Molly F. Mare
Molly F. Mare | |
---|---|
Born | July 10, 1914 Birmingham,Engalnd |
Died | August 27, 1997 |
Nationality | British |
Other names | Molly F. Spooner, Mary F. Spooner, Mary F. Mare |
Spouse | Malcom Spooner |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine biologist |
Institutions | University of Cambridge, Newnham College, UK |
Thesis | The significance of micro-organisms and organic detritus in the food chains of a marine benthic community |
Dr. Molly F. Mare (Spooner) was a marine biologist who introduced the term meiobenthos in 1942.[1][2] She was also an internationally recognized expert on oil spills .5 She was born on July 10, 1914 and passed away on August 27, 1997 in England.[3]
"Spooner, Molly (1914–1997)." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages
Significant research
Dr.Mare's study[4][1] of marine food cycle in sea mud led her to introduce the new term meiobenthos to join the terminology of macrobenthos and microbenthos.[2] This has to allow improved understanding of marine organisms involved in these cycles through clearer reference to groupings by size. The importance of this approach is shown by the continuous reference to her work by other marine biologists into the 21st century.[5]
Following the grounding of the oil tanker Torrey Canyon on the west of the Scilly Isles, Mare returned to her life as a researcher after taking a break during the 1950s. She studied the effects of the oil spill and contributed to the book on the disastrous oil spill called Torrey Canyon Pollution and Marine Life (1970).A tool called a dispersant was used to try to clean up this oil spill and Dr. Mare was one of the first people to recognize that these could be causing more damage than the oil spill itself. This research led her to be known as an oil spill expert to the rest of the world.[6]
Early Career and Life
Dr.Mare won a scholarship to Newnham College, Cambridge where she began her studies of marine biology. In 1936 she took part in the Easter class of the Marine Biological Association (MBA). Molly F. Mare received a Bathurst Research Studentship in 1938, following her graduation from Newnham. In 1939 she received a Maitland Balfour Research Studentship. These Studentships allowed her to spend two years at the MBA in Plymouth where she primarily started her career.[6]
Personal life
Molly F. Mare married Malcolm Spooner, a zoologist at the Marine Biological Association Laboratory on May 14, 1943. Until 1945 she lived away from her husband while she conducted research on antifouling of ships at the Millport Marine Laboratory located near Gladgow. They had two children. In 1948 the family of four moved to Crapstone.
Her husband, Malcolm Spooner, worked on a long-term study of dwarf oak trees in Wistman’s Wood. Mary significantly helped her husband with this work. They also did quite a bit of recording work for the Atlas of the Devon Flora (1984).[6]
Awards and Recognition
In 1973 Molly F. Mare was appointed the Department of the Environment’s advisor on oil pollution precautions and procedures.
After she retired from active research in 1976, she was appointed as a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1977 for her work on the effect of oil pollution on marine life.
She was a founding member of the Devon Wildlife Trust and was its vice president in 1987.
Mare bequethed a sum of money to the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom to encourage undergraduate students to experience marine biological research every year.[6]
References
- ^ a b Mare, Molly F (1942). "A study of a marine benthic community with special reference to the micro-organisms". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 25 (03): 517–554. doi:10.1017/s0025315400055132.
- ^ a b Giere, Olav (2009). Meiobenthology: The Microscopic Motile Fauna of Aquatic Sediments (2nd ed.). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. p. 1. ISBN 978-3-540-68661-3. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Haines, Catharine M. C. (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576070901.
- ^ Mare, Molly F (1940). "Plankton production off Plymouth and the mouth of the English Channel in 1939". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 24: 461–482. doi:10.1017/s0025315400045380.
- ^ Bett, Brian J (2014). "Macroecology and meiobenthos:Reply to Warwick (2014)". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 505: 299–302. doi:10.3354/meps10831. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d Haines, Catharine M. C. (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576070901.