You might want to read Ed Hubble's bio too.

Here's another one of my favorites...from TB's part of the world...

Ricketts was a competent scientist, but his major influence was on the prominent non-scientists he knew...Steinbeck, Miller, Campbell and many others, and his groundbreaking book on marine ecology

Between Pacific Tides

I bought a copy, and it is still a very readable and totally authoritative guide to the tidal life of the N California coast. If you're ever in Monterey, perhaps visiting the Aquarium, follow his trail.

"Ricketts pursued pathfinding studies in quantitative ecology, analyzing the Monterey sardine fishery. In a 1947 article in the Monterey Peninsula Herald, he documented sardine harvests, described sardine ecology, and noted that harvests were declining as fishing intensity increased. When the sardines became depleted and the industry was destroyed, Ricketts explained what had happened to the sardines: "They're in cans."