MARE 171Marine Biology: Diversity

Dr. TurnerFall 2014

Science and Marine Biology

Ocean and Marine Organisms - Ocean covers over 70% of the earth - Affects global weather patterns - Provides food and vital resources

Science and Marine Biology

Productivity – the amount of food produced by marine organisms and the number of organisms the ocean can support

Leading area of research in marine ecologyOver 80 million metric tons of marine fish and shellfish harvested annually

Science and Marine Biology

Study of the SeaOceanography: the study of the oceans

and their phenomenaMarine Biology: the study of organisms

and their reactions with each other and their environment

Science and Marine Biology

Marine Biology

Oceanography

Marine Science

Science and Marine BiologyKnowledge of Marine Biology:

- Helps us understand how marine organisms relate to us

- Helps us understand how human activities affect the marine environment

- Helps conscientious citizens make prudent decisions that involve the sea

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives - science has advanced over the years as new technologies have been developed - Initial studies of marine organisms can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives - Aristotle – first to develop scheme of

classification; “Ladder of life” - Pliny the Elder

– Roman naturalist;works in Natural History

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives-modern sciences of oceanography and marine biology continued in 18th and 19th century: Jean-Baptiste Lemark, Georges Cuvier, Charles Darwin

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives- HMS Beagle 1831 – Charles Darwin;

observations of atolls- 1859 – On the Origin of the Species

by Means of Natural Selection

Science and Marine BiologyHistory of Changing Perspectives-modern sciences of oceanography and marine biology originated with the Challenger expedition in the 19th century

- 1876 – 4,700 new species collected- Plankton – term for organisms that

drift in ocean current, coined in 1887

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives - First marine laboratory in US was founded by Louis Agassiz in 1873; purpose of helping teachers improve their teaching methods

Science and Marine Biology

History of Changing Perspectives- In early 20th century, expeditions were mounted to study the Arctic and Antarctic seas and their inhabitants - Marine laboratories play a vital role in both marine and basic biological research

Science and Marine Biology

Process of Science - Inductive Reasoning: involves looking at individual observations and proposing a general explanation for them; octopus and squid are observed with suckers so a cephalopods have suckers

Science and Marine Biology

Process of Science- Deductive Reasoning: is the process of reasoning whereby observations suggest a general principle from which a specific statement can be derived; cephalopods have suckers, a cuttlefish is a cephalopods, therefore, cuttlefish have suckers

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceScientific Method – orderly pattern of gathering and analyzing information

Step 1: - Making observations

Good researchers are good observers as well as creative thinkers

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceStep 2: Using inductive reasoning to form a hypothesis

Hypotheses are formed after a researcher notices patterns or relationships and makes an educated guess as to the probable answer

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceStep 3: Using deductive reasoning to design experiments

Deductive reasoning – observations suggest a principle from which a specific statements can be derived - used to design experiments and test hypotheses

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceHypotheses are tested with experimentsWell designed experiments test only one variable at a time - called the Experimental Variable – factor that is altered in an experimentTwo trials are run – each with a different variableExperimental set – has experimental variableControl set –without experimental variable

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceSteps 4 & 5: Gathering results and drawing conclusions

Conclusions drawn from experiments lead scientists to either accept or reject their hypotheses

Science and Marine Biology

Science and Marine Biology

Process of ScienceThere are times when controlled experiments are not possible or feasible

Observational science involves observing and describing and possibly theorizing; but not testing

Theory – is a body of observations that have stood the test of time

Science and Marine Biology

Key Concepts:Ocean and Marine Organisms

- ProductivityStudy of the Sea

- Oceanography, Marine BiologyHistory of Changing Perspectives

- Aristotle, Lemark, Cuvier, Darwin, Beagle, Challenger, Agassiz, Marine Labs

Science and Marine Biology

Key Concepts:Process of Science

- Inductive & Deductive reasoning, Scientific method, Observational Science, Theory