera)''. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK. * 1959: ''A Guide to Freshwater Invertebrate Animals''. Longman, London. * 1960: ''A Key to the British Species of Crustacea: Malacostraca Occurring in Freshwater: With Notes on Their Ecology and Distribution'' (with H. B. N. Hynes and W. D. Williams). Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK. * 1967: ''Key to the British Species of Freshwater Cladocera'' (with David Joseph Scourfield). * 1970: ''Biological Studies of the English Lakes''. Prentice Hall, London. * 1973: ''Key to the Adults of the British Trichoptera''. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK. * 1973: ''Ponds and Lakes''. Allen & Unwin. * 1974: ''Freshwater Ecology''. John Wiley & Sons. * 1977: ''A Key to the British Fresh and Brackish Water Gastropods''. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK. * 1979: ''A Key to the Nymphs of the British Species of Ephemeroptera: With Notes on Their Ecology''. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK. * 1982: ''The Study of Stoneflies, Mayflies and Caddis Flies''. The Amateur Entomologists' Society. * 1988: ''Larvae of the British Ephemeroptera: A Key with Ecological Notes'' (with J. M. Elliott and U. H. Humpesch). Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside, UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macan, T. T. 1910 births Place of birth missing 1985 deaths Place of death missing British entomologists British limnologists People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers New Naturalist writers 20th-century British zoologists