Our knowledge of the complex and diverse food chains and food webs 
of the sea is very sparse. The natural foods of even the best-known 
marine animal species are unknown except in general terms. Cen- 
tral and prerequisite to scientific control and ultimate management 
of marine food resources is further knowledge of essential nutritional 
requirements, of feeding habits and food preferences, and of effi- 
ciency in converting planktonic algae to animal protein. 
Plants and Photosynthesis. Photosynthetic plants in the sea and 
on land use solar energy to synthesize organic matter from inorganic 
materials. In agriculture, solar energy is channeled into production 
of plants that are useful to mankind, either directly as plant prod- 
ucts or indirectly as animal food. Growth of plants in the sea, on 
the other hand, is a process over which we have no control and little 
knowledge. Some species of planktonic algae are recognized as food 
organisms for marine animals; others are “weed” species of little 
or no nutritional value; still others, such as “red tide” organisms, 
are noxious or lethal to marine life. To increase significantly the 
amount of food obtained from the sea, we must learn to control the 
kinds of phytoplankton produced as the primary food source. Ex- 
panded and intensified programs in marine microbiology in its broad- 
est sense, including both laboratory and field studies, are needed to 
provide fundamental background and practical experience. 
Environmental Studies. Although human intervention is increas- 
ingly affecting natural populations of organisms, very little is known 
about environmental conditions that govern these populations in 
nature. Without adequate knowledge it is difficult to predict the 
effects of human intervention or to define proper procedures for man- 
agement and exploitation. The complexity of the marine environ- 
ment has limited the rate of progress in understanding (see sec. 3). 
Comprehensive studies are needed for insight into the complex rela- 
tionships of organisms to their environment. These must be suf- 
ficiently long-term to permit measurements of fluctuations in the 
meaningful parameters and the resultant changes that occur naturally. 
Included should be intensive studies of carefully selected habitat 
types with surveys of related habitats to indicate variability. Most 
importantly, there should be constant interplay between observation 
and analysis of the natural situation by experimental alteration of 
biological, physical, and chemical properties of the environment and 
by laboratory experimentation under controlled conditions on a suf- 
ficiently large scale to provide an adequate model of the natural 
habitat. The requisite research groups should include scientists who 
are knowledgeable about the physical and chemical properties of the 
environment and those specifically competent in the physiology and 
behavior of organisms. 
50 
