That has, in fact, been the history of all Ae oceanographic institutions 

 on the Pacific Coast of North America. The Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography of the University of California began its history as the 

 Scripps Institution for Biological Research. The University of Washing- 

 ton Oceanographic Laboratories became successor in interest to the 

 Puget Sound Biological Station. In 1911 the University of Southern 

 California opened a small laboratory on a pier at Venice, California, 

 where summer classes were carried on until it was destroyed by fire in 

 1921. A continuous thread of events can be traced from this modest 

 beginning to the present extensive programme of the Hancock 

 Foundation. 



It is not anticipated that all or most of the marine biological labora- 

 tories will develop into oceanographic institutions. Some of them may ; 

 but in any case all of them are in a position to contribute significantly 

 to the sum total of our knowledge of the sea. It is the purpose of this 

 paper briell}' to review- the natui'e and scope of such contributions by 

 laboratories on the Pacific Coast of North America, other than those 

 definitively engaged in oceanographic work. 



Historically the California Academy of Sciences, established in 

 1853, was the earliest centre of marine research on the Pacific Coast, 

 and its Proceedings, publication of which began in 1854, contain various 

 early contributions to ichthyology, malacology, meteorolog^s and the 

 study of ocean currents — one of the latter, the Davidson Current, being 

 named after George Davidson, President of the Academy from 1872 to 

 1887. Since the turn of the century the Academy has conducted a 

 number of sea-going expeditions, with vessels obtained for a limited 

 time either with Academy funds, by private philanthrophy, or through 

 the co-operation of State or Federal agencies. The Steinhart Aquarium, 

 erected in 1923, provides facilities for the study of the life-history, 

 behaviour, and physiology of marine organisms. 



The Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University established in 

 1892, is regarded as a centre of research in physiology and experimental . 

 biology, rather than oceanography. It has, however, made numerous 

 substantial contributions to the latter science. As examples, one may 

 mention the work of Jordan and Gilbert on marine fishes, Fisher on 

 Asteroidea, Bolin on both littoral and deep-sea fishes, G. M. Smith on 

 marine algae, and Skogsberg on temperatures in Monterey Bay in relation 

 to currents. 



The Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, B.C., was established by 

 the Biological Board of Canada in 1908, mainly as a centre of fisheries 

 research. In that connection it has had occasion to carry on a great 

 deal of fundamental research on the life-history and ecology of marine 

 organisms, both vertebrate and invertebrate. In recent years its work 

 has extended increasingly into the field of physical oceanography, as 

 ■evidenced by the recent publication of six volumes of mimeographed 

 reports on temperature, salinity, and density at several stations from 

 Dixon Enti"ance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Tully's studies of the 

 mixing of fresh and salt water in coastal areas have opened up a field that 

 uiay profitably be explored by institutions lacking facilities for deep-sea 

 work. 



169 



