183 



1. Intensive multidisciplinary studies of biological communities in marine 

 habitats subject to human influence and exploitation. Such studies should in- 

 clude estuaries and the continental shelf. A very important, special case is 

 the proposed sea level canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 



2. Establishment of marine wilderness preserves to provide a baseline for 

 future studies. 



3. Construction of facilities needed for studying organisms in special marine 

 environments such as the deep sea and tropics. 



4. Increased encouragement and support of identification and use of marine 

 organisms as tools for biomedical research and as potential sources of drugs. 



5. Establishment of a national center for collection, maintenance, and dis- 

 tribution of living marine organisms for use in marine and biological research. 



In its report the Panel recommended that the Smithsonian Institution fulfill 

 its major obligation to systematic biology. 



The first report of the President to the Congress on Marine Resources and 

 Engineering Development, "Marine Science Affairs — A Year of Transition," has 

 a table (Table I) on Federal agencies having marine science activities. This 

 table lists the missions of the Smithsonian Institution as "Identification, classi- 

 fication, and ecology of marine organisms ; investigations of the geophysical fac- 

 tors of oceanic environment." The report mentions Smithsonian contributions 

 to Council initiatives and goals on Food From the Sea (page 49, 56), Estuary 

 Study (page 33, 73). Continental Shelf (page 78, 115). Multi-goal Research (page 

 107), Oceanographic Data (page 108), and Excess Foreign Currency Projects 

 (page 116). 



The latest published survey of National Oceanographic efforts, "Oceanography 

 1966, Achievements and Opportunities," was published in 1967 by the National 

 Academy of Science as a report of the Committee on Oceanography. On page 148 

 this report states : 



"The housing of working reference collections of biological specimens present 

 problems. Species range in size from those so small that they can be studied 

 only with an electron microscope, to those whose individual specimens may weigh 

 90 tons or more. Although it is not practical to store the very small and fragile, 

 and the very largest specimens, the vast majority need adequate facilities for 

 the accumulation of materials awaiting study by a specialist and for the perma- 

 nent storage of reference specimens. These facilities are properly the function 

 of national museums and are being handled well by the U.S. National Museum 

 of the Smithsonian Institution within the limits of its funds. We recommend 

 that funds for this purpose be made adequate to the need." 



The Smithsonian Institution's marine interests are what might be called col- 

 lection-oriented. The objectives of our marine studies are: (1) to learn about 

 the kinds, distributions and populations, of biological and geological materials 

 in the oceans; (2) to establish the identities of fossil and recent marine orga- 

 nisms and sediments; (3) to participate in and contribute supplies for oceano- 

 graphic expeditions to oceanic areas from which present information is inade- 

 quate; and (4) to assist scientists in carrying out collection-related research. 



Our activities are varied and based on the scientific interests of the 60 scientists 

 (46 full time) and 70 supporting staff members who devote most of their research 

 efforts to marine-related scientific problems. The Smithsonian Institution's re- 

 search program includes investigations of the planktonic, benthic and the nektonic 

 organisms which occur from the surface of the sea to the spaces between sedi- 

 ments of the ocean floor. Our scientists* activities range from the Arctic through 

 the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian to the Antarctic Oceans. They investigate the 

 shallow waters of the Continental Shelf and estuaries as well as the deepest 

 parts of the open ocean. 



These investigations gather the information for dissemination by publication 

 in the scientific literature. The specimens are incorporated into the national 

 collections and are used in research by hundreds of marine scientists throughout 

 the world. Scientists of all countries with an interest in marine resources come 

 to the Smithsonian Institution to study with our staff and make use of the na- 

 tional collections. 



We maintain a very large number of "type" specimens, serving as a kind of 

 "Bureau of Standards" for the identification of organisms — 500,000 species of 

 aquatic plants and animals are represented. In addition to our staff we have 

 direct, or exchange, agreements with major institutions throughout the world 

 to facilitate identifications. We exchange specimens with all major world mu- 



