Ethel Sarel Gepp, also publishing as Ethel Sarel Barton (21 August 1864 – 6 April 1922), was a phycologist who specialized in the study of marine

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and is noted for her work reordering the genus ''

Halimeda ''Halimeda'' is a genus of green macroalgae. The algal body (thallus) is composed of calcified green segments. Calcium carbonate is deposited in its tissues, making it inedible to most herbivores. However one species, '' Halimeda tuna'', was desc ...

''.

Family

Ethel Sarel Barton was born at Hampton Court Green in England. Around 1872 the family moved to

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. In 1904, she married Antony Gepp (1862-1955), a fellow marine botanist.

Career

Gepp worked as a specimen collector for the Department of Botany at the

British Museum (Natural History) The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

and for

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, and she contributed papers to the ''Journal of Botany'', the ''Journal of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

'', and other scientific publications under both her birth and married names. In 1900, she published the first of a number of papers on the

macroalgae Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as k ...

genus ''

'', working with a collection of specimens that had been brought back from Funafuti Atoll in the South Pacific. This work convinced her of the need for serious reorganization of the genus, and that same year she was asked by fellow phycologist

Anna Weber-van Bosse Anna Antoinette Weber-van Bosse (27 March 1852 – 29 October 1942) was a Dutch phycologist, specializing in marine algae. Life Her interest in botany and zoology started at a young age, inspired by regular trips to the Amsterdam zoo. She att ...

to work on another ''Halimeda'' collection, this one from the Siboga Expedition to the

Dutch Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. This led to her important monograph of 1901, ''The Genus'' Halimeda, which reduced the number of ''Halimeda'' species to 7 from more than two dozen. A contemporary review praised her thorough work on this genus, which "has been the despair of every phycologist for years". Her solo-authored publications dropped off after her 1904 marriage, as she began collaborating with her husband. She died in Torquay after a long illness.

Selected publications

;Solo-authored * "Systematic and Structural Account of the Genus '' Turbinaria'', Lamx" (1891) * "On ''

Notheia anomala ''Notheia anomala'' is a macroalga in the family Notheiceae and the brown algae order Fucales. It is an obligate epiphyte of another brown algae, '' Hormosira banksii.'' Distribution ''Notheia'' is native to New Zealand and southeastern Au ...

'', Harv. et Bail." (1899) * ''The Genus'' Halimeda (1901) * "List of Marine Algae, with a Note on the Fructification of ''Halimeda''" (1903) * "Chinese Marine Algae" (1904) * "The

Sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

of ''Halimeda''" * "Antarctic Algae" (1905) ;with Antony Gepp * "'' Rhipidosiphon'' and '' Callipsygma''" (1904) * "Some

Cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

from

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

" (1905) * ''The

Codiaceae Codiaceae is a family of green algae in the order Bryopsidales. Genera * † '' Abacella'' Maslov * '' Appeninocodium'' O.Dragastan * ''Arabicodium'' G.F.Elliott * '' Bevocastria'' E.J.Garwood * '' Botryella'' V.P.Shuysky * '' Boueina'' F ...

of the Siboga Expedition'' (1911) * "Marine Algae from the Kermadecs" (1911) * ''Marine Algae of the

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robe ...

'' (1912)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gepp, Ethel Sarel Barton 1860s births 1922 deaths Women marine biologists Women phycologists English scientists English botanists 20th-century British women scientists 19th-century British women scientists