Mary L. Droser

Mary Droser
Born	United States
Alma mater	University of Southern California Binghamton University University of Rochester
Scientific career
Fields	Paleontology
Institutions	University of California, Riverside
Thesis	Trends in Extant and Depth of bioturbation in Great Basin Precambrian-Ordovician Strata, California, Nevada and Utah (1987)
Doctoral advisor	David Bottjer

Mary L. Droser is an American paleontologist. She is known for her work in South Australia, including the discovery of several fossils to which she had naming rights. As of 2023^[update], she is part of a team preparing the nomination of the Flinders Ranges as a World Heritage Site.

Early life and education

Droser says that spending summers with her family on Shelter Island, New York first inspired her interest in the natural world. She says, "At age 5 I announced I wanted to be a marine biologist, then by age 10 I’d decided to become a geologist".[1]

She pursued geology at the University of Rochester and Binghamton University, and went on to obtain a PhD in paleontology at the University of Southern California.[1][2]

Career

Droser has been travelling to the Flinders Ranges since around 2001, first with her young family, to study the Ediacaran fossils on what was Nilpena Station (on land that was then part of a cattle station, now part of Nilpena Ediacara National Park).[3]

Discoveries and naming

In 2008, Droser's discovery of the fossil Funisia dorothea in Australia was published in the journal Science.[4] Funisia is a single-species genus of upright worm-like animals that lived 555 million years ago.[5] Funisia was hailed as the first known species to sexually reproduce.[1] She named the species to honor her mother, Dorothy Droser, saying "She's come with me on digs and done all the cooking and taken care of the kids. It seemed the right thing to do."[6][4]

Droser named the fossil Obamus, after U.S. president Barack Obama.[7] In 2018, while exploring the Flinders Ranges, over 200 km (120 mi) north of Adelaide in South Australia, Droser's team found the 550-million-year-old fossil. She explained that the creature resembled an ear, a distinctive feature of Obama, and so named it for the former president.[7] On the same trip to the Flinders Ranges in 2018, the team also discovered the fossil Attenborites janeae, which Droser named for naturalist Sir David Attenborough.[7]

Other activities

As of 2023^[update], Droser is part of a team acting on behalf of the Government of South Australia and the traditional owners of the Flinders Ranges, the Adnyamathanha people, to lodge the nomination for the Flinders Ranges as a World Heritage Site.[8] Research done by her, along with South Australian Museum palaeontologist Diego Garcia-Bellido, will be submitted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage nomination, which will be voted on in 2026.[3]

Awards and honors

• 1997: Charles Schuchert Award given by the Paleontological Society to a person under 40 whose work reflects excellence and promise in the science of paleontology[9]
• 2020: Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentor Award from University of California, Riverside[10]
• 2022: National Academy of Sciences Award in Early Earth and Life Sciences - Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal[11]

References

1. Dempsey, Susan Carey (November 13, 2019). "When worms first wooed". Shelter Island Reporter. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
2. "UC Riverside Palobiology Program". Retrieved June 21, 2021.
3. Dillon, Meagan (April 21, 2023). "Set in stone". ABC News. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
4. "Early life on Earth - no predators, plenty of sex". March 20, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
5. Mary L. Droser and James G. Gehling (March 21, 2008). "Synchronous Aggregate Growth in an Abundant New Ediacaran Tubular Organism". Science. 319 (5870): 1660–1662. Bibcode:2008Sci...319.1660D. doi:10.1126/science.1152595. PMID 18356525. S2CID 23002564.
6. Smith, Lewis (March 21, 2008). "Fossil sheds light on the history of sex". The Times. London. Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
7. Horton, Alex (June 20, 2018). "Scientists keep naming discoveries after Obama. This time it's a 550 million-year-old fossil". Washington Post. Washington D.C. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
8. "South Australia's Flinders Ranges nominated for Unesco world heritage status". The Guardian. August 21, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
9. "Past Awardees". Paleontological Society. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
10. "In The News". Retrieved May 28, 2021.
11. "2022 NAS Awards Recipients Announced".

External links

• UC Riverside Profiles: Mary L Droser
• "Nilpena with Mary Droser". YouTube. April 26, 2015.
• "Ediacaran Textures of Life: The ecological, biological and sedimentological -Dr. Mary Droser". YouTube. August 26, 2021.
• "The Origin of Life & Unearthing a Treasure Trove of Fossils with Dr. Mary Droser". YouTube. NASA Astrobiology. May 25, 2023.