Marine Biology as a Career

Abstract

C ENTURIES AGO THE SEA touched directly the lives of only the inhabitants of its shores. Coastal commerce passed over its surface, food was drawn from its shallows, and heroic and piratical battles scarred its waves. Those who lived far inland knew little or nothing of the sea, and for them the oceans had little meaning. In modern times, however, the sea has great significance for the global population. People worldwide are now generally aware of the impact of the oceans on their lives, as a source of food, as an avenue of trade among nations, and as an influence on the weather in many regions. Because of sophisticated technology, the oceans have in recent decades been explored in previously unimagined ways. Characteristics of the water column such as water movements, chemical composition, and temperature influence terrestrial climate and fish populations. Investigations of the ocean bottom have led to important discoveries in marine geology. Yet, even with all the current activity in marine sciences, the structure of the ocean and its dynamics are still largely unknown. To the biologist, the sea has three principal realms. Each has its own group of organisms, but each group interacts with the others by deriving food from them or by moving from one realm to another during development. The plankton consists of small algae and animals that have such feeble ability to swim that they are unable to move against the current. The nekton comprises larger animals like fishes, squids, whales, and some crustaceans, that can swim independently of the movements of the water mass. Benthic animals are those that live on or in the substrate, from the intertidal zone to the greatest oceanic depths. A marine biologist is concerned with the study of organisms in the sea-their form and identification, distribution, behavior, ecology, physiology, reproduction and development, biochemistry, pathology, parasitology, and other aspects. Almost every kind of biology may be employed in marine biological investigations. Although the general title of marine biologist is given to one who works with the biology of marine organisms, anyone who studies life in the sea is, in reality, a specialist (morphologist, taxonomist, ecologist, physiologist, embryologist, or biochemist). The work of some marine biologists tends to cut across disciplines. Thus, marine biology (biological oceanography) is a composite of many disciplines and could be considered a division of oceanography. Preparation for a career in marine biology should start with training in the natural sciences. All marine biologists should have a basic foundation in zoology or botany (preferably both), general physics, general and organic chemistry, mathematics, and statistics. An undergraduate major in biology, zoology, or botany is desirable, though a major in chemistry with a minor in biology might be planned for anyone with an interest in marine biochemistry. Courses in related areas such as paleoecology, geography, sedimentary geology, and marine chemistry may be helpful, but they are not essential during undergraduate years. College students preparing for advanced study in marine biology should make sure that they have sound training in basic courses in biology such as zoology, botany, genetics, developmental biology, cell biology, physiology, comparative anatomy, and microbiology. Other biological courses may be postponed until graduate school, when the student will have the necessary background to explore the subjects at an advanced level. Each area within marine biology requires a different combination of special training and experience. A taxonomist will need to be knowledgeable in ecology, biogeography, advanced statistics, comparative morphology, population genetics and systematics. An ecologist requires special training in ecology with background in physiology for autecology, in taxonomy and statistics for community ecology, in mathematics and statistics for population The author has directed the Boston University Marine Program, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, since 1970. He received his A.B. degree from Brown University in , 1937, his M.S. degree from Louisiana State University in 1939, and his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1941. Humes first joined the faculty of Boston University as an assistant professor of biology in 1947. His research has focused on the systematics, development, and host and geographical distribution of Copepoda associated with marine invertebrates, and his research activities have taken him to South America, Madagascar, the West Indies, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Humes holds memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the AAAS, the American Society of Zoologists, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi. Humes is presently on the editorial board of Crustaceana for the United States.