Elsie May Burrows (née Pearson) (14 September 1913 – 26 August 1986) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

botanist who made significant contributions to British postwar

phycology Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science. Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Most algae are eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in a ...

. Her primary area of research was

macroalgal Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of Macroscopic scale, macroscopic, Multicellular organism, multicellular, ocean, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Brown algae, Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ...

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

, focusing particularly on ''

Fucus ''Fucus'' is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world. Description and life cycle The thallus is perennial with an irregular or disc-shaped holdfast or with haptera. The erect portion o ...

'', a genus of

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and p ...

, and ''

Chlorophyta Chlorophyta or Prasinophyta is a taxon of green algae informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses, so care is needed to determine the use by a particular author. In older classification systems, it refers to a ...

'', a division of the green algae.

Career

Burrows assumed a post as research assistant in the Department of Botany at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1936, where she spent her career until she retired in 1973. This was hindered by the misogyny of her supervisor, John McLean Thompson. However, she was finally promoted to senior lecturer and chaired the Department of Botany in 1967 to 1968. She received her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

as an external student of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1948 for work on the biology of ''Ascophyllum nodosum''. Her subsequent research, often in collaboration with staff based at the Port Erin Marine Biological Station on the Isle of Man, included studies on laboratory cultivation of marine algae, including ''Fucus'' and ''Laminaria'' species, thus opening the way for experiments under controlled conditions. She also undertook fieldwork, and her studies published in 1950 with Sheila Lodge on the interrelationships between marine algae and animals was ahead of the field. A founder member of the

British Phycological Society The British Phycological Society, founded in 1952, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom promoting the study of algae. Members interests include all aspects of the study of algae, including both natural biodiversity and applied uses. ...

, she served as the organization's vice president from 1957 to 1958. She continued to be involved with the society, as a member of its managing committee, flora committee and its meetings until her death in 1986. In 1951, she began collecting data for her monograph on the Chlorophyta, as part of ''Seaweeds of the British Isles''. The manuscript was completed shortly before her death and published posthumously in 1991. A number of specimens collected and identified by her for the Seaweed Mapping Scheme remain in the herbarium at the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

. She also influenced phycology through training a number of doctoral students who went on to have significant careers including Anne Archer, Tony Chapman, Robin South and Trevor Norton.

Publications

Burrows publications include: * Burrows, E.M. 1947. ''J. Ecol.'' 35: 186. * Burrows, E.M. 1948 A biological study of Ascophyllum nodosum.. ''Proc. Challenger Soc''., 20(2). * Burrows, E.M. and S.M. Lodge 1950 Note on the interrelationships of ''Patella'', ''Balanus'' and ''Fucus'' on a semi-exposed coast. ''Ann. Rep. mar. biol Stat. Pt Erin'', 62: 30-34. * Burrows, E.M. and S.M. Lodge 1951 Autecology and the species problem in ''Fucus''. ''J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K''. 30: 161-176. * Burrows, E.M. and S.M. Lodge 1953 Culture of ''Fucus'' hybrids. ''Nature, Lond''., 172: 1009-1010. * Burrows, E.M. 1958. Sublittoral algal population in Port Erin Bay, Isle of Man. ''Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.'' 37: 187–703. * Burrows, E.M. 1959. Growth form and environment in ''Enteromorpha''. ''Bot. J. Linn. Soc.'' 56: 204–206. * Burrows, E.M. 1964. A preliminary list of the marine algae of the coast of Dorset. ''Br. Phycol. Bull.'' 2: 364–368. * Burrows, E.M. 1991. ''Seaweeds of the British Isles. Volume 2. Chlorophyta.'' Natural History Museum Publications. * Burrows, E.M. and Lodge, S.M. 1949. Notes on the inter-relationships of ''Patella'', ''Balanus'' and ''Fucus'', on a semi-exposed coast. ''Rep. Mar. Biol. Sta. Pt. Erin.'' 62: 30–34. * Burrows, E.M. and Lodge, S. 1951. Autecology and the species problem in ''Fucus''. ''J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K.'' 30: 161–176. * Burrows, E.M., Conway, E., Lodge, S.M. and Powell, H.T. 1954. The raising of intertidal algal zones on Fair Isle. ''J. Ecol.'' 42: 283. * Burrows, E.M., Dixon, P.S., Blackler, H., Drew-Baker, K.M., Powell, H.T., and Powell, H.G. 1957. List of marine algae collected in the district around Dale Fort, Pembrokeshire, September 19–26, 1956. ''Brit Phy. Bull.'' 5: 21–31. Her collection of around 1400 specimens is now held within the herbarium at Liverpool World Museum.

Personal life and education

Burrows was born in Leicester on 14 September 1913. She studied at the

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

in Leicester and was awarded an external B. Sc degree by the University of London in 1935. She married a man who worked as an industrial chemist in 1936 and was present when he died in a climbing accident in 1952. After retiring she lived in Dorset, despite ill-health, until her death on 26 August 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Elsie 1913 births 1986 deaths Women botanists Alumni of the University of Leicester 20th-century British botanists 20th-century British women scientists