Why Study Biology by the Sea?

"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 *