fluid dynamics should lead to substantial, new, observational pro- 
grams. These programs, as outlined above, can provide information 
about the environment essential for living sensibly within the oceans 
and using them. The focus should be on the nature of the benthic 
boundary, the weather and climate of deep oceans, and the inter- 
action of oceans with the atmosphere and the coast. 
6.4. BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES 
The subpanel on marine biology has surveyed the major areas of 
current biological research through discussions with Federal agency 
representatives, visits to selected laboratories and discussions with 
biologists. Although some of the major problems of marine biology 
have been considered in previous reports,? the Panel believes that 
there are three areas of research to which insufficient attention has 
been given. These concern new approaches to obtaining more food 
from the sea (see sec. 2), use of marine organisms in biomedical re- 
search, and problems associated with large-scale environmental modi- 
fications (see sec. 3). The latter problem is illustrated currently by 
the possibility that a sea-level canal will be constructed across the 
Isthmus of Panama. 
The Panel believes that marine biology must be regarded in broad 
terms. Specifically, marine biology embraces four major areas of 
research : 
1. Animal and plant populations and their interaction with 
each other and the ocean. 
2. The unique characteristics of diverse marine organisms that 
enable them to survive in the ocean. 
3. Utilization of marine organisms as unique experimental ma- 
terial for investigation of biomedical problems. 
4. The processes and factors involved in food production from 
the sea. 
Some of the most scientifically interesting and socially significant 
problems confronting mankind exist in this arena. 
Populations in the Sea. The conversion of photosynthetic plants 
to animal protein on land is relatively well understood. In the sea, 
however, photosynthetic plants are restricted largely to microscopic 
planktonic algae (phytoplankton) ; conversion to animals large enough 
to serve as food for man usually involves many intermediate steps. 
2Chapter II, ‘National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Oceanography 
Report” (in preparation) ; “National Oceanographic Program Fiscal Year 1967,” 
ICO Pamphlet No. 24, March 1966; “A Report to the Division of Biological and 
Medical Sciences of the National Science Foundation” by the ad hoc Committee 
on Biological Oceanography; “A Scientific Framework for the Study of the 
World’s Oceans,’”’ UNESCO. 
220-659 O—66——_5 49 
