Mary Florence "Molly" Mare (10 July 1914 – 27 August 1997), married name Spooner, was a British

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

who introduced the term

meiobenthos Meiobenthos, also called meiofauna, are small benthic invertebrates that live in both marine and fresh water environments. The term ''meiofauna'' loosely defines a group of organisms by their size, larger than microfauna but smaller than macrofau ...

in 1942. She was also an internationally recognized expert on oil spills."Spooner, Molly (1914–1997)." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages.

Significant research

Mare's study of marine food cycle in sea mud led her to introduce the new term

to join the terminology of macrobenthos and microbenthos. 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. 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 A dispersant or a dispersing agent is a substance, typically a surfactant, that is added to a suspension of solid or liquid particles in a liquid (such as a colloid or emulsion) to improve the separation of the particles and to prevent their settl ...

was used to try to clean up this oil spill and 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.

Early career and life

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). 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.

Personal life

Molly F. Mare married Malcolm Spooner, a zoologist at the Marine Biological Association Laboratory on 14 May 1943. Until 1945 she lived away from her husband while she conducted research on

antifouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

of ships at the Millport Marine Laboratory located near Glasgow. They had two children, including Heather. In 1948 the family of four moved to

Crapstone Crapstone is a village in the county of Devon. The village is located on the edge of Dartmoor, in the parish of Buckland Monachorum and is approximately from the village of Yelverton, from the city of Plymouth and from Tavistock. History Du ...

. Her husband, Malcolm Spooner, worked on a long-term study of dwarf oak trees in Wistman's Wood and she helped him significantly with this work. They also undertook recording work for the ''Atlas of the Devon Flora'' (1984).

Awards and recognition

In 1973 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 a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

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. Her bequest to the

Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) is a learned society with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth since the Citadel Hi ...

was to encourage undergraduate students to experience marine biological research every year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mare, Molly F. British marine biologists 1914 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 20th-century British zoologists