Mary Winifred Parke, FRS, (23 March 1908 – 17 July 1989) was a British marine botanist and Fellow of the Royal Society (1972) specialising in phycology, the study of algae.
She discovered that the flagellate Isochrysis galbana was ideal for feeding oyster larvae; cultures of this species are used for fish farming and in research laboratories throughout the world.
Most researchers and fish farmers seeking food for feeding marine animals such as crab larvae or filter feeders such as muscles sought Parke for guidance on the most suitable algae and its subculture during her career.
[5] While at the Port Erin Marine Biological Station, Parke conducted research on the commercial rearing and feeding of oyster larvae.
[5][6] After the war Parke returned to her work on minute plankton and published seminal papers on flagellate systematics, many in collaboration with Professor Irene Manton of the University of Leeds.