156 OCEANOGRAPHY 



Mr. DiNGELL. Feel free to summarize it, and we will insert your 

 entire statement in the record. 



(Dr. Ray's biographical sketch and prepared statement follow:) 



Biographical Sketch, Dixy Lee Ray 



Address: Dei>artiuent of Zc^ology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. 



Major field of interest: Marine biology. 



Born : Taconia, Wash., September 3, 1914. 



Degrees: B.A., Mills College, 1937; M.A., 193S; Ph. D. (Biology) Stanford 

 University, 1945. 



Professional career: Instructor zoology, University of Washington, 1945—47; 

 assistant professor, 1947-57 ; associate professor, 1957 — . Member staff, Friday 

 Harbor Laboratories, 1947 — ; executive committee 1958 — . 



Awards : Guggenheim Fellow, 1952-53. 



Member : American Association for the Advancement of Science* American 

 Institute of Biological Science, Western Society Naturalists. 



Scientific contributions in: jNIicrobiolagy ; fish morphology; marine inverte- 

 brates; cellulolytic activity of marine wood-boring animals. 



Statement of Dixy Lee Ray 



My statement today is concerned with marine biology. I would like first of 

 all to emphasize that when I use the phrase "marine biology" I mean it with 

 the broadest possible connotation, and witli reference to all manner of biological 

 studies on aquatic organisms whether they live inshore, on the high seas, in 

 surface waters or at the ocean depths. The term "hydrobiology" or perhaps 

 "aquatic biology" would even be preferable for we recognize that it is water 

 itself that mainly characterizes the environment; water is the primary feature 

 of aquatic life. In the ocean, size and salt content modify and enlarge many of 

 the problems, and indeed, introduce some highly significant new ones but many 

 of the features that affect floating, swimming, and submerged organisms are 

 the same for fresh water as for marine creatures. Therefore studies in 

 estuaries, lakes and streams contribute importantly to an understanding of 

 biological phenomena in the sea and the reciprocal is also true. Traditionally 

 fresh water biologists are called limnologists (like the Pacific salmon many are 

 anadronious) but the problems studied are basically similar and a nmtter of 

 terminology should not o))scure the essential unity in aquatic biology. 



Another point needs to be understood, I believe, in order to view the role of 

 biological studies in the sea in proper perspective. And that is what oceano- 

 grapliy really encompasses. Oceanography is a very special kind of science; it 

 is the study of an environment. This environment is a vast, interacting and 

 dynamic system. It occupies a very large portion of our globe and presents 

 many unique features not encountered on land. Description, analysis and 

 ultimate understanding of all its proi>erties requires the cooperative effort of 

 scientists from every discipline. 



In order to study the sea in a comprehensive fashion the problems that must 

 be resolved are big; many of them demand extensive and expen.sive facilities 

 and instrumentation, and they are interdependent. This interdependence I 

 want also to stress. That oceanography draws upon the spec-ial knowledge and 

 skills of all l)ranches of the traditional sciences can readily be illustrated. To 

 cite a few examples : 



(1) Knowledge of current patterns and of water circulation helps to 

 explain the distribution of some aquatic organisms and conversely, recogni- 

 tion of certain species may identify a body of water from a particular 

 region or one that remains isolated witliin the larger mass (something like 

 a cloud in a clear sky). These water cells are often not distinguishable by 

 ordinary physical or chemical methods and are known only by biological 

 indicator organisms. 



(2) Some unusual elements, e.g. arsenic and vanadium, are known to 

 occur in the ocean only because they are accumulated in the bodies of 

 marine animals or plants. Certain tunicates (commonly known as sea 

 squirts) are capable of concentrating vanadium 280,000 times over the level 

 present in the water. 



(3) Study of benthic forms nrovides information about the nature of the 

 ocean floor, and studies in submarine geology reveal much about the bottom 

 living animals to whom the substratum is an important aspect of their 

 ecology. 



