Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"The intriguing title may give you the idea that this is a textbook of marine biology. It is not. It is a historical celebration of what we can learn about biology from studying marine animals and especially of the indispensable role played in that context by marine research stations." * Ocean Challenge *
“The essays in this volume would make excellent readings for masters courses in the history, philosophy, and epistemology of biology… The greatest merit of this collection is to frame ‘variety’ as a question, as well as a possible answer, both historically and epistemologically.” * Metascience *
"The essays [in this volume] document a rich history of marine laboratories and their research accomplishments and aim at informing readers that marine laboratories, the marine organisms available there, and the scientific interactions afforded by this research environment led to important biological discoveries."
* Quarterly Review of Biology *
“In dozens of coastal communities across the world, just down the shore from where vacationers enjoy seaside nature, scientists at marine biological stations are investigating fundamental aspects of life. This first-rate collection brings historians and biologists together to present fresh analyses of the institutions, people, ideas, and practices of this seaside enterprise as it has grown up over the past 150 years. Its chapters collectively demonstrate how the combination of lab and field studies at seaside stations, starting at Naples and Woods Hole and then spreading across the globe, have made major contributions to our understanding of life, especially its cellular and subcellular workings. Ultimately, by showing, over and over again, the importance of obscure sea creatures for building basic biological knowledge, this book offers a powerful argument for sustaining the institutions that allow scientists to study them.” -- Lynn K. Nyhart, University of Wisconsin–Madison
“Marine biology and marine science in general are increasingly relevant in an age of global climate change. This book is unique in also dealing with these subjects from a historical and philosophical perspective, which provides new insights and approaches to the various epistemic issues that arise regarding the scientific work itself. The authors are all outstanding and well-recognized scholars, and the volume is not only interesting reading but also an important contribution to preserving the marine environment and the institutions (marine biological stations) devoted to studying it.” -- Garland E. Allen, Washington University in St. Louis
"A fascinating collection of essays on the historical emergence of marine biological stations, the diversity of work they pursue, and their significant contributions to scientific discovery and knowledge." -- Diana Kenney * Marine Biological Laboratory *
Table of ContentsForeword, Nipam H. Patel
Introduction, Karl S. Matlin, Jane Maienschein, and Rachel A. Ankeny
Part One Marine Places
1 Why Have Biologists Studied at the Seashore? The Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
Jane Maienschein
2 Marine Biology Studies at Naples: The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Christiane Groeben
3 The First Marine Biological Station in Modern China: Amoy University and Amphioxus
Christine Yi Lai Luk
4 The Misaki Marine Biological Station’s Dual Roles for Zoology and Fisheries, 1880s–1930s
Kjell David Ericson
Part Two Marine Practice
5 Illuminating Animal Behavior: The Impact of Laboratory Structure on Tropism Research at Marine Stations
Samantha Muka
6 The Scientific Fishery: Sampling, Dissecting, and Drawing in the Gulf of Naples
Katharina Steiner
7 A Dual Mission: Research and Education as Critical Factors for the Scientific Integrity of the Marine Biological Laboratory
Kate MacCord
8 Francis O. Schmitt: At the Intersection of Neuroscience and Squid
Kathryn Maxson Jones
9 Microscopes and Moving Molecules: The Discovery of Kinesin at the Marine Biological Laboratory
Karl S. Matlin
10 Using Repertoires to Explore Changing Practices in Recent Coral Research
Rachel A. Ankeny and Sabina Leonelli
11 Why Study Sex by the Sea? Marine Organisms and the Problems of Fertilization and Cell Cleavage
Michael R. Dietrich, Nathan Crowe, and Rachel A. Ankeny
12 Hagfish and Vascular Biology: Why the Marine Model Matters
Marianne A. Grant and William C. Aird
Epilogue: The Future of Biological Research Will Be Found in the Oceans, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
Index
