Mary Wilcox Silver

Silver received an A.B. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley (1963), followed by graduate studies in animal physiology at the University of Tübingen, Germany (1963-1964), and then obtained a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1971).{{Cite web|title=Faculty Emeriti|url=https://oceansci.ucsc.edu/faculty/emeriti.php?uid=msilver|access-date=2021-05-08|website=oceansci.ucsc.edu}} In 1972, Silver joined the faculty of the Marine Studies Department at the University of California in Santa Cruz.{{Cite web|title=WHOI To Present Mary Sears Woman Pioneer in Oceanography Award to California Scientist March 28|url=https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/whoi-to-present-mary-sears-woman-pioneer-in-oceanography-award-to-california-scientist-march-28/|access-date=2021-05-10|website=|language=en-US}}

Silver's Ph.D. research was on the common salp, Salpa fusiformis where she defined the habitat of the salp in conjunction with its prey, diatoms.{{Cite journal|last=Silver|first=Mary Wilcox|date=1975|title=The habitat of Salpa fusiformis in the California Current as defined by indicator assemblages1|journal=Limnology and Oceanography|language=en|volume=20|issue=2|pages=230–237|doi=10.4319/lo.1975.20.2.0230|bibcode=1975LimOc..20..230S|issn=1939-5590|doi-access=free}}

Silver is best known for her research into marine snow, particles that are biological hotspots of activity in the water column and transfer organic matter to the deep ocean.{{Cite journal|last=Silver|first=Mary|date=2015|title=Marine Snow: A Brief Historical Sketch|url=https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/lob.10005|journal=Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin|language=en|volume=24|issue=1|pages=5–10|doi=10.1002/lob.10005|bibcode=2015LimOB..24....5S |s2cid=129493316 |issn=1539-6088}} In the 1970s, two of Silver's undergraduates (Alan Shanks and Jonathan Trent) wanted to use blue water diving for a research project. When they complained about all the particles in the water column, she suggested they capture the particles and see what was in the particles. When their preliminary analysis revealed the particles were concentrated in nutrients, she got $5000 from an administrator to continue the work{{Cite web|last=Rudd|first=Alexis|date=February 3, 2014|title=Marine Snow Days {{!}} Saltwater Science {{!}} Learn Science at Scitable|url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/saltwater-science/marine_snow_days/|access-date=2021-05-08|website=www.nature.com}} which led to a seminal publication with Shanks and Trent about marine snow that was published in Science{{Cite journal|last1=Silver|first1=M. W.|last2=Shanks|first2=A. L.|last3=Trent|first3=J. D.|date=1978-07-28|title=Marine Snow: Microplankton Habitat and Source of Small-Scale Patchiness in Pelagic Populations|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.201.4353.371|journal=Science|language=en|volume=201|issue=4353|pages=371–373|doi=10.1126/science.201.4353.371|pmid=17793735|bibcode=1978Sci...201..371W|s2cid=41352811|issn=0036-8075}} and a follow up paper in Limnology & Oceanography which quantified the increased levels of phytoplankton pigments on marine snow particles.{{Cite journal|last1=Trent|first1=Jonathan D.|last2=Shanks|first2=Alan L.|last3=Silver|first3=Mary Wilcox|date=1978|title=In situ and laboratory measurements on macroscopic aggregates in Monterey Bay, California 1|journal=Limnology and Oceanography|language=en|volume=23|issue=4|pages=626–635|doi=10.4319/lo.1978.23.4.0626|bibcode=1978LimOc..23..626R|issn=1939-5590|doi-access=free}} In a 2019 interview, one of the undergraduates, Jonathan Trent, describes how Mary Silver introduced him to plankton and his early experiences with blue water diving to collect samples.{{Cite web|last=Rojo|first=Sara|date=2020-03-05|title=Interview with Jonathan Trent|url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/interview-with-jonathan-trent|access-date=2021-05-10|website=NASA}} In 1989, the New York Times called the biological organisms associated with the marine snow 'sea hitchhikers'.{{Cite news|date=1989-01-24|title=Microscopes Reveal Sea Hitchhikers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/24/science/microscopes-reveal-sea-hitchhikers.html|access-date=2021-05-07|issn=0362-4331}}

Silver has also worked on harmful algal blooms and the toxins from phytoplankton that cause shellfish poison.{{Cite web|date=2010-11-13|title=UC Santa Cruz scientists find toxic algae in open ocean|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/11/13/uc-santa-cruz-scientists-find-toxic-algae-in-open-ocean/|access-date=2021-05-08|website=The Mercury News|language=en-US}} Silver's research in this arena focuses on domoic acid which is produced by diatoms, where she has revealed a connection between the production of domoic acid and increased iron concentrations.{{Cite journal|last1=Silver|first1=Mary W.|last2=Bargu|first2=Sibel|last3=Coale|first3=Susan L.|last4=Benitez-Nelson|first4=Claudia R.|last5=Garcia|first5=Ana C.|last6=Roberts|first6=Kathryn J.|last7=Sekula-Wood|first7=Emily|last8=Bruland|first8=Kenneth W.|last9=Coale|first9=Kenneth H.|date=2010-11-30|title=Toxic diatoms and domoic acid in natural and iron enriched waters of the oceanic Pacific|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=107|issue=48|pages=20762–20767|doi=10.1073/pnas.1006968107|issn=0027-8424|pmc=2996450|pmid=21068374|bibcode=2010PNAS..10720762S|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|date=2010-11-08|title=Iron stimulates blooms of toxin-producing algae in open ocean, study finds|url=https://www.sciencecodex.com/iron_stimulates_blooms_of_toxinproducing_algae_in_open_ocean_study_finds|access-date=2021-05-08|website=Science Codex|language=en}} In an article written by Silver on the history of shellfish poisoning she shared an anecdote from her time on sabbatical in Zanzibar. There, people knew certain parts of animals are toxic and thence avoid consuming them, in her example it was the liver from grouper which are commonly associated with ciguatera poisoning.{{Cite journal|last=Silver|first=Mary Wilcox|date=2006|title=Protecting Ourselves from Shellfish Poisoning: Molecular probes deployed by California scientists are just the latest weapons in our species' long battle with harmful algae|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27858800|journal=American Scientist|volume=94|issue=4|pages=316–325|doi=10.1511/2006.60.997|jstor=27858800|issn=0003-0996|url-access=subscription}} Thus, even without testing each fish, humans retain information about the toxicity of a compound and Silver goes on to say

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Silver set the stage for women conducting research in the field which she describes in a 2005 article in Oceanography{{Cite journal|last=Silver|first=Mary Wilcox|date=March 2005|title=Mary Wilcox Silver: A woman pioneer in oceanography|url=https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/18-1_silver.pdf|journal=Oceanography|volume=18|pages=57–64|doi=10.5670/oceanog.2005.72|doi-access=free}} that she wrote upon the occasion of receiving the Mary Sears Award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. As a graduate student, Silver was appointed chief scientist on a cruise with the R/V Ellen B. Scripps, a ship managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography; she later learned this made her one of the first women to serve as chief scientist on a Scripps research vessel. She was the third female member of the faculty at the University of California in Santa Cruz and the second to have children.{{Cite news|last=Bolam|first=Victoria|date=Fall 2008|title=Unlocking the mysteries of the sea|work=UC Santa Cruz Review|url=https://review.ucsc.edu/fall08/UCSC_RevFa08.pdf}} In 2002, Margaret Delaney noted "...Silver led the way for people with strong family commitments to go to sea, showing that scientists could combine challenging, field-based careers with family life."{{Cite web|date=March 25, 2002|title=Marine biologist Mary Silver honored by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution|url=https://currents.ucsc.edu/01-02/03-25/silver.html|access-date=2021-05-10|website=currents.ucsc.edu}}

In 2009, The Oceanography Society named her a fellow "For pioneering research on the ecology of marine organisms, excellence in teaching, mentoring and service to the oceanographic community".{{Cite web|title=tos-fellows-meet {{!}} The Oceanography Society|url=https://tos.org/tos-fellows-meet|access-date=2021-05-11|website=tos.org}}

• 1992 Henry Bryant Bigelow Award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution{{Cite web|title=Award Recipients - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution|url=https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/about-us/people/awards-recognition/henry-bryant-bigelow-medal-in-oceanography/award-recipients/|access-date=2021-05-06|website=|language=en-US}}
• 2001 Ricketts Memorial Award{{Cite web|title=MBNMS: Ed Ricketts Memorial Lecture|url=https://montereybay.noaa.gov/research/ricketts.html#2001|access-date=2021-05-06|website=montereybay.noaa.gov}}
• 2002 Mary Sears Woman Pioneer in Oceanography Award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution{{Cite web|title=Award Recipients - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution|url=https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/about-us/people/awards-recognition/mary-sears-women-pioneers-in-oceanography-award/award-recipients/|access-date=2021-05-06|website=|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=WHOI To Present Mary Sears Woman Pioneer in Oceanography Award to California Scientist March 28|url=https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/whoi-to-present-mary-sears-woman-pioneer-in-oceanography-award-to-california-scientist-march-28/|access-date=2021-05-08|website=|language=en-US}}
• 2007 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union{{Cite web|title=Union Fellows {{!}} AGU|url=https://www.agu.org/Honor-and-Recognize/Honors/Union-Fellows|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.agu.org}}
• 2008 Honorary Lecturer, American Geophysical Union, Rachel Carson lecture{{Cite web|title=Rachel Carson Lecture {{!}} AGU|url=https://www.agu.org/Honor-and-Recognize/Honors/Section-Awards/Carson-Lecture|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.agu.org}}
• 2009 Fellow, The Oceanography Society
• 2017 University of California Santa Cruz establish the Mary Silver Award to support graduate student research{{Cite web|title=Support Ocean Sciences|url=https://oceansci.ucsc.edu/support-us/index.html|access-date=2021-05-08|website=oceansci.ucsc.edu}}

• Article written by Silver when she received the Mary Sears Woman Pioneer in Oceanography Award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 2002
• YouTube video of Silver's 2013 Moss Landing Marine Labs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WB-NNS84Eg talk about marine snow in 2013]

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Category:Living people

Category:American women biologists

Category:Fellows of the American Geophysical Union

Category:American oceanographers

Category:University of California, Santa Cruz faculty

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)