Septembeb 11, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



329 



TEE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF THE SAN 



DIEGO MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION 



DURING THE TEAR 1908 



This year puts the Marine Biological 

 Station of San Diego farther forward on 

 the road to its ideals than has any single 

 year of its previous existence. This re- 

 sults primarily from the circumstances 

 that this year a new boat, the AlexaTider 

 Agassis, ample for the operations at sea, 

 has gone into commission, and that more 

 funds than hitherto have been available for 

 running expenses. 



"A comprehensive biological survey of 

 the waters off the coast of southern Cali- 

 fornia" has been announced from the out- 

 set as the station's scientific program. 

 Such an expression of aims is surely some- 

 what vagTie; it might be looked upon as 

 somewhat visionary or grandiose, and at 

 least impracticable if any definite meaning 

 be attached to the word comprehensive. 

 Since it is now affirmed that real progress 

 is being made toward realizing the aims, it 

 ought to be possible to show wherein these 

 aims are not wholly vague, are not in spirit 

 grandiose, and are within limits of prac- 

 ticability. 



On the theoretical side all, or at any rate 

 much, does indeed hinge on the meaning 

 of "comprehensive" as used in the pre- 

 amble. It expresses an attitude or stand- 

 point relative to biological research gen- 

 erally, rather than a determination to study 

 every creature exhaustively regardless of 

 rhyme or reason, that may happen to enter 

 or may have a permanent home in these 

 waters. What that attitude is may be 

 stated thus: To know, to understand or- 

 ganic beings is the object of biology. No 

 phenomenon essential to the life-career of 

 any organism can be pronounced as fully 

 explained so long as any other phenomenon 

 likewise essential to that same life-career is 

 entirely unknown or entirely ignored. 

 Such is the conceptual matrix in which is 

 set every plan made, every dollar ex- 



pended, every day's work done, every page 

 printed, at least so far as the scientific di- 

 rector is concerned, in connection with the 

 San Diego Station. 



Even allowing the conception to be 

 right, does not the proposal to embody it 

 in an institution of research mean certain 

 failure from the simple fact that it runs 

 counter to the principle of specialization, 

 the principle which has been the king-pin 

 of progress in all recent science? On the 

 face of the matter it looks that way. In 

 truth, though, violence to the principle is 

 neither intended nor done. Quite to the 

 contrary, specialization even more refined 

 and intense than ever, is compelled at some 

 points. The only unusual thing is that the 

 program calls for specialization in more 

 directions than is customary for one and 

 the same institution ; and that it gives this 

 specialization organic coordination in 

 greater measure than biological research 

 has usually had.^ 



' On no account would I have the statement of 

 aims of the San Diego Station seem to be ob- 

 livious of the similar work being prosecuted in 

 various other parts of the world, especially in 

 European seas. Our obligations to the Interna- 

 tional Council for the Investigation of the North 

 European Seas, to the Prince of Monaco's ex- 

 tensive oeeanographie enterprises, and to the Port 

 Erin Station must be specially acknowledged. 



Perhaps no better evidence can be adduced of 

 our sensibility of dependence upon these agencies 

 than by mentioning that Professor C. A. Kofoid, 

 assistant director of the San Diego Station, who 

 is spending his sabbatical year in Europe, is 

 being paid a portion of his expenses by the station 

 to enable him to see as much as possible of what 

 these great enterprises are doing. It is our pur- 

 pose to adopt the methods and apparatus used by 

 the International Commission as far as may be. 



The vmiqueness of our program, if it has any, 

 lies in the circumstance that being primarily 

 biological rather than oeeanographie, and being 

 in its inception independent of any specified in- 

 dustrial motive, it can concentrate everything 

 on whatever biological problems seem most in- 

 viting, most urgent or most accessible at any 

 given time. 



