MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
eral field stations are maintained in Alaska
(see photograph). All stations can accommodate visiting investigators, although the
Institute does not have funds to support
diem.
The results of the Institute's research are
reported from time to time in the form
of circulars; finished reports are published
in outside scientific journals or in a new
series of Publications in Fisheries of the
University of Washington. Reprints of
these publications are available for distribution and exchange. In addition, the College of Fisheries publishes an annual report
entitled, Research in Fisheries, which has
been issued in March every year since 1959.
319
This publication presents progress reports
of research results.
The College has also just published its
first volume of Publications in Fisheries,
Meiu Series in the form of a book entitled
Studies of Alaska Red Salmon, which is
for sale at the University of Washington
Press.
Within easy reach of all major transportation means, the Institute is about 20
miles from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 5 miles from a train terminal, and 4 miles from a bus depot. The
mailing address of the Institute is as follows: Fisheries Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle 5, Washington.
MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, WOODS HOLE,
MASSACHUSETTS
(Shozvn in frontispiece)
PHILIP B. ARMSTRONG, DIRECTOR
The Marine Biological Laboratory was
founded in 1888 to provide a place where
biologists could carry on research during
the summer months on marine forms, and
where students could study these forms at
first-hand and receive training in scientific
investigation. The Laboratory derived
directly from the Annisquam Laboratory
on the north side of Cape Ann. This was
established in 1881 by the Women's Educational Association of Boston and run in
cooperation with the Boston Society of
Natural History. In 1886 it became obvious that a more stable, independent, and
permanent marine laboratory should be
established devoted to both research and
instruction. Funds were raised and Woods
Hole was picked as a site for the new laboratory which opened its doors to investigators and students in July 1888.
The Laboratory was located at Woods
Hole on Cape Cod because of the unusual
abundance of marine fauna and flora, due
to the influence of the Gulf Stream from
the south and the Labrador Current from
the north combined with a highly varied
coast line. There are numerous capes and
bays, sand and mud fiats, open water and
protected inlets, each having a characteristic population. It was for this reason that,
previous to the founding of the Marine
Biological Laboratory, the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service erected its first station at
Woods Hole. With the establishment of
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1930, the biological interests of the
area were further broadened.
The Laboratory is unique in its organization. The government of the institution
is by professional biologists who are drawn
from all over the country, thus assuring a
national scope for the Laboratory and
complete freedom in its policies and operations from overriding institutional control. The Corporation of the Marine Biological Laboratory has 500 members who
elect a Board of Trustees, the governing
body of the Laboratory.
The Laboratory has traditionally operTor a history of the laboratories at Woods Hole
see: Lillie, I\ R. 1944 The Woods Hole Marine
Biological Laboratory, Univ. Chicago Press.
320
MARINE LABORATORIES
ated as a summer research and educational
institution attracting investigators and students from all over the United States and
from foreign countries. The results of the
aggregation of a large number of scientists
in the various fields of biology is most
salutory. The free interchange of ideas,
the informal discussions, and the lectures
and seminars develop a ferment of ideas
and a widening of the scientific vistas of
the participants. All of this, in combination with active research and the possibilities of observing and mastering new
techniques, results in a most rewarding
scientific experience for all involved. By
fostering and stimulating the scientific advancement of its investigators as well as
its students, the Laboratory does more to
advance science than serving only as a
place for research. When the summer is
ended and the investigators return to their
home institutions, these effects go with
them and are widely disseminated throughout the country.
Subject to this primary purpose of bringing together scientists from all over the
world for research, teaching, and discussions, it is the policy of the Laboratory to
foster to the maximum extent the use of
its research facilities during the balance of
the year. Therefore, scientists are encouraged to take advantage of the Laboratory
and its services during the fall, winter, and
spring months. Scientists on sabbatical
leave or on special projects which will extend through the winter, including those
supported by foundations or corporations,
can thus be accommodated. Where Laboratory space is assigned on a year-round
basis, long-term commitments will be
avoided so that the assignment of space
can be periodically reviewed to ensure that
the best advantage is being taken of the
research space available.
There are eight summer training programs in operation at the Laboratory: invertebrate zoology, experimental embryology, general physiology, marine ecology,
marine botany, neuromuscular physiology,
fertilization and gamete physiology, and
comparative physiology. The training
staffs are drawn widely from this country
and from abroad. These programs are designed not only to develop the student's
basic information but also to bring to his
attention some of the pressing problems in
various disciplines and the techniques for
solving these problems. Also the trainees
carry out research projects under the direction of staff members as a part of the
program. Fellowship support is available
for selected trainees in these programs.
In 1962 a year-round program in systematics and ecology was instituted to extend
the systematic knowledge and the basic information of the ecology of marine organisms of the Cape Cod region through a
continuous long range program of research, as well as to provide training in
systematics and ecology through research
assistantships, associateships, and postdoctoral fellowships. The staff will also advise
visiting investigators at the laboratory on
the biota of the region and its availability
and adaptability for various research problems. This program is under the direction
of Dr. Melbourne R. Carriker, and is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, the National Science Foundation and
the National Institutes of Health.
During the summer months, lectures on
topics of current biological interest are
given by outstanding scientists. Included
are the Friday Evening Lecture Series, the
Forbes Lectures sponsored by the Grass
Foundation honoring Dr. Alexander
Forbes, and a lecture by the Senior Lalor
Fellow. An informal seminar is held each
week, and at the end of the summer there
are general meetings at which investigators
present progress reports on their current
research. These meetings, and the lectures
given in connection with the courses of
instruction, are open to all members of the
Laboratory.
The Biological Bulletin, now in its 123rd
volume, is published bi-monthly by the
Laboratory. It publishes papers on a wide
variety of subjects of biological interest,
and abstracts of the Tuesday evening seminars, the papers presented at the General
Meetings, and the Lalor Fellowship re-
MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
ports. Standards of acceptance of manuscripts for publication are set by the Editorial Board.
The George M. Gray Museum is being
developed by the Systematics-Ecology Program to contain as complete a collection
as possible of the local marine fauna and
flora, and so arranged as to facilitate its
use for scientific purposes by students and
investigators. In the Museum will also be
kept records of the seasonal occurrence and
geographical distribution of the various
Woods Hole organisms, together with such
other information concerning local conditions as is likely to be scientifically useful
to persons working at the Laboratory.
The two main research buildings are
four-story fire-proof structures with approximately 140 laboratories which are designed for the maximum flexibility in providing the facilities for various types of
research activities. Also included in these
buildings are photographic and experimental dark rooms, temperature-controlled
rooms, dry rooms, apparatus and chemical
supply rooms, a machine shop, the library,
and administrative and business offices.
There is also an auditorium seating 545,
and a lecture room accommodating 150.
The training programs are carried out in
the original wooden buildings of the Laboratory which were designed for this purpose. Also they provide the laboratory facilities for the training program instructors. There are service buildings for the
Biological Supply Department and a carpenter shop.
Housing for investigators, instructors,
students, and research assistants is available in apartment houses, several dormitories, and cottages. Also the Laboratory
operates a dining hall which will seat 400.
A clubhouse on the waterfront provides
321
for social and cultural activities.
The success of the Laboratory depends
in a large measure on the effective operation of its service departments. The biological collecting and supply department
has a permanent crew of experienced collectors, and operates several power boats,
trucks, and skiffs, all with the necessary
collecting gear and the equipment to transport the living marine forms to the Laboratory in good condition. It also operates
a fish weir in Buzzards Bay, and has the
necessary tanks to maintain animals at the
Laboratory. During the non-summer
months the Supply Department collects
and ships living animals on order to investigators at their home institutions.
The scientific services include apparatus
and chemical supplies, glass-blowing, machine shop, carpentry, plumbing, and a
special apparatus laboratory with technical
supervisory service. In this laboratory are
included a Spinco ultracentrifuge, Spinco
preparative centrifuge, Perkins Elmer
Tiselius electrophoresis apparatus, and refrigerated centrifuges. Also the laboratory
has electron microscopes with supervisory
service.
The radiobiological laboratories are operated under the supervision of an experienced radiation physicist. There are ten
service laboratories which include counting rooms with various types of counting
equipment; high level, low level, and carbon-tritium laboratories; preparation and
waste storage rooms; and a radiation laboratory with a cesium-135 irradiator which
provides up to 5,000 r/min.
Application blanks for research space,
library readers desks, and housing, as well
as the Annual Announcement can be obtained by writing to the Marine Biological
Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.