Gordon Arthur Riley (1 June 1911 – 7 October 1985)[1] was an American biological oceanographer most associated with his studies of the dynamics of plankton ecosystems.
[2] Born in Webb City, Missouri on June 1, 1911, Riley was educated within the state at Drury College and Washington University in St. Louis, graduating with a MS in embryology.
Subsequently, he continued to be interested in the productivity of lakes, but gradually expanded his studies to encompass salt water, ultimately moving into biological oceanography.
Riley's oceanographic work focused on the influences affecting the population ecology of plankton systems in coastal and open ocean waters.
[3] After an extended period at Yale, in 1965 Riley moved to become a professor, and the director, at the Institute of Oceanography at Dalhousie University.