Hopkins Marine Station
Encyclopedia
Hopkins Marine Station is the marine laboratory of Stanford University
. It is located ninety miles south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove
, California
(USA) on the Monterey Peninsula
, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
. It is home to nine research laboratories and a fluctuating population of graduate and undergraduate students. It has also been used for archaeological exploration including that of the Chinese-American fishing village that existed on the site before being burnt down.
in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It was originally named the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory and located on what is now called Lover's Point. In 1917, the laboratory was moved to its current location on Mussel/China/Cabrillo Point, and given its current name: Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. The marine station's namesake is Timothy Hopkins, the founder of the city of Palo Alto and an early supporter of Stanford University, not Johns Hopkins
, founder of the Johns Hopkins University
. The marine station is not affiliated with the latter.
, biochemistry
, developmental biology
, neurobiology, ecology
, evolution
, and genetics
. Studies utilize a great variety of organisms, but certain particularly useful and/or charismatic critters, such as mussels, squid
, tuna
, tunicates, sea urchins, and mudsuckers, have been the focus of continued research efforts.
From 1963 to 1968, the station operated the research vessel
R/V Te Vega
, which sailed the Pacific and the Indian Ocean
undertaking various studies, most notably of the Deep Scattering Layer
. Data from the twenty Te Vega research voyages are still cited today, and one reference work opines that, "[a]lthough ships from several nations participated in the Indian Ocean Expedition, only one has contributed significantly to marine phycology, namely, the Te Vega [...]."
Some past and present researchers at Hopkins Marine Station:
36.6205°N 121.9045°W
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. It is located ninety miles south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove
Pacific Grove, California
Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, USA, with a population of 15,041 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,522 as of the 2000 census...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(USA) on the Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the former site of a sardine cannery on Cannery Row of the Pacific Ocean shoreline in Monterey, California. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million visitors. It holds thousands of plants and animals, representing 623 separate named species on display...
. It is home to nine research laboratories and a fluctuating population of graduate and undergraduate students. It has also been used for archaeological exploration including that of the Chinese-American fishing village that existed on the site before being burnt down.
History
Hopkins Marine Station was founded in 1892, making it the oldest marine laboratory on the US Pacific Coast, and the second-oldest in the US, after the Marine Biological LaboratoryMarine Biological Laboratory
The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It was originally named the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory and located on what is now called Lover's Point. In 1917, the laboratory was moved to its current location on Mussel/China/Cabrillo Point, and given its current name: Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. The marine station's namesake is Timothy Hopkins, the founder of the city of Palo Alto and an early supporter of Stanford University, not Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
, founder of the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. The marine station is not affiliated with the latter.
Hopkins Marine Life Refuge
In 1931, the State of California adopted legislation designating the intertidal and subtidal areas around Hopkins Marine Station as the Hopkins Marine Life Refuge. The collection of marine invertebrates or plants is forbidden without a scientific collecting permit. The HMLR is the second-oldest Marine Life Refuge in California, after the San Diego Marine Life Refuge of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. More recent legislation has been enacted to prevent chemical and thermal pollution of the water, to extend the boundaries of the refuge, and to prohibit the collection of fish, as well as invertebrates and plants, without a scientific collecting permit.Research at Hopkins
Scientists at the marine station pursue research in a diverse range of biological fields, including biomechanicsBiomechanics
Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...
, biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, developmental biology
Developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
, neurobiology, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
. Studies utilize a great variety of organisms, but certain particularly useful and/or charismatic critters, such as mussels, squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
, tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, tunicates, sea urchins, and mudsuckers, have been the focus of continued research efforts.
From 1963 to 1968, the station operated the research vessel
Research vessel
A research vessel is a ship designed and equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel, others require a dedicated vessel...
R/V Te Vega
Schooner Etak
The Te Vega is a two-masted, gaff-rigged auxiliary schooner. Originally launched as the Etak, she was designed by New York naval architects Cox & Stevens in 1929 for American businessman Walter Graeme Ladd and his wife, Catherine Everit Macy Ladd...
, which sailed the Pacific and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
undertaking various studies, most notably of the Deep Scattering Layer
Deep scattering layer
The deep scattering layer, sometimes referred to as "The Sound Scattering Layer"; is the name given to a layer in the ocean consisting of a variety of marine animals. It was discovered through the use of sonar, as ships found a layer that scattered the sound and was thus sometimes mistaken for the...
. Data from the twenty Te Vega research voyages are still cited today, and one reference work opines that, "[a]lthough ships from several nations participated in the Indian Ocean Expedition, only one has contributed significantly to marine phycology, namely, the Te Vega [...]."
Some past and present researchers at Hopkins Marine Station:
- Cornelius Van NielCornelius Van NielCornelis Bernardus van Niel was a Dutch-American microbiologist. He introduced the study of general microbiology to the United States and made key discoveries explaining the chemistry of photosynthesis.In 1923, Cornelis van Niel married Christina van Hemert, graduated in chemical engineering at...
- Donald P. Abbott
- Isabella AbbottIsabella AbbottIsabella Aiona Abbott , was an educator and ethnobotanist from Hawaii.The first native Hawaiian woman to receive a PhD in science,she became the leading expert on Pacific algae.-Early life:...
- Colin PittendrighColin PittendrighColin Pittendrigh was a US-American biologist of English parentage. He is a co-founder of modern chronobiology along with Jürgen Aschoff and Erwin Bünning.-Life:...
- Lawrence Blinks
- David EpelDavid EpelDavid Epel is a researcher at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, California.-Biography:Epel earned his Ph.D. at University of California Berkeley under Daniel Mazia. He arrived at Hopkins Marine Station in 1965. Subsequently, Professor Epel spent seven years at University of California San...
- George Somero
- William GillyWilliam GillyWilliam F. Gilly is a biologist specializing in the study of cephalopods. He was involved with the television special The Future is Wild.Gilly received a BSE from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis...
- Dennis Powers
- Chuck Baxter
- James Watanabe
- Fiorenza Micheli
- Mark DennyMark DennyMark W. Denny is a professor of biology at Stanford University.His research on the intertidal zone of wave-swept shores has led to increased understanding of this habitat...
- Tony DeTomaso
- Stephen Palumbi
- Barbara BlockBarbara BlockBarbara Block is an American marine biologist, and Charles & Elizabeth Prothro Professor in Marine SciencesEvolutionary, Cellular and Molecular Physiology, at Stanford University....
- Stuart Thompson
External links
36.6205°N 121.9045°W