The Science of Marine Biology - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Science of Marine Biology

History of Marine Science

• The study of plants, animals, and other organisms in the ocean.
• To understand Marine Biology, you need to understand some marine chemistry, geology, social sciences, technology, seamanship, physics, and others

• Vast source of human wealth

Food

Medicine

Raw materials

Recreation

Invasive species destroy native species

Diseases

Erode piers, walls

Foul ships, clog pipes

• Estimated that the ocean’s living systems are worth more than $20 trillion per year.
• World wide weather is a result of actions in and around the oceans.
• El Nino
• Hurricanes
• Ever wonder why its cooler at the beach in the summer and doesn’t snow as much at the shore?

• People probably started learning about marine life the first time they saw the ocean
• Full of good things to eat

Clam bakes as far back as the stone age

Harpoons and fishhooks of bone and shell have been found

• Coastal people of every culture developed a practical knowledge of marine life

• Aristotle (4th Century BC) is considered by many to be the first marine biologist
• Described many marine organisms
•  Recognized that gills were the breathing apparatus of fish

• Arab traders learned about wind and current patterns
• Pacific Islanders were consummate navigators

• James Cook – an English sea captain
• One of the first to make scientific observations
• Included a full-time naturalist in his crew
• 3 voyages that explored all the oceans
• First to make use of the chronometer
• Allowed him to determine his position
• Allowed him to make accurate charts
• Brought back specimens of plants and animals
• By 19th Century it was common to take a naturalist on board ships

• Charles Darwin was such a naturalist
• Sailed on HMS Beagle – 5yrs
• Evolution through natural selection
• Proposed an explanation for formation of atolls
• Collected plankton and other specimens 
• Middle 19th Century voyages specifically to study the oceans were made

• Edward Forbes – 1840’s and 1850’s  
• Studied the sea floor creatures
• Discovered that life at different depths is different
• Discovered previously unknown organisms
• Inspired interest in life on the sea floor

• Charles Wyville Thompson – lead the HMS Challenger expedition
• 1872
• was a light warship
• refitted to perform scientific observations on the sea floor
• Labs, quarters for scientific crew
• Fitted for dredging and water samples in deep water
• 3 ½ year voyage

• Measurements were made systematically, and meticulous records were kept
• Laid the foundation for modern marine science 
• Many Marine biologists at this time did not get the chance to study living creatures. They got preserved specimens.

• Henri Milne Edwards and Victor Andouin
• First to make regular visits to the shore to study life

  Soon labs were established that allowed marine biologists to keep organisms alive and work over longer periods

• First was Stazione Zoologica – Naples Italy (1872)
•  First American Marine Laboratory was Marine Bilogical Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts

o Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, CA

oScripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA

o Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory in Friday Harbor, Washington

• Sonar – sound navigation was developed
• Response to submarine warfare
• Ocean was found to be full of sound

• Developed by Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau
• Allowed marine biologists the opportunity to observe marine organisms in their natural habitat

• Ships and shore based labs still very important
• Many universities operate their own research vessels (UCONN – RV UCONN)
• Project Oceanology – ENVIROLAB I, II, and III

• ROV’s - Remotely Operated Vehicles
• All 21 coastal states have marine labs
• Many Universities provide students the opportunity to study at graduate levels marine biology

• Satellites – can capture pictures of broad views of the oceans
• Currents
• Phytoplankton
• Temperature
• Human impacts on the oceans