Martha Elizabeth Newton

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Martha Elizabeth Newton
Born11 November 1941
Littlemoss, UK
Died4 January 2020(2020-01-04) (aged 78)
Alma mater University College of North Wales, Bangor, UK
Scientific career
Fields bryology, cytology

Martha Elizabeth Newton (11 November 1941 - 4 January 2020) was a British bryologist and botanist, specialising in cytology and field surveying.

Contents

Early life and education

Newton was born in 1941 at her family's Lumm Farm, Littlemoss, Limehurst in Lancashire. She had one sister. She attended Littlemoss School and then Hyde County Grammar School for a year before transferring to the new Astley County Grammar School. She became interested in natural history as a child and her interest was encouraged by her parents. [1] Newton attended University of Manchester and graduated in 1964 with a BSc, having specialised in botany and zoology. She was awarded a PhD by the University of Wales in 1967.

Academic career

Her first academic post in 1964 was as a research assistant at University College of North Wales, Bangor with Tony (AJE) Smith. From 1967 until 1973 she worked for the British Antarctic Survey, then briefly on the chromosomes of mosquito (Aedes aegypti). From 1976 she held short-term posts at Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Liverpool and Liverpool World Museum. [1] In 1990 she became a consultant and organised field courses.

During her doctoral work at Bangor she found her speciality in the cytology of mosses and liverworts as well as their identification and biogeography. She recorded the chromosome number of a large number of UK bryophytes during this time and was able to continue with this work until 1990 while in several academic posts where she undertook teaching, recording, editorial work and organised events. Her data was included in the monograph Liverwort flora of the British Isles. [2]

Her expertise in bryophyte identification and biogeography led to her consultancy work for the Countryside Council for Wales in the 1990s. She undertook the baseline assessment of liverworts in north-west Wales in 2001 - 2003. Newton also pioneered the use of fixed quadrats for monitoring bryophytes. Between 2004 and 2012 she monitored Afon Ty-cerrig for the Environment Agency for one of the few detailed records of bryophytes both before and after a hydropower scheme was installed. [1]

She joined the British Bryological Society in 1964 and was elected as a council member in 1977 and 1978. She was meetings secretary from 1980-88 and then general secretary from 1989-99. [1]

The field courses that she ran for 40 years for the Field Studies Council and Scottish Field Studies Association about bryology were extremely popular despite containing extensive field-work followed by laboratory study in the evenings. [3]

Honours

In 1986 she was awarded a DSc by the University of Manchester. In 2003 she was awarded honorary membership of the British Bryological Society. [4]

Death

Newton died 4 January 2020 having lived in her family home in Stalybridge for most of her life. [1]

Selected publications

Newton was author or co-author of over 70 publications. [1] These included monographs and book chapters as well as scientific papers. They included:

Newton also contributed to distribution maps of several bryophyte species in volumes of the Atlas of the Bryophytes of Britain and Ireland published between 1991 and 1994. [1] Some of the specimens she collected are in the Natural History Museum herbarium. [5]

The standard author abbreviation M.E.Newton is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Duckett, Jeffrey Graham (2021). "Obituary Martha Elizabeth Newton B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc. (1941–2020)". Journal of Bryology. 43 (1): 92–97. doi:10.1080/03736687.2020.1863896. S2CID   232358765 . Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Paton, Jean Annette (1999). Liverwort flora of the British Isles. Leiden: Brill Academic. p. 626. ISBN   9789004285378.
  3. ↑ Jones, Mary; Townsend, Sue. "A tribute to Martha Newton". Field Studies Council. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Walton, M. A. (2004). "Election of an Honorary Member". Field Bryology. 83: 60–61.
  5. ↑ "Newton, Martha Elizabeth (1941-)". JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  6. ↑ International Plant Names Index.  M.E.Newton.
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