Valerie May (8 May 1916 – 27 June 2007) was an Australian phycologist, a pioneer and noted expert on toxic algae and water quality, and an interdisciplinary scientist who undertook algal ecology studies in Australia.

Education

Valerie Margaret Beresford May was the daughter of Herbert Walter and Beatrice Adele (née James) May. She commenced a chemistry degree at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

but changed to botany after taking it as a subsidiary course. She graduated with first class B. Sc. in 1936, having been awarded all the botany prizes during her studies. She was awarded M.Sc. in 1939 for a primarily self-taught study of algae, that had become her main interest. During her Master's degree she had reviewed and assembled information from previous studies on algae, making this prior literature much more accessible. The topics were the life history of ''

Ectocarpus ''Ectocarpus'' is a genus of filamentous brown alga that is a model organism for the genomics of multicellularity. Among possible model organisms in the brown algae, ''Ectocarpus'' was selected for the relatively small size of its mature thallu ...

'' and developing keys to the green and brown marine algae. The almost complete absence of phycology from academic study in Australia gave this work added significance. She married Ern Jones and they had four children together.

Career

May had decided to follow a career working with algae and she achieved this over 50 years. Initially, she continued to study at University of Sydney, supported by various scholarships. These were Sydney University Scientific Research and Commonwealth Research Scholarships and then a Linnean Macleay Fellowship of the

Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succe ...

. However, when she married in 1940 she was told that this funding would cease. She therefore took up a post with CSIRO in the Fisheries Division at

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

in Sydney. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, CSIRO was tasked to develop industrial-level

agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...

production and she worked on identifying and cataloguing large marine algae that could be used as a source. This involved extensive fieldwork in New South Wales and Queensland. The industry ended after the war due to decline in availability of suitable seaweed and also reduced demand. From 1960 to 1986 she was the honorary custodian of cryptograms (later renamed honorary phycologist) at the National Herbarium of South Wales, although she had used its resources while studying and working at CSIRO. A large collection of algal specimens had been bequeathed to the Commonwealth of Australia by

Arthur Lucas Arthur Lucas (December 18, 1907 - December 11, 1962), originally from the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, was one of the last two people to be executed in Canada, on 11 December 1962. Lucas had been convicted of the m ...

and she arranged the transfer of the 5,000 specimens from CISRO offices in Canberra to the National Herbarium of New South Wales. She focused on the marine

Rhodophyta Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

initially and later investigated freshwater algae. In 1966, she was the first person to link

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...

to production of toxins in freshwater that could kill farm animals, working with chemists to identify the toxins. Her work was largely ignored until there was a large occurrence of livestock mortality in the 1990s. She worked as an interdisciplinary scientist with ecologists, statisticians and veterinary scientists. Her work with toxic algae was recognised internationally and she was able to advise both individuals and organisations.

Honours

The new red algal genu
Valeriemaya
was named in her honour in 1992 as she was the first to recognised that these algae were not described. She was awarded an honorary research associate of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government ar ...

in 1987. The

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

holds th
Valerie Jones collection
of microscope slides, mounted specimens and the microscope with its wooden case that she used from 1940 to 1990.

Publications

She was author or co-author of a large number of publications. These include: May, Valerie (1982
The use of epiphytic algae to indicate environmental changes.
''Australian Journal of Ecology'' 7 101-102 May, Valerie (1981) The Occurrence of Toxic Cyanophyte Blooms in Australia. Chapter in: The Water Environment:Algal Toxins and Health. eds Wayne W. Carmichael, SpringerLink pp 127–142 May, Valerie, Bennett, Isobel & T. E. Thompson (1970) Herbivore-Algal relationships on a coastal rock platform (Cape Banks, N.S.W.) ''Oecologia'' 6 1–14

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Valerie Australian phycologists 1916 births 2007 deaths Australian women botanists Women phycologists University of Sydney alumni