INTRODUCTORY 25 



RESEARCH ON MARINE ANIMALS 



From earliest times man has made casual observations on the animals 

 found on the shore but it is only in comparatively recent times that marine 

 animals have been classified and their morphology determined in sufficient 

 detail to permit accurate observations of their habits, activities and physiol- 

 ogy to be made. The observations gradually accumulated by naturalists 

 have revealed many complex structural and functional adaptations to 

 different modes of life which display great intricacy and beauty. 



During the past half-century by far the greater volume of research on 

 the physiology, behaviour and development of marine animals has been 

 carried out ashore at the marine laboratories. This is because animals can 

 be collected easily and regularly in littoral and inshore habitats, laboratory 

 facilities on the shore are commodious and intricate enough for any 

 demands, and the animals can be observed alive in their natural habitats 

 or in aquaria. 



The work that can be carried out on animals of the inshore fauna is of 

 general significance and will go far towards solving many of the problems 

 that arise in trying to reach an understanding of how animals live and 

 maintain themselves in the sea. But there is still a host of unsolved bio- 

 logical problems revolving around the conditions of existence in pelagic 

 and benthic animals, far beyond the reach of the normal shore laboratory. 

 All these animals are delicate and fragile, and rarely live any time in 

 captivity. To study their behaviour and physiology it is necessary to 

 examine them at sea, and in the future we may expect more work of this 

 character to be carried out. 



REFERENCES 



1 . Atkins, W. R. G., "Note on the condition of the water in a marine aquar- 

 ium," J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K., 17, 479 (1931). 



2. Atkins, W. R. G., "Daylight and its penetration into the sea," Trans. 

 Ilium. Engng. Soc, 10 (7), 12 pp. (1945). 



3. Atkins, W. R. G. and Poole, H. H., "The photo-electric measurement of 

 the penetration of light of various wave-lengths into the sea and the 

 physiological bearing of the results," Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B., 222, 129 

 (1933). 



4. Bassindale, R., "Studies on the biology of the Bristol Channel. 1 1 ," J. Ecol., 

 31, 1 (1943). 



5. Broekhuysen, G. J., "A preliminary investigation of the importance of 

 desiccation, temperature and salinity as factors controlling the vertical 

 distribution of certain intertidal marine gastropods in False Bay, South 

 Africa," Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr., 28, 255 (1941). 



6. Bronk, J. R., Harvey, E. N. and Johnson, F. H., "The effects of hydro- 

 static pressure on luminescent extracts of the ostracod crustacean, Cypri- 

 dina," J. Cell. Comp. Physiol., 40, 347 (1952). 



7. Brunn, A. F., "The Philippine trench and its bottom fauna," Nature, 168, 

 692 (1951). 



