Chapter I — 9 — General Introduction 



the function of aquatic bacteria and allied microorganisms as biochemical, 

 geological, and hydrobiological agents. Methods of studying such organ- 

 isms have been perfected, and considerable quantitative data on their dis- 

 tribution and activities have been accumulated by microbiologists at 

 some of the leading oceanographic and biological stations of the world. 

 Although our knowledge of hydrobacteriology is still woefully scant, 

 enough progress has been made to indicate that such knowledge is pre- 

 requisite to a complete understanding of the economy of the sea, the cycle 

 of matter, the composition of bottom deposits, and other oceanic as well 

 as limnologic problems. 



In appraising the scope, problems, and economic importance of the 

 study of the oceans, Bigelow (1931) says of bacteria, "Such glimpses as 

 have been gained of their activities are enough to show that these must be 

 assayed before we can hope to understand the maintenance of organic 

 fertility in the oceans." His contention is substantiated by frequent 

 references to bacteria as geological, bionomical, and chemical agents in 

 Welch's (1935) monograph on Limnology, the symposium of Recent 

 Marine Sediments edited by Teask (1939), and the comprehensive vol- 

 ume on "The Oceans" by Sverdrup, et al. (1942). Considerable space 

 is also devoted to bacteria and allied microorganisms in the 405 -page 

 Symposium on Hydrobiology published by the University of Wisconsin 

 Press in 1 94 1. 



For nearly two decades marine microbiology has been established as 

 an integral part of the oceanographic program at the Scripps Institution 

 of Oceanography at La Jolla, California (see publications by Gee, ZoBell, 

 and associates listed in the bibliography), and at the Woods Hole Oceano- 

 graphic Institution at Woods Hole, Massachusetts (see papers by Waks- 

 MAN, Caeey, Hotchkiss, Renn, Reuszee , VON Be AND, et al.) . Contribu- 

 tions have also been appearing regularly from the Marine Biological As- 

 sociation at Plymouth, England (see Coopee), the Marine Biological 

 Station at Millport, Scotland (see Lloyd), and other biological stations 

 throughout the world. Several technical papers on the relation of bac- 

 teria to fisheries problems have been written by Bedford, Gibbons, Har- 

 rison, Hess, Tarr, and associates under the auspices of the Canadian 

 Fisheries Experimental Stations and by Wood of the Australian Di\dsion 

 of Fisheries at Melbourne. Bacteriologists at the University of Wisconsin 

 (Feed, McCoy, Williams, and others) together withHENRici at the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota have assumed the leadership in the study of fresh- 

 water lakes in this country. Taylor and associates at the Freshwater 

 Biological Association, Westmorland, England, have been making a series 

 of important contributions in recent years. Baier's ambitious hydro- 

 bacteriological investigations at Kiel, Germany, have probably been 

 temporarily interrupted by World War II. Extensive studies on bacteria 

 in water and mud have been made by Butkevich, Issatchenko, Kus- 

 NETZOW, Rubentschik, and fellow Russian investigators. Attention is 

 also directed to the unique studies of Elazari-Volcani on the bacteriol- 

 ogy of the Dead Sea, and to Benecke's (1933) review of the literature on 

 marine bacteriology which includes a good statement of many of the 

 problems. Further reference will be made to the contributions of the afore- 

 mentioned students of hydrobacteriology and their contemporaries in the 

 following chapters. References to the key literature are given in the bib- 

 liography. 



