Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life , organisms that inhabit the sea . Given that in biology many phyla , families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy .
123-404: Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist , writer, and conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book Silent Spring (1962) are credited with advancing marine conservation and the global environmental movement . Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries , and became a full-time nature writer in
246-844: A backbone, make up a huge portion of all life in the sea. Invertebrate sea life includes Cnidaria such as jellyfish and sea anemones ; Ctenophora ; sea worms including the phyla Platyhelminthes , Nemertea , Annelida , Sipuncula , Echiura , Chaetognatha , and Phoronida ; Mollusca including shellfish , squid , octopus ; Arthropoda including Chelicerata and Crustacea ; Porifera ; Bryozoa ; Echinodermata including starfish ; and Urochordata including sea squirts or tunicates . Over 10,000 species of fungi are known from marine environments. These are parasitic on marine algae or animals, or are saprobes on algae, corals, protozoan cysts, sea grasses, wood and other substrata, and can also be found in sea foam . Spores of many species have special appendages which facilitate attachment to
369-449: A believe-it-or-not and a breezy travelogue." However, she discovered that her right to review the script did not extend to any control over its content. This led to many scientific inconsistencies inside the film. Despite Carson's requests to resolve these problems, Allen went forward with the script. He succeeded in producing a very successful documentary. It went on to win the 1953 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . However, Carson
492-415: A book calling into question the paradigm of scientific progress that defined post-war American culture." The overriding theme of Silent Spring is the powerful—and often adverse—effect humans have on the natural world. Carson's main argument is that pesticides have detrimental effects on the environment; they are more properly termed biocides , she argues, because their effects are rarely limited to
615-748: A book. Several years of writing resulted in Under the Sea Wind (1941), which received excellent reviews but sold poorly. In the meantime, Carson's article-writing success continued with her features appearing in Sun Magazine , Nature , and Collier's . Carson attempted to leave the Bureau (by then transformed into the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ) in 1945. However, few jobs for naturalists were available, since most money for science
738-495: A broad audience and helped to focus opposition to DDT use. In 1994, an edition of Silent Spring was published with an introduction written by Vice President Al Gore . In 2012 Silent Spring was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society for its role in the development of the modern environmental movement. Starting in the mid-1940s, Carson had become concerned about
861-666: A chapter, "The Birth of an Island," which won the American Association for the Advancement of Science 's George Westinghouse Science Writing Prize. Beginning in June 1951, nine chapters were serialized in The New Yorker . On July 2, 1951, the book was published by Oxford University Press. The Sea Around Us remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for 86 weeks, was abridged by Reader's Digest , won
984-547: A dissertation on the embryonic development of the pronephros in fish. In June 1932, she earned a master's degree in zoology. She had intended to continue for a doctorate, however in 1934 Carson was forced to leave Johns Hopkins to search for a full-time teaching position to help support her family during the Great Depression . In 1935, Carson's father died suddenly, worsening their already critical financial situation and leaving Carson to care for her aging mother. At
1107-409: A group of biodynamic agriculture organic market gardeners, their adviser, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer , other contacts, and their suite of legal actions (1957–1960) against the U.S. Government. According to recent research by Paull (2013), this may have been the primary and (for strategic reasons) uncredited source for Carson's book. Marjorie Spock and Mary T. Richards of Long Island, New York, contested
1230-417: A handful of new pesticides. However, further health troubles slowed the final revisions in 1961 and early 1962. While writing the book, Carson chose to hide her illness so that the pesticide companies could not use it against her (she worried that if the companies knew, they would use it as ammunition to make her book look untrustworthy and biased). Finding a title for the book proved difficult; "Silent Spring"
1353-446: A histological artifact. Once the more complex mesonephros forms the pronephros undergoes apoptosis in amphibians. In fishes, the nephron degenerates but the organ remains and becomes a component of the immune system. In mammals, a functional pronephros, in the context of an organ performing waste excretion or osmoregulation, does not develop. However, a kidney primordium that runs along the intermediate mesoderm does form and links up to
SECTION 10
#17327808433911476-552: A huge community of life, including the corals themselves, their symbiotic zooxanthellae , tropical fish and many other organisms. Much attention in marine biology is focused on coral reefs and the El Niño weather phenomenon. In 1998, coral reefs experienced the most severe mass bleaching events on record, when vast expanses of reefs across the world died because sea surface temperatures rose well above normal. Some reefs are recovering, but scientists say that between 50% and 70% of
1599-546: A long and well-paid article on the topic from Carson, she began considering writing more than simply the introduction and conclusion as planned; soon, it was a solo project. (Diamond would later write one of the harshest critiques of Silent Spring ). As her research progressed, Carson found a sizable community of scientists who were documenting the physiological and environmental effects of pesticides. She also took advantage of her connections with many government scientists, who supplied her with confidential information. From reading
1722-544: A nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. It also inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter . Carson was born on May 27, 1907, on a family farm near Springdale, Pennsylvania , located by the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh . She
1845-498: A new living situation and studying specific environmental threats. By late 1957, Carson was closely following federal proposals for widespread pesticide spraying; the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) planned to eradicate fire ants . Other spraying programs involving chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates were on the rise. For the rest of her life, Carson's main professional focus would be
1968-503: A new publisher). By this time, Carson's reputation for clear and poetical prose was well established; The Edge of the Sea received highly favorable reviews, if not quite as enthusiastic as for The Sea Around Us . Through 1955 and 1956, Carson worked on several projects—including the script for an Omnibus episode, "Something About the Sky"—and wrote articles for popular magazines. Her plan for
2091-479: A number of their own brochures and articles promoting and defending pesticide use. However, Carson's and the publishers' lawyers were confident in the vetting process Silent Spring had undergone. The magazine and book publications proceeded as planned, as did the large Book-of-the-Month printing (which included a pamphlet endorsing the book by William O. Douglas). American Cyanamid biochemist Robert White-Stevens and former Cyanamid chemist Thomas Jukes were among
2214-409: A transition zone between freshwater river environments and saltwater maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The shifting flows of both sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among
2337-518: A year or so of publication, the attacks on the book and Carson had largely lost momentum. In one of her last public appearances, Carson testified before President John F. Kennedy 's Science Advisory Committee. The committee issued its report on May 15, 1963, largely backing Carson's scientific claims. Following the report's release, she also testified before a United States Senate subcommittee to make policy recommendations. Though Carson received hundreds of other speaking invitations, she could not accept
2460-452: Is also becoming understood that the well-being of marine organisms and other organisms are linked in fundamental ways. The human body of knowledge regarding the relationship between life in the sea and important cycles is rapidly growing, with new discoveries being made nearly every day. These cycles include those of matter (such as the carbon cycle ) and of air (such as Earth's respiration , and movement of energy through ecosystems including
2583-471: Is closely linked to oceanography , especially biological oceanography , and may be regarded as a sub-field of marine science . It also encompasses many ideas from ecology . Fisheries science and marine conservation can be considered partial offshoots of marine biology (as well as environmental studies ). Marine chemistry , physical oceanography and atmospheric sciences are also closely related to this field. An active research topic in marine biology
SECTION 20
#17327808433912706-404: Is deposited into the coelom. It then passes through thin ciliated tubules into the pronephric nephron where it is processed for solute recovery. The organ is active in adult forms of some primitive fish , like lampreys or hagfish . It is present at the embryo of more advanced fish and at the larval stage of amphibians where it plays an essential role in osmoregulation. In human beings , it
2829-461: Is extreme and there is no sunlight, but some life still exists. A white flatfish , a shrimp and a jellyfish were seen by the American crew of the bathyscaphe Trieste when it dove to the bottom in 1960. In general, the deep sea is considered to start at the aphotic zone , the point where sunlight loses its power of transference through the water. Many life forms that live at these depths have
2952-469: Is rudimentary, appears at the end of the third week (day 20) and replaced by mesonephros after 3.5 weeks. Despite this transient appearance in mammals, the pronephros is essential for the development of the adult kidneys. The duct of the mesonephros forms the Wolffian duct and ureter of the adult kidney. The embryonic kidney and its derivatives also produces the inductive signals that trigger formation of
3075-426: Is still much more to learn about the deeper parts of the ocean . In biology, many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land. Marine biology classifies species based on their environment rather than their taxonomy. For this reason, marine biology encompasses not only organisms that live only in a marine environment, but also other organisms whose lives revolve around
3198-428: Is the arrangement by which the glomerular filtrate is generated and collected by the nephron. In pronephroi the glomerulus (or glomus if it extends over multiple body segments) projects into the coelom rather than into the proximal tip of the nephron. The glomerular filtrate flows directly into the coelom, or a dorsal compartment of the coelom known as the nephrocoel. In jawless fishes, the pronephric glomus projects into
3321-797: Is to discover and map the life cycles of various species and where they spend their time. Technologies that aid in this discovery include pop-up satellite archival tags , acoustic tags , and a variety of other data loggers . Marine biologists study how the ocean currents , tides and many other oceanic factors affect ocean life forms, including their growth, distribution and well-being. This has only recently become technically feasible with advances in GPS and newer underwater visual devices. Most ocean life breeds in specific places, nests in others, spends time as juveniles in still others, and in maturity in yet others. Scientists know little about where many species spend different parts of their life cycles especially in
3444-600: Is whether it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse. The world has heard much of the triumphant war against disease by controlling insect vectors of infection. However, it has heard little of the other side of the story—the defeats, the short-lived triumphs that now strongly support the alarming view that the insect enemy has been made actually stronger by our efforts. Even worse, we may have destroyed our very means of fighting. Carson further noted that "Malaria programmes are threatened by resistance among mosquitoes" and emphasized
3567-426: Is widespread and very diverse under the ocean. Microscopic photosynthetic algae contribute a larger proportion of the world's photosynthetic output than all the terrestrial forests combined. Most of the niche occupied by sub plants on land is actually occupied by macroscopic algae in the ocean, such as Sargassum and kelp , which are commonly known as seaweeds that create kelp forests . Plants that survive in
3690-694: The Book of the Month for October; as she put it, this would "carry it to farms and hamlets all over that country that don't know what a bookstore looks like—much less The New Yorker ." Other publicity included a positive editorial in The New York Times and excerpts of the serialized version in Audubon magazine, with another round of publicity in July and August as chemical companies responded. The story of
3813-486: The Chesapeake Bay , based on her research for the series, to local newspapers and magazines. Carson's supervisor, pleased with the success of the radio series, asked her to write the introduction to a public brochure about the fisheries bureau; he also worked to secure her the first full-time position that became available. Sitting for the civil service exam, she outscored all other applicants and, in 1936, became
Rachel Carson - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-642: The Cullum Geographical Medal (from the American Geographical Society ), and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters . Marine biologist A large proportion of all life on Earth lives in the ocean. The exact size of this "large proportion" is unknown, since many ocean species are still to be discovered. The ocean is a complex three-dimensional world, covering approximately 71% of
4059-650: The White House Conference on Conservation in May 1962; Houghton Mifflin distributed proof copies of Silent Spring to many of the delegates and promoted the upcoming New Yorker serialization. Among many others, Carson also sent a proof copy to Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas , a longtime environmental advocate who had argued against the court's rejection of the Long Island pesticide spraying case (and who had provided Carson with some of
4182-655: The epipelagic , mesopelagic , bathypelagic , abyssopelagic , and hadopelagic zones. Zones which vary by the amount of light they receive include the photic and aphotic zones . Much of the aphotic zone's energy is supplied by the open ocean in the form of detritus . The deepest recorded oceanic trench measured to date is the Mariana Trench , near the Philippines , in the Pacific Ocean at 10,924 m (35,840 ft). At such depths, water pressure
4305-405: The marine environment are often called seabirds . Examples include albatross , penguins , gannets , and auks . Although they spend most of their lives in the ocean, species such as gulls can often be found thousands of miles inland. There are five main types of marine mammals: cetaceans ( toothed whales and baleen whales ); sirenians such as manatees ; pinnipeds including seals and
4428-456: The microorganisms within the ocean; looking at how they are affected by their environment and how that affects larger marine creatures and their ecosystem. Biological oceanography is similar to marine biology, but it studies ocean life from a different perspective. Biological oceanography takes a bottom up approach in terms of the food web, while marine biology studies the ocean from a top down perspective. Biological oceanography mainly focuses on
4551-588: The saltwater crocodile . Most extant marine reptiles, except for some sea snakes, are oviparous and need to return to land to lay their eggs. Thus most species, excluding sea turtles, spend most of their lives on or near land rather than in the ocean. Despite their marine adaptations, most sea snakes prefer shallow waters nearby land, around islands, especially waters that are somewhat sheltered, as well as near estuaries. Some extinct marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs , evolved to be viviparous and had no requirement to return to land. Birds adapted to living in
4674-441: The walrus ; sea otters ; and the polar bear . All are air-breathing, meaning that while some such as the sperm whale can dive for prolonged periods, all must return to the surface to breathe. The marine ecosystem is large, and thus there are many sub-fields of marine biology. Most involve studying specializations of particular animal groups, such as phycology , invertebrate zoology and ichthyology . Other subfields study
4797-418: The "Lost Woods." In early 1957, a family tragedy struck for the third time when one of her nieces she had cared for since the 1940s died at the age of 31, leaving her 5-year-old son, Roger Christie, an orphan. Carson took on the responsibility for Roger when she adopted him, along with caring for her aging mother. Carson moved to Silver Spring, Maryland to care for Roger and spent much of 1957 putting together
4920-412: The 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won her a U.S. National Book Award , recognition as a gifted writer and financial security. Its success prompted the republication of her first book, Under the Sea Wind (1941), in 1952, which was followed by The Edge of the Sea in 1955 — both were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to
5043-544: The 1952 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the John Burroughs Medal , and resulted in Carson being awarded two honorary doctorates. She licensed a documentary film based on it, The Sea , whose success led to republication of Under the Sea Wind , which became a bestseller. With success, came financial security; in 1952, Carson was able to give up her job in order to concentrate on writing full-time. Carson
Rachel Carson - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-472: The Earth's surface. The habitats studied in marine biology include everything from the tiny layers of surface water in which organisms and abiotic items may be trapped in surface tension between the ocean and atmosphere, to the depths of the oceanic trenches , sometimes 10,000 meters or more beneath the surface of the ocean. Specific habitats include estuaries , coral reefs , kelp forests , seagrass meadows ,
5289-521: The USDA's Agricultural Research Service responded to the criticism by Carson and others with a public service film, Fire Ant on Trial ; Carson characterized it as "flagrant propaganda " that ignored the dangers that spraying pesticides (especially dieldrin and heptachlor ) posed to humans and wildlife. That spring, Carson wrote a letter, published in The Washington Post , that attributed
5412-446: The ability to create their own light known as bio-luminescence . Marine life also flourishes around seamounts that rise from the depths, where fish and other sea life congregate to spawn and feed. Hydrothermal vents along the mid-ocean ridge spreading centers act as oases , as do their opposites, cold seeps . Such places support unique biomes and many new microbes and other lifeforms have been discovered at these locations.There
5535-399: The adult kidney. The pronephros is the first in a sequence of kidneys that form in vertebrate embryos. The pronephric primordium develops from the intermediate mesoderm , lying between the paraxial (somitic) mesoderm and the lateral plate . In many organisms (e.g. amphibians) this primodium forms anteriorly then migrates posteriorly to fuse with the cloaca, while in others it forms along
5658-515: The adult kidney. In amniotes, the mesonephros is the embryonic kidney and a more complex metanephros acts as the adult kidney. Once a more advanced kidney forms, the previous version typically degenerates by apoptosis or becomes part of the male reproductive system. The pronephros develops from the intermediate mesoderm, as do the later kidneys. It is a paired organ, consisting of a single giant nephron that processes blood filtrate produced from glomeruli or glomera- large embryonic glomeruli. The filtrate
5781-403: The advice given by the director of Holland's Plant Protection Service: "Practical advice should be 'Spray as little as you possibly can' rather than 'Spray to the limit of your capacity' ... Pressure on the pest population should always be as slight as possible." Carson and the others involved with the publication of Silent Spring expected fierce criticism. They were particularly concerned about
5904-429: The aerial spraying of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). They compiled their evidence and shared it with Carson, who used it, their extensive contacts, and the trial transcripts as a primary input for Silent Spring . Carson wrote of the content as "a gold mine of information" and says, "I feel guilty about the mass of your material I have here" and makes multiple references to Pfeiffer and his correspondence. By 1959,
6027-555: The aggressive tactics of the chemical industry representatives, which included expert testimony that was firmly contradicted by the bulk of the scientific literature she had been studying. She also wondered about the possible "financial inducements behind certain pesticide programs." Research at the Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health brought Carson into contact with medical researchers investigating
6150-417: The area that extends from the shoreline to the edge of the continental shelf . Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided into pelagic and demersal habitats. Pelagic habitats are found near
6273-400: The areas that are close to the shore, are constantly being exposed and covered by the ocean's tides . A huge array of life can be found within this zone. Shore habitats span from the upper intertidal zones to the area where land vegetation takes prominence. It can be underwater anywhere from daily to very infrequently. Many species here are scavengers, living off of sea life that is washed up on
SECTION 50
#17327808433916396-472: The argument she made in Silent Spring was that even if DDT and other insecticides had no environmental side effects, their indiscriminate overuse was counter-productive because it would create insect resistance, making them useless in eliminating the target insect populations: No responsible person contends that insect-borne disease should be ignored. The question that has now urgently presented itself
6519-721: The birth defect-causing drug thalidomide broke just before the book's publication as well, inviting comparisons between Carson and Frances Oldham Kelsey , the Food and Drug Administration reviewer who had blocked the drug's sale in the United States. In the weeks leading up to the September 27, 1962, publication, there was strong opposition to Silent Spring from the chemical industry. DuPont (a main manufacturer of DDT and 2,4-D ) and Velsicol Chemical Corporation (exclusive manufacturer of chlordane and heptachlor ) were among
6642-674: The book's scientific claims; public opinion soon turned Carson's way as well. The chemical industry campaign backfired, as the controversy greatly increased public awareness of potential pesticide dangers, as well as Silent Spring book sales. Pesticide use became a major public issue, especially after the CBS Reports TV special The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson that aired April 3, 1963. The program included segments of Carson reading from Silent Spring and interviews with several other experts, mostly critics (including White-Stevens); according to biographer Linda Lear , "in juxtaposition to
6765-469: The cover. The final writing was the first chapter, A Fable for Tomorrow , which Carson intended as a gentle introduction to what might otherwise be a forbiddingly serious topic. By mid-1962, Brooks and Carson had essentially finished the editing and were laying the groundwork for promoting the book by sending the manuscript out to select individuals for final suggestions. Biographer Mark Hamilton Lytle writes that Carson "quite self-consciously decided to write
6888-410: The cult of the balance of nature," while former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson , in a letter to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower , reportedly concluded that because she was unmarried despite being physically attractive, she was "probably a Communist ." Many critics repeatedly asserted that she was calling for the elimination of all pesticides. However, Carson had made it clear she
7011-432: The dangers of pesticide overuse. Silent Spring , Carson's most influential book, was published by Houghton Mifflin on September 27, 1962. The book described the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment, and is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement . Carson was not the first or the only person to raise concern about DDT, but her combination of "scientific knowledge and poetic writing" reached
7134-425: The definite rating of a "chemical carcinogen." Carson predicted increased consequences in the future, especially as targeted pests develop pesticide resistance . At the same time, weakened ecosystems fall prey to unanticipated invasive species . The book closes with a call for a biotic approach to pest control as an alternative to chemical pesticides. Regarding DDT, Carson never called for an outright ban. Part of
7257-433: The depths. Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides . The result was the book Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to
7380-418: The development of marine protected areas . This data is important to both scientists and fishermen because they are discovering that, by restricting commercial fishing in one small area, they can have a large impact in maintaining a healthy fish population in a much larger area. The study of marine biology dates to Aristotle (384–322 BC), who made many observations of life in the sea around Lesbos , laying
7503-607: The distinction between plants and animals often breaks down in very small organisms. Other zooplankton include cnidarians , ctenophores , chaetognaths , molluscs , arthropods , urochordates , and annelids such as polychaetes . Many larger animals begin their life as zooplankton before they become large enough to take their familiar forms. Two examples are fish larvae and sea stars (also called starfish ). Microscopic algae and plants provide important habitats for life, sometimes acting as hiding places for larval forms of larger fish and foraging places for invertebrates. Algal life
SECTION 60
#17327808433917626-500: The ecosystem of the ocean with an emphasis on plankton : their diversity (morphology, nutritional sources, motility, and metabolism); their productivity and how that plays a role in the global carbon cycle; and their distribution (predation and life cycle). Biological oceanography also investigates the role of microbes in food webs, and how humans impact the ecosystems in the oceans. Marine habitats can be divided into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal habitats are found in
7749-596: The environment. Marine life is a vast resource, providing food, medicine, and raw materials, in addition to helping to support recreation and tourism all over the world. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. Marine organisms contribute significantly to the oxygen cycle , and are involved in the regulation of the Earth's climate . Shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life, and some marine organisms even help create new land. Many species are economically important to humans, including both finfish and shellfish. It
7872-436: The evidence for the toxicity of a wide array of synthetic pesticides was clear-cut, though such conclusions were very controversial beyond the small community of scientists studying pesticide carcinogenesis . By 1960, Carson had more than enough research material, and the writing was progressing rapidly. In addition to the thorough literature search, she had investigated hundreds of individual incidents of pesticide exposure and
7995-449: The first to respond. DuPont compiled an extensive report on the book's press coverage and estimated impact on public opinion. Velsicol threatened legal action against Houghton Mifflin and The New Yorker and Audubon unless the planned Silent Spring features were canceled. Chemical industry representatives and lobbyists also lodged a range of non-specific complaints, some anonymously. Chemical companies and associated organizations produced
8118-597: The first two years of their friendship..." According to one reviewer, the pair "fit Carolyn Heilbrun 's characterization of a strong female friendship, where what matters is 'not whether friends are homosexual or heterosexual, lovers or not, but whether they share the wonderful energy of work in the public sphere.'" According to her biographer, Linda Lear , there was a disagreement about the final arrangements for Rachel. Her brother, Robert Carson, insisted that her cremated remains be buried beside their mother in Maryland. This
8241-484: The foundation for many future discoveries. In 1768, Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1744–1774) published the Historia Fucorum , the first work dedicated to marine algae and the first book on marine biology to use the new binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus . It included elaborate illustrations of seaweed and marine algae on folded leaves. The British naturalist Edward Forbes (1815–1854) is generally regarded as
8364-513: The founder of the science of marine biology. The pace of oceanographic and marine biology studies quickly accelerated during the course of the 19th century. The observations made in the first studies of marine biology fueled the Age of Discovery and exploration that followed. During this time, a vast amount of knowledge was gained about the life that exists in the oceans of the world. Many voyages contributed significantly to this pool of knowledge. Among
8487-403: The gamut of cancer-causing chemicals. Of particular significance was the work of National Cancer Institute researcher and environmental cancer section founding director Wilhelm Hueper , who classified many pesticides as carcinogens . Carson and her research assistant Jeanne Davis, with the help of NIH librarian Dorothy Algire, found evidence to support the pesticide-cancer connection; to Carson,
8610-546: The government's exact spraying practices and the related research. Carson began the four-year project of what would become Silent Spring by gathering examples of environmental damage attributed to DDT. She also attempted to enlist others to join the cause, such as essayist E. B. White and several journalists and scientists. By 1958, Carson had arranged a book deal, with plans to co-write with Newsweek science journalist Edwin Diamond. However, when The New Yorker commissioned
8733-559: The great majority of them. Her health was steadily declining as her cancer outpaced the radiation therapy, with only brief periods of remission. She spoke as much as she was physically able, however, including a notable appearance on The Today Show and speeches at several dinners held in her honor. In late 1963, she received a flurry of awards and honors: the Audubon Medal (from the National Audubon Society ),
8856-423: The home to many exotic biological materials that may inspire biomimetic materials . Through constant monitoring of the ocean, there have been discoveries of marine life which could be used to create remedies for certain diseases such as cancer and leukemia. In addition, Ziconotide, an approved drug used to treat pain, was created from a snail which resides in the ocean. Marine biology is a branch of biology . It
8979-542: The human sickness and ecological damage that resulted. However, in January, a duodenal ulcer followed by several infections kept her bedridden for weeks, greatly delaying the completion of Silent Spring . As she was nearing full recovery in March (just as she was completing drafts of the two cancer chapters of her book), she discovered cysts in her left breast, one of which necessitated a mastectomy . Though her doctor described
9102-411: The infant and juvenile years. For example, it is still largely unknown where juvenile sea turtles and some sharks in the first year of their life travel. Recent advances in underwater tracking devices are illuminating what we know about marine organisms that live at great ocean depths. The information that pop-up satellite archival tags gives aids in fishing closures for certain times of the year and
9225-453: The length of the intermediate mesoderm. In both amphibians and zebrafish, the pronephros has a single nephron attached to a nephric duct, which in turn is linked to the cloaca. Although these kidneys have a simple anatomical organization with only a single nephron, the nephrons have a segmental and functional complexity that is very similar to that in more complex kidneys such as mesonephroi and metanephroi . One unique feature of pronephroi
9348-542: The material included in her chapter on herbicides). Though Silent Spring had generated a relatively high level of interest based on pre-publication promotion, this became much more intense with the serialization in The New Yorker , which began on June 16, 1962, issue. This brought the book to the attention of the chemical industry and its lobbyists and a wide swath of the American populace. Around that time, Carson also learned that Silent Spring had been selected as
9471-521: The most aggressive critics, especially of Carson's analysis of DDT. According to White-Stevens, "If man were to follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the earth." Others went further, attacking Carson's scientific credentials (because her training was in marine biology rather than biochemistry) and her character. White-Stevens labeled her "...a fanatic defender of
9594-516: The most productive natural habitats in the world. Reefs comprise some of the densest and most diverse habitats in the world. The best-known types of reefs are tropical coral reefs which exist in most tropical waters; however, reefs can also exist in cold water. Reefs are built up by corals and other calcium -depositing animals, usually on top of a rocky outcrop on the ocean floor. Reefs can also grow on other surfaces, which has made it possible to create artificial reefs . Coral reefs also support
9717-422: The most significant were the voyages of HMS Beagle where Charles Darwin came up with his theories of evolution and on the formation of coral reefs . Another important expedition was undertaken by HMS Challenger , where findings were made of unexpectedly high species diversity among fauna stimulating much theorizing by population ecologists on how such varieties of life could be maintained in what
9840-652: The next book was to address evolution . However, the publication of Julian Huxley 's Evolution in Action —and her own difficulty in finding a clear and compelling approach to the topic—led her to abandon the project. Instead, her interests were turning to conservation. She considered an environment-themed book project tentatively titled Remembrance of the Earth and became involved with The Nature Conservancy and other conservation groups. She also made plans to buy and preserve from development an area in Maine she and Freeman called
9963-440: The novels of Gene Stratton-Porter , and in her teen years, Herman Melville , Joseph Conrad , and Robert Louis Stevenson . The natural world, particularly that of the ocean, was the common thread of her favorite literature. Carson attended Springdale's small school through tenth grade, and then completed high school in nearby Parnassus, Pennsylvania , graduating in 1925 at the top of her class of 44 students. In high school, Carson
10086-440: The ocean). Large areas beneath the ocean surface still remain effectively unexplored. Marine biology can be contrasted with biological oceanography . Marine life is a field of study both in marine biology and in biological oceanography . Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics , chemistry , and geology of the oceanographic system . Biological oceanography mostly focuses on
10209-416: The pericardial cavity. Fluids are swept from the filtration cavity into the nephron through ciliated funnels known as nephrostomes. These thin epithelial tubes are densely packed with cilia and have a distinct morphology to the other tubular epithelia of the kidney. Older anatomical texts describe the pronephros as condensing from nephrotomes, but modern visualization techniques have shown that this represents
10332-531: The physical effects of continual immersion in sea water and the ocean in general, adaptation to a salty environment, and the effects of changing various oceanic properties on marine life. A subfield of marine biology studies the relationships between oceans and ocean life, and global warming and environmental issues (such as carbon dioxide displacement). Recent marine biotechnology has focused largely on marine biomolecules , especially proteins , that may have uses in medicine or engineering. Marine environments are
10455-516: The possibility of being sued for libel . Carson was also undergoing radiation therapy to combat her spreading cancer and expected to have little energy to devote to defending her work and responding to critics. In preparation for the anticipated attacks, Carson and her agent attempted to amass as many prominent supporters as possible before the book's release. Most of the book's scientific chapters were reviewed by scientists with relevant expertise, among whom Carson found strong support. Carson attended
10578-471: The procedure as precautionary and recommended no further treatment, by December, Carson discovered that the tumor was malignant and the cancer had metastasized . Her research was also delayed by revision work for a new edition of The Sea Around Us and by a collaborative photo essay with Erich Hartmann . Most of the research and writing was done by the fall of 1960, except for the discussion of recent research on biological pest controls and investigations of
10701-477: The recent decline in bird populations—in her words, the "silencing of birds"—to pesticide overuse. That was also the year of the "Great Cranberry Scandal": the 1957, 1958, and 1959 crops of U.S. cranberries were found to contain high levels of the herbicide aminotriazole (which caused cancer in laboratory rats), and the sale of all cranberry products was halted. Carson attended the subsequent FDA hearings on revising pesticide regulations; she came away discouraged by
10824-603: The relationship, but much of their correspondence was carefully guarded. Some believe Freeman and Carson's relationship was romantic in nature. One of the letters from Carson to Freeman reads: "But, oh darling, I want to be with you so terribly that it hurts!", while in another, Freeman writes: "I love you beyond expression... My love is boundless as the Sea." Carson's last letter to Freeman before her death ends with: "Never forget, dear one, how deeply I have loved you all these years." Shortly before Carson's death, she and Freeman destroyed hundreds of letters. The surviving correspondence
10947-581: The rocky shores of Sheepscot Bay in Maine. Early in 1953, Carson began library and field research on the ecology and organisms of the Atlantic shore. In 1955, she completed the third volume of her sea trilogy, The Edge of the Sea , which focuses on life in coastal ecosystems, particularly along the Eastern Seaboard . It appeared in The New Yorker in two condensed installments shortly before its October 26 book release by Houghton Mifflin (again
11070-808: The role of viruses in marine ecosystems is barely being explored even in the beginning of the 21st century. The role of phytoplankton is better understood due to their critical position as the most numerous primary producers on Earth. Phytoplankton are categorized into cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae/bacteria), various types of algae (red, green, brown, and yellow-green), diatoms , dinoflagellates , euglenoids , coccolithophorids , cryptomonads , chrysophytes , chlorophytes , prasinophytes , and silicoflagellates . Zooplankton tend to be somewhat larger, and not all are microscopic. Many Protozoa are zooplankton, including dinoflagellates, zooflagellates , foraminiferans , and radiolarians . Some of these (such as dinoflagellates) are also phytoplankton;
11193-399: The scientific literature and interviewing scientists, Carson found two scientific camps when it came to pesticides: those who dismissed the possible danger of pesticide spraying barring conclusive proof, and those who were open to the possibility of harm and willing to consider alternative methods such as biological pest control . She also found significant support and extensive evidence from
11316-408: The sea are often found in shallow waters, such as the seagrasses (examples of which are eelgrass, Zostera , and turtle grass, Thalassia ). These plants have adapted to the high salinity of the ocean environment. The intertidal zone is also a good place to find plant life in the sea, where mangroves or cordgrass or beach grass might grow. As on land, invertebrates , or animals that lack
11439-407: The sea. As inhabitants of the largest environment on Earth, microbial marine systems drive changes in every global system. Microbes are responsible for virtually all photosynthesis that occurs in the ocean, as well as the cycling of carbon , nitrogen , phosphorus and other nutrients and trace elements. Microscopic life undersea is incredibly diverse and still poorly understood. For example,
11562-404: The second woman hired by the Bureau of Fisheries for a full-time professional position, as a junior aquatic biologist. Using her research and consultations with marine biologists as starting points, she wrote a steady stream of articles for The Baltimore Sun and other newspapers. However, her family responsibilities further increased in January 1937 when her older sister died, leaving Carson as
11685-424: The shore. Many land animals also make much use of the shore and intertidal habitats. A subgroup of organisms in this habitat bores and grinds exposed rock through the process of bioerosion . Estuaries are also near shore and influenced by the tides . An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form
11808-618: The sole breadwinner for her mother and two nieces. In July 1937, the Atlantic Monthly accepted a revised version of an essay, The World of Waters , that she originally wrote for her first fisheries bureau brochure. Her supervisor had deemed it too good for that purpose. The essay, published as Undersea , was a vivid narrative of a journey along the ocean floor. It marked a major turning point in Carson's writing career. Publishing house Simon & Schuster , impressed by Undersea , contacted Carson and suggested that she expand it into
11931-556: The spraying of private land. Landowners on Long Island filed a lawsuit to have the spraying stopped, and many in affected regions followed the case closely. Though the suit was lost, the Supreme Court granted petitioners the right to gain injunctions against potential environmental damage in the future; this laid the basis for later successful environmental actions. The Audubon Naturalist Society also actively opposed such spraying programs and recruited Carson to help make public
12054-517: The subject of so much subsequent debate, Carson only briefly mentions the topic: In laboratory tests on animal subjects, DDT has produced suspicious liver tumors. Scientists of the Food and Drug Administration who reported the discovery of these tumors were uncertain how to classify them but felt there was some "justification for considering them low grade hepatic cell carcinomas." Dr. Hueper [author of Occupational Tumors and Allied Diseases ] now gives DDT
12177-474: The subject unappealing; she published nothing on DDT until 1962. Carson rose within the Fish and Wildlife Service, and in 1945 was supervising a small writing staff. In 1949, she was appointed chief editor of publications, which allowed her increased opportunities for fieldwork and freedom in choosing her writing projects; however, it also entailed increasingly tedious administrative responsibilities. By 1948, Carson
12300-423: The substratum. A very diverse range of unusual secondary metabolites is produced by marine fungi. A reported 33,400 species of fish , including bony and cartilaginous fish , had been described by 2016, more than all other vertebrates combined. About 60% of fish species live in saltwater. Reptiles which inhabit or frequent the sea include sea turtles , sea snakes , terrapins , the marine iguana , and
12423-426: The surface or in the open water column , away from the bottom of the ocean and affected by ocean currents , while demersal habitats are near or on the bottom. Marine habitats can be modified by their inhabitants. Some marine organisms, like corals, kelp and sea grasses, are ecosystem engineers which reshape the marine environment to the point where they create further habitat for other organisms. Intertidal zones ,
12546-448: The surrounds of seamounts and thermal vents , tidepools , muddy, sandy and rocky bottoms, and the open ocean ( pelagic ) zone, where solid objects are rare and the surface of the water is the only visible boundary. The organisms studied range from microscopic phytoplankton and zooplankton to huge cetaceans (whales) 25–32 meters (82–105 feet) in length. Marine ecology is the study of how marine organisms interact with each other and
12669-518: The target pests. DDT is a prime example, but other synthetic pesticides come under scrutiny, many of which are subject to bioaccumulation . Carson also accuses the chemical industry of intentionally spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. Most of the book is devoted to pesticides' effects on natural ecosystems. However, four chapters also detail cases of human pesticide poisoning, cancer, and other illnesses attributed to pesticides. Regarding DDT and cancer,
12792-562: The urging of her undergraduate biology mentor Mary Scott Skinker, Carson secured a temporary position with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries , where she wrote radio copy for a series of weekly educational broadcasts called Romance Under the Waters . The series of 52 seven-minute programs focused on aquatic life and was intended to generate public interest in fish biology and the bureau's work, a task that several writers before Carson had not managed. Carson also began submitting articles on marine life in
12915-511: The use of synthetic pesticides, many of which had been developed through the military funding of science since World War II . However, the United States federal government 's 1957 gypsy moth, now called spongy moth , eradication program prompted Carson to devote her research and her next book to pesticides and environmental poisons. The gypsy moth program involved aerial spraying of DDT and other pesticides mixed with fuel oil , including
13038-471: The wild-eyed, loud-voiced Dr. Robert White-Stevens in white lab coat, Carson appeared anything but the hysterical alarmist that her critics contended." Reactions from the estimated audience of ten to fifteen million were overwhelmingly positive, and the program spurred a congressional review of pesticide dangers and the public release of a pesticide report by the President's Science Advisory Committee . Within
13161-420: The world's coral reefs are now endangered and predict that global warming could exacerbate this trend. The open ocean is relatively unproductive because of a lack of nutrients, yet because it is so vast, in total it produces the most primary productivity. The open ocean is separated into different zones, and the different zones each have different ecologies. Zones which vary according to their depth include
13284-685: The world, Station biologique de Roscoff , was established in Concarneau, France founded by the College of France in 1859. In the United States, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography dates back to 1903, while the prominent Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was founded in 1930. The development of technology such as sound navigation and ranging , scuba diving gear, submersibles and remotely operated vehicles allowed marine biologists to discover and explore life in deep oceans that
13407-608: The writer as well as the woman." She found this in Freeman. The two women had common interests, nature chief among them, and began exchanging letters regularly while apart. They shared summers for the remainder of Carson's life and met whenever else their schedules permitted. Concerning the depth of their relationship, commentators have said: "the expression of their love was limited almost wholly to letters and very occasional farewell kisses or holding of hands". Freeman shared parts of Carson's letters with her husband to help him understand
13530-430: Was against her wishes to be buried in Maine. In the end, a compromise was reached. Carson's wishes were carried out by an organizing committee, including her agent (Marie Rodell), her editor (Paul Brooks), and Dorothy Freeman. In the spring of 1964, Dorothy received half of Rachel's ashes in the mail sent to her by Robert Carson. In the summer of that year, Dorothy carried out Rachel's final wishes, scattering her ashes along
13653-400: Was conducted mainly through letters and during summers spent together in Maine. Over 12 years, they exchanged around 900 letters. Many of these were published in the book Always, Rachel , published in 1995 by Beacon Press . Carson's biographer, Linda J. Lear , writes that "Carson sorely needed a devoted friend and kindred spirit who would listen to her without advising and accept her wholly,
13776-468: Was focused on technical fields in the wake of the Manhattan Project . In mid-1945, Carson first encountered the subject of DDT , a revolutionary new pesticide—lauded as the "insect bomb" after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki —that was only beginning to undergo tests for safety and ecological effects. DDT was one of Carson's many writing interests at the time, but editors found
13899-796: Was forced to remain at the Pennsylvania College for Women for her senior year due to financial difficulties; she graduated magna cum laude in 1929. After a summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory , she continued her studies in zoology and genetics at Johns Hopkins in the fall of 1929. After her first year of graduate school, Carson became a part-time student, taking an assistantship in Raymond Pearl 's laboratory, where she worked with rats and Drosophila , to earn money for tuition. After false starts with pit vipers and squirrels , she completed
14022-485: Was initially suggested as a title for the chapter on birds. By August 1961, Carson finally agreed to the suggestion of her literary agent Marie Rodell: Silent Spring would be a metaphorical title for the entire book, suggesting a bleak future for the whole natural world, rather than a single chapter title about the literal absence of birdsong. With Carson's approval, editor Paul Brooks at Houghton Mifflin arranged for illustrations by Louis and Lois Darling, who also designed
14145-468: Was inundated with requests for speaking engagements, fan mail and other correspondence regarding The Sea Around Us , along with work on the script that she had secured the right to review. She was very unhappy with the final version of the script by writer, director, and producer Irwin Allen ; she found it untrue to the atmosphere of the book and scientifically embarrassing, describing it as "a cross between
14268-543: Was not advocating the banning or complete withdrawal of helpful pesticides but was instead encouraging responsible and carefully managed use with an awareness of the chemicals' impact on the entire ecosystem. In fact, she concludes her section on DDT in Silent Spring not by urging a total ban but with advice for spraying as little as possible to limit the development of resistance. The academic community, including prominent defenders such as H. J. Muller , Loren Eiseley , Clarence Cottam , and Frank Egler , by and large, backed
14391-424: Was once thought to not exist. Public interest in the subject continued to develop in the post-war years with the publication of Rachel Carson 's sea trilogy (1941–1955). Pronephros Pronephros is the most basic of the three excretory organs that develop in vertebrates , corresponding to the first stage of kidney development. It is succeeded by the mesonephros , which in fish and amphibians remains as
14514-457: Was published in 1995 as Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952–1964: An Intimate Portrait of a Remarkable Friendship , edited by Martha Freeman, Dorothy's granddaughter, who wrote at publication: "A few comments in early letters indicate that Rachel and Dorothy were initially cautious about the romantic tone and terminology of their correspondence. I believe this caution prompted their destruction of some letters within
14637-530: Was said to have been somewhat of a loner. Carson gained admission to Pennsylvania College for Women, now Chatham University , in Pittsburgh , where she originally studied English but switched her major to biology in January 1928. She continued contributing to the school's student newspaper and literary supplement. She was admitted to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1928, but
14760-399: Was so embittered by the experience that she never again sold film rights to her work. Carson met Dorothy M. Freeman in the summer of 1953 on Southport Island, Maine . Freeman had written to Carson welcoming her to the area when she had heard that the famous author was to become her neighbor. It was the beginning of a devoted friendship that lasted the rest of Carson's life. Their relationship
14883-422: Was the daughter of Maria Frazier (McLean) and Robert Warden Carson, an insurance salesman. She spent a lot of time exploring around her family's 65-acre (26 ha) farm. An avid reader, she began writing stories, often involving animals, at age eight. At age ten, she had her first story published. She enjoyed reading St. Nicholas Magazine , which carried her first published stories, the works of Beatrix Potter ,
15006-465: Was thought to be such a hostile environment. This era was important for the history of marine biology but naturalists were still limited in their studies because they lacked technology that would allow them to adequately examine species that lived in deep parts of the oceans. The creation of marine laboratories was important because it allowed marine biologists to conduct research and process their specimens from expeditions. The oldest marine laboratory in
15129-590: Was working on material for a second book and decided to begin a transition to writing full-time. That year, she took on a literary agent, Marie Rodell ; they formed a close professional relationship that would last the rest of Carson's career. Oxford University Press expressed interest in Carson's book proposal for a life history of the ocean, spurring her to complete by early 1950 the manuscript of what would become The Sea Around Us . Chapters appeared in Science Digest and The Yale Review , which published
#390609