MR. TED SMITH (Packard Bell Computer): What is the signifi- 

 cance of bio-oceanographic work to defense programs? 



DR. S. R. CALLER (ONR): The answer to this query would entail 

 a complete description of our program and a full discussion of our 

 philosophy as follows: 



Although not generally recognized outside of the scientific com- 

 munity, the U. S. Navy through its Office of Naval Research is one 

 of the principal sponsors of fundamental hydrobiological research in 

 the United States. The Navy's major effort in this field occurs 

 through the Office of Naval Research Hydrobiology Research Pro- 

 gram and includes sponsorship of over 100 basic research contracts 

 and grants in academic institutions in the United States and abroad 

 involving the research activities of several hundred outstanding 

 scientists throughout the world. As one of the major consumers of 

 hydrobiological infornnation, the Navy is vitally interested in the 

 maintenance of a vigorous, healthy national research effort in 

 this field of scientific endeavor. 



The purpose of this presentation is threefold: (1) To describe 

 the reasons for the Navy's interest in hydrobiology; (2) to ascer- 

 tain the nature and scope of the Hydrobiology Program's contribu- 

 tions to naval operations; and (3) to review the requirements for 

 maintaining an optimum level of scientific activity in this field. 



The term "hydrobiology" as used here describes research con- 

 ducted to identify and characterize the biological components of 

 marine, estuarine, and freshwater environments, and to ascertain 

 the interrelationships of these components with the physical and 

 chemical factors of their environments. 



The Office of Naval Research in 1951 instituted a program of 

 basic research in hydrobiology with a twofold objective: (1) To 

 assess the impact of the biological components of the marine envi- 

 ronment on naval operations, and (2) to obtain the basic information 

 necessary for developing the means to recognize and cope with the 

 hydrobiological causes of naval problems. During the last decade, 

 the Navy has profited quite substantially from the Hydrobiology 

 Program not only along the lines einticipated when this program was 

 first formulated but in many ways quite unforeseen at that time. 



At this point it would be appropriate to present, very briefly, 

 an unclassified inventory of the naval problems and interests which 

 are now recognized as being marine biological in origin and/or 

 which require basic hydrobiological information for their resolu- 

 tion. In general, this inventory may be broken down into two ma- 

 jor problem categories: 



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