FOREWORD 



The idea of a meeting on the Pacific Coast of physiologists interested in 

 the invertebrates was first conceived by Professor A. W. Martin of the 

 University of Washington. In December 1954, he asked the members of 

 the editorial committee for this volume to work with him in organizing a 

 symposium on recent advances in the physiology of the invertebrates. 

 When plans were well along, in the early spring of 1955, certain actions of 

 the administration of the University of Washington were interpreted by 

 many of the invited speakers and members of the committee as prejudicial 

 to accepted principles of academic freedom. As a result, the present writer 

 was asked to accept responsibility for completing the organization so well 

 begun by Professor Martin, and the meeting was held on the campus of 

 the University of Oregon in Eugene in September 1955. We are especially 

 indebted to the National Science Foundation, which provided the bulk 

 of the funds for travel expenses, board, and lodging for the participants in 

 the meeting, and underwrote the publication of this volume. The Tektronix 

 Foundation of Portland, Oregon also contributed generously to the sup- 

 port of the meeting, and the University of Oregon provided facilities and 

 secretarial and administrative assistance. 



The primary aim of the symposium was to afiford an opportunity for 

 physiologists interested in the invertebrates to become better acquainted 

 personally, and to exchange information and ideas. In this aim, the meeting 

 was eminently successful. Limitations of time and funds made it impossible 

 to bring together more than a small group ; the present volume is designed 

 to bring to a wider audience some of the material presented at the sym- 

 posium. 



The committee wished to place as few restrictions as possible on the free 

 interchange of views. Consequently, no attempt was made to obtain ver- 

 batim accounts of the formal presentations or of the subsequent discussion. 

 The papers in this volume were prepared by the authors to cover the same 

 material as their oral presentations, but are not necessarily identical with 

 the papers as they were read. It w^ll be obvious to the reader that the 

 papers are of various types. Some are reviews of a large amount of ma- 

 terial from an entire field ; others are accounts of personal research in a 

 more limited field. Two papers presented at the meeting, by C. L. Prosser 

 and T. H. Waterman, are not included here. B. J. Krijgsman, whose 

 paper is included, was unable to attend the meeting. It was impossible, 

 within our limitations of space, time, and funds, to cover the whole vast 

 subject of invertebrate physiology; the selection of subjects included 



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