OCEANOGRAPHY 157 



(4) The whole energy budget, the productivity of the sea, depends for its 

 understanding upon detailed and exacting studies on the interplay between 

 the physical environment and its contained, living organisms. 

 Such examples could be multiplied manyfold, but these few serve to emphasize 

 the interdependence of the physical and biological sciences in the study of the 

 oceans. Pursuit of oceauographic research exclusively or predominantly from 

 either a physical or a biological point of view would most certainly be self-de- 

 feating and would not lead to that synthesis of knowledge that a full under- 

 standing of the ocean demands. 



Having thus emphasized the necessary unity in a study of the oceans, I want 

 now to call attention to some of the special problems and requirements of marine 

 biological research. To do this I would like to outline briefly a few of the 

 broad areas of biological interest and responsibility in marine I'esearch and 

 then to consider the problems that confront biology in its efforts to fulfill its 

 role in relation to other marine sciences. For convenience I propose to consider 

 the biological interests, many of them discu.ssed at NASCO under three broad 

 headings: (1) food, (2) pollution, and (3) greater understanding of the living 

 world. 



(1) Food: We have heard a great deal about the ocean as a reservoir of 

 potential food for an increasing human population ; of determining the produc- 

 tivity of the sea ; of developing a marine agriculture to exploit the sea's living 

 resources. Before these exciting possibilities can be realized a truly formidable 

 amount of study and research is needed. We must know not only what kinds 

 of plants and animals live in the sea — in spite of extensive biological explora- 

 tions in the past much remains to be learned about what forms are present, how 

 they are distributed not only in space but also from the surface to the bottom 

 and how their populations fluctuate in time. The breeding, life cycle, and sur- 

 vival of young are known for only a pitiful few marine organisms. It is essen- 

 tial also to determine the food and feeding habits of marine animals with far 

 greater precision. 



Recent work has made it clear that to determine the productivity of the sea 

 it is not enough to measure chlorophyll or the total growth of phytoplankton. 

 The comi)osition in species of phytoplankton is critical, and chlorophyll data as 

 an index of the quantity of phytoplankton mean little if not complemented with 

 taxonomie data. The nutritional specificity of Crustacea, especially those forms 

 important in the zooplankton, is very precise and of enormous ecological import- 

 ance. It may be comfortable to assume that in many food chain studies there 

 is no obligation to identify the constituent species, but this assumption is un- 

 warranted. For each member of the zooplankton only certain species of algae 

 will be ingested and of these only some are capable of supporting the growth 

 and metabolism of the animal. The complexities of selective feeding can be 

 ignored at the price of only a dim notion of reality. 



Of an importance second only to careful species identification is a more 

 thorough knowledge of the physiological state of the algal species in the phyto- 

 plankton. It is known for some species (e.g. chlorella) that as this alga passes 

 the peak of its growth phase the contained starch granules are converted in large 

 part to oil droplets. This may explain why these fonns, when aged, become 

 toxic to some Crustacea. 



Bacteria too contribute to the food chain in as yet undetermined ways : these 

 microorganisms merit extensive study if ever we are to understand the cycle of 

 life and energy transfer in the oceans. 



I mention these examples merely to illustrate how great is our need for more 

 thorough knowledge before we are in any position to exploit the vast marine 

 resources. 



(2) Pollution; the disposal of industrial, domestic and radioactive wastes: 

 Rational answers to the question of waste disposal can be formulated only on 

 the basis of information for which further research is essential. When con- 

 fronted with this problem the biologist quickly recognizes the serious lack of 

 basic and fundamental knowledge concerning the distribution and rate of 

 growth of marine organi-sms and their populations, and concerning the interrela- 

 tionships between various organisms and the elements or substances that might 

 be expected in their environment as contaminants. Studies of these problems, 

 especially with resi>ect to radioactivity are being conducted, but they are far 

 too_ few and the rate of progress is slow indeed when compared to the rate at 

 which information is required. Moreover controlled laboratory experiments 

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