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Maude Jane Delap (1866-1963) was a marine biologist and naturalist who specifically studied life cycles of Hydrozoa. Early Life She was born in County Donegal, England (part of what is now Ireland) of parents Rev. Alexander Delap and Anna Jane. She was one out of ten children in her family. When her father was appointed rector of Valentia, her family moved to this small island community. Even though it was an island, it was the hub for trans-Atlantic communication since the 1890s. The Royal Society established a climatological and geomagnetic observatory in 1867 on the island. It was also the spot for a radio broadcasting station until 1921. With all of these types of communication and the scientific center, she was well connected to science and the rest of the world. Her and her siblings were taught by her father, a well-known naturalist, in addition to attending the Island's school.

Research

Most of her research took place in Valentia Harbour because of its tide changes, rare Atlantic species, and the ease of dredging. Maude and her sister Constance worked together on tow-netting operations. She worked with nine other academic biologists including Edward Browne of University of College London in 1895 and 1896 collecting planktonic fauna. Her contributions were critical in his paper; he credits her for specimens, notes and drawings. Three other British scientists, Isaac Thompson, F.W. Gamble, and W.I. Beaumont, also credit her for their work with Coepoda, Chaetognatha and Lucernaridae. A majority of Thompson's and Gamble's material was actually collected by Delap.

After working with British Scientists, Maude and her sister Constance continued to collect Hydrozoa and other pelagic animals for a total of ten years. Their study was published in two segments in Fisheries Ireland in 1905-1906.

She also studied the life cycles of jellyfish, specifically that undergo the fixed polyp and free-swimming medusa stages. She observed the fixed polyps life cycle by observing them through her aquarium. She observed the asexual budding of of the polyp, the medusa sexually producing sperm and egg that reunited into a polyp. These observations greatly helped in establishing many scientific relationships between the polyp and medusa. Her resources were limited; she used nothing more than a microscope to make these observations. She proved that hydroids of Laodicea undulata and Dipleurosoma typicum are species of Cuspidella.