Patricia Woolley (born 1932) is Australian

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

recognised for her work with

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a ...

s, specifically the

dasyurid The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or shrew-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but th ...

family. ''Pseudantechinus woolleyae'' (Woolley's false antechinus) is named for her.

Biography

Patricia Woolley was born in 1932 in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Western Australia. Her mother was a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and her father a medical practitioner. She completed her Junior Certificate at Albany High School. After moving to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Woolley sought to study science at

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

however at that time women were not allowed to study chemistry at the school, so she attended Perth Technical College and later Leederville Technical College instead. There she focused on mathematics and through the encouragement of a teacher went on to study mathematics at the

University of Western Australia 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 and various other facilitie ...

. After losing interest in mathematics, Woolley switched to zoology and graduated with a BSc in 1955. After graduation Woolley worked as a research assistant under Professor Harry Waring, researching marsupials. She did experimental work with Waring until moving with her husband to Canberra in 1960. She lectured in zoology at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

before deciding to work towards a Ph.D. After completing her Ph.D. in 1966, she worked as a lecturer and associate professor at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

in Melbourne, retiring in 2000.

Scientific career

The majority of Woolley’s work focused on marsupial biology, dealing with species in both Australia and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. For her Ph.D. she researched the sex differentiation in dasyurids, specifically in the '' Antechinus'' genus. One of the findings of her Ph.D. research was that certain dasyurid species are

semelparous Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characteri ...

, meaning they live long enough to reproduce, and then die, which is unusual among mammals. After receiving her Ph.D., Woolley began her career as an associate professor at La Trobe University, where she was the first zoologist on the faculty. While teaching at La Trobe, she continued her research on dasyurids. In this research, she looked at

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

in many species of the ''Antechinus'' genus, and was able to reclassify several species that were incorrectly put in the ''Antechinus'' genus, based on a certain structure on the penis of the animal. From 1980 to 1990 Woolley travelled in Papua New Guinea to trap dasyurids, and observe them in the wild.

Awards and recognition

Prior to Woolley’s research little was known of dasyurids. Her findings and her studies prompted significant interest from the zoology community, and in 1988, a new species of ''Pseudantechinus'' (Woolley's false antechinus or ''Pseudantechinus woolleyae'') was named after her recognition of her contributions to dasyurid studies. Other awards: *Outstanding Achievement Award from the

Society of Woman Geographers The Society of Woman Geographers was established in 1925 at a time when women were excluded from membership in most professional organizations, such as the Explorers Club, who would not admit women until 1981. It is based in Washington, D.C., and h ...

(1999) *Honorary Life Member of the Australian Mammal Society (2000) *Honorary Life Member of the American Society of Mammalogists (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolley, Patricia Australian zoologists Living people 1932 births Australian National University alumni University of Western Australia alumni Academic staff of La Trobe University Australian women scientists Members of the Society of Woman Geographers