Phyllis Jane Fromont is a New Zealand and Australian scientist specialising in

sponges Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and ar ...

Early life and education

Fromont was raised in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

, New Zealand, the youngest of six children. She became interested in marine biology after scuba diving in Northland, and completed a Bachelor of Science degree that included some marine biology papers at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. She then undertook her

overseas experience Overseas Experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working period or holiday. It is sometimes referred to as "The big OE", in reference to the extended duration of the travel: typically at least one year, and often extended far ...

for about two years, before arriving in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, where she found work with an environmental consultancy firm and was a volunteer at the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory body, statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located i ...

with curator of marine invertebrates, Loisette Marsh. After attending a workshop in Melbourne on sponges led by

Patricia Bergquist Dame Patricia Rose Bergquist (née Smyth, 10 March 1933 – 9 September 2009) was a New Zealand zoologist who specialised in anatomy and taxonomy. At the time of her death, she was professor emerita of zoology and honorary professor of anatomy ...

and Felix Wiedenmayer, she was encouraged by Bergquist to return to Auckland for postgraduate study. She earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree from the University of Auckland in 1985, with her thesis titled ''Poecilosclerida of New Zealand'', and while there published papers with Bergquist. She followed this with a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(''A taxonomic study of tropical marine sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae: Haplosclerida and Petrosida) using morphological, chemical and reproductive character sets)'' from

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

, completed in 1990, with her supervisor being Patricia Bergquist.

Career

Following her PhD, Fromont worked for the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, continuing to publish on sponges (Porifera). By 1994, she was affiliated not only with James Cook University, but also with the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...

, and continuing to publish work on the sponges of the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

, and on chemical relationships helping to define the taxonomy of sponges. In 1996, she was awarded a three-year

Australian Biological Resources Study Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) is a project undertaken by the Parks Australia Division of Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Background ABRS was founded in 1973 from the recommendations ...

scholarship and moved to the Aquatic Zoology department of the

, also undertaking part-time curatorial work there. Three years later, she was appointed curator. , she continues to work there. Her zoological author abbreviation is Fromont.

Taxa

A search on her name at

WoRMS The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

reveals (March 2022) she has authored over 100 sponge taxa. Taxa named in her honour include the sponges, '' Anthotethya fromontae'', '' Clathria fromontae'', and '' Erylus fromontae,'' and the extinct Western Australian brachiopod, '' Cirpa fromontae''.

Publications

Fromont has authored over 90 scientific publications, including her most cited article, ''Assessing the complex sponge microbiota: core, variable and species-specific bacterial communities in marine sponges''. In 2021, she, together with Loisette Marsh, received a commendation at the Whitley Awards, for their field guide, ''Field Guide to the Shallow Water Seastars of Australia''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fromont, Jane Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Whanganui University of Auckland alumni James Cook University alumni 21st-century New Zealand zoologists New Zealand taxonomists New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian taxonomists Australian zoologists Women taxonomists Women zoologists Spongiologists