Rosemary Helen Lowe-McConnell

Rosemary Helen Lowe-McConnell (née Rosemary Helen Lowe; 24 June 1921 – 22 December 2014) was an English ichthyologist, ecologist, and limnologist known for research on tilapia and aquaculture. Working in the tropical waters of Africa and South America, Lowe-McConnell was a pioneer in the study of tropical fish ecology and an early adopter of the use of scuba diving for scientific research.

Biography Rosemary Helen Lowe was educated at Howell's School in Denbigh, Wales before receiving B.S., M.Sc., and D.Sc. degrees from the University of Liverpool. She went from there to the Freshwater Biological Association, Far Sawrey working on various projects aimed at producing wartime food from fresh waters. Here, she helped found the East African Fisheries Research Organisation and briefly served as its Acting Director. This rule prevented the permanent employment of a married woman in the British Public Service.

Soon after their wedding, the McConnells moved to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, where their joint research focused on Botswanan natural history. During this time, Lowe-McConnell was appointed as the ichthyologist on the R.V. Cape St Mary to conduct marine fieldwork on the unexplored Guiana shelf. She also developed her Okavango fish collection, now housed in the Natural History Museum, London. In 1955, she described four new species and subspecies of tilapias in Lake Jipe and the Pangani River.

Lowe-McConnell continued to remain active in her field until her death on 22 December 2014 at St. George’s Park in Ditchling, England.

Selected publications Lowe-McConnell was authored or co-author for over 80 publications and edited or co-edited three books. Notes on the fishes found in Georgetown fish markets and their seasonal fluctuations (1962) Man-made Lakes (1966) Speciation in tropical environments, with Ernst Mayr (1969) Fish communities in tropical freshwaters: their distribution, ecology and evolution (1975) Ecology of fishes in tropical waters (1977) The functioning of freshwater ecosystems, with E. D. Le Cren (1980) Ecological studies in tropical fish communities (1987) Symposium on Resource Use and Conservation of the African Great Lakes: Bujumbura 1989; with 18 tables (1992) Land of waters: explorations in the natural history of Guyana, South America (2000) Recent research in the African great lakes: fisheries, biodiversity and cichild evolution (2003) The Tilapia Trail: The life story of a fish biologist (2006)