Loisette M. Marsh (1928–2021) was a Canadian-born Australian marine biologist.

Early life and education

Born Loisette Matilda Rutt in Mill Bay, British Columbia, she was an only child, who spent her earliest years exploring the sea and seashore adjacent to her home. At age 10 (1938) she migrated to Australia with her parents, and was educated at MLC, Perth, and then at the University of Western Australia, where she earned a B.A., followed by an M.A. in 1955. She married Brian Marsh and together in 1960 they moved to Norfolk Island and then to Fiji in 1963. She returned to Perth in 1968, where she again became a part-time demonstrator at

UWA The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

( 1968-1969).

Career

She joined the Western Australian Museum first as a part-time graduate assistant (1970-1973), becoming assistant curator marine invertebrates (1974-1977) and finally curator of marine invertebrates (1977-1993). In addition to her published research, she left 16 volumes of field notes, covering field work from 1972-1982 in the Fremantle area, off the shores the Western Australian coastline, including the Abrolhos Islands, Guam, Indonesia, Europe, Torres Strait, North-West Cape, New Guinea, and other places.

Recognition

She was awarded an AM in 2021 for services to marine science and zoology, and the Whitley Award in 2021 for the field guide she co-authored with

Jane Fromont Phyllis Jane Fromont is a New Zealand and Australian scientist specialising in sponges. Early life and education Fromont was raised in Whanganui, New Zealand, the youngest of six children. She became interested in marine biology after scuba div ...

, ''Field Guide to the Shallow Water Seastars of Australia''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Loisette Matilda 1928 births 2021 deaths University of Western Australia alumni Members of the Order of Australia Australian marine biologists People from the Cowichan Valley Regional District