Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a learned society
with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology
. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth
since the laboratory was opened in June 1888. It has a world-leading reputation for marine biological research, with some eleven Nobel prizewinners having undertaken research there. For example, the discovery of the mechanism of nerve impulses (action potentials) in animals was made at the Laboratory in Plymouth by Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin
and Sir Andrew Huxley
, work for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1963. It publishes the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
.
on the Sea Fisheries, which included among its officers Professor Thomas Henry Huxley, had reported that fears of over-exploitation of the sea fisheries were unfounded. They recommended removing existing laws regulating fishing grounds and closed seasons. However, the increase in the size and number of fishing vessels was causing widespread concern, and there were reports from all around the UK coasts about the scarcity of particular fish. This concern was expressed at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London in 1883, a conference called to discuss the commercial and scientific aspects of the fishing industry, and which was attended by many leading scientists of the day. Nevertheless, in his opening address, Huxley discounted reports of fish scarcities and repeated the views of the Royal Commission of 1866. He stated that with existing methods of fishing, it was inconceivable that the great sea fisheries, such as those for cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus) and mackerel (Scomber scombrus), could ever be exhausted.
Many of the representatives of science and commerce present had different views to Huxley. Their views were put forward by E. Ray Lankester, who summed up the scientific contributions in an essay on what we would now call ecology. He pointed out that "it is a mistake to suppose that the place of fish removed from a particular fishing ground is immediately taken by some of the grand total of fish, which are so numerous in comparison with man's depredations as to make his operations in this respect insignificant...there is on the contrary evidence that shoal fish, like herrings, mackerel and pilchard (Sardina pilchardus), and ground-fish, such as soles and other flat-fishes, are really localised. If man removes a large proportion of these fish from the areas which they inhabit, the natural balance is upset and chiefly in so far as the production of young fish is concerned." During this masterly address he went on to develop this theme and concluded with an appeal for the formation of a society to foster the study of marine life, both for its scientific interest and because of the need to know more about the life histories and habitats of food fishes. Professor Lankester envisaged that such a society would contruct a laboratory close to the coast, with the building containing aquaria and apparatus for the circulation of seawater and, most importantly, laboratory accommodation for scientists. The appeal was answered by a group of eminent scientists, who resolved to form a society and build a laboratory on the British coast.
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom was formed at a meeting held in the rooms of the Royal Society
in London on 31st March 1884. All but two of the signatories of the resolution of 1883 were present, together with some other scientists. By this time Professor Huxley had been persuaded to give his support and was elected as the first President of the Association, with Ray Lankester as Honorary Secretary.
There have been twelve Directors of the Marine Biological Association since its foundation:
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. 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...
. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
since the laboratory was opened in June 1888. It has a world-leading reputation for marine biological research, with some eleven Nobel prizewinners having undertaken research there. For example, the discovery of the mechanism of nerve impulses (action potentials) in animals was made at the Laboratory in Plymouth by Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin
Alan Lloyd Hodgkin
Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, OM, KBE, PRS was a British physiologist and biophysicist, who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles....
and Sir Andrew Huxley
Andrew Huxley
Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley, OM, FRS is an English physiologist and biophysicist, who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his experimental and mathematical work with Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials, the electrical impulses that enable the activity...
, work for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1963. It publishes the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
The Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a scientific journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom....
.
Origins and foundation
In 1866 the Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on the Sea Fisheries, which included among its officers Professor Thomas Henry Huxley, had reported that fears of over-exploitation of the sea fisheries were unfounded. They recommended removing existing laws regulating fishing grounds and closed seasons. However, the increase in the size and number of fishing vessels was causing widespread concern, and there were reports from all around the UK coasts about the scarcity of particular fish. This concern was expressed at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London in 1883, a conference called to discuss the commercial and scientific aspects of the fishing industry, and which was attended by many leading scientists of the day. Nevertheless, in his opening address, Huxley discounted reports of fish scarcities and repeated the views of the Royal Commission of 1866. He stated that with existing methods of fishing, it was inconceivable that the great sea fisheries, such as those for cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus) and mackerel (Scomber scombrus), could ever be exhausted.
Many of the representatives of science and commerce present had different views to Huxley. Their views were put forward by E. Ray Lankester, who summed up the scientific contributions in an essay on what we would now call ecology. He pointed out that "it is a mistake to suppose that the place of fish removed from a particular fishing ground is immediately taken by some of the grand total of fish, which are so numerous in comparison with man's depredations as to make his operations in this respect insignificant...there is on the contrary evidence that shoal fish, like herrings, mackerel and pilchard (Sardina pilchardus), and ground-fish, such as soles and other flat-fishes, are really localised. If man removes a large proportion of these fish from the areas which they inhabit, the natural balance is upset and chiefly in so far as the production of young fish is concerned." During this masterly address he went on to develop this theme and concluded with an appeal for the formation of a society to foster the study of marine life, both for its scientific interest and because of the need to know more about the life histories and habitats of food fishes. Professor Lankester envisaged that such a society would contruct a laboratory close to the coast, with the building containing aquaria and apparatus for the circulation of seawater and, most importantly, laboratory accommodation for scientists. The appeal was answered by a group of eminent scientists, who resolved to form a society and build a laboratory on the British coast.
Founders
The Committee formed at the International Fisheries Exhibition 1883 resolved to take action to establish a British Marine Laboratory, an initiative that ultimately led to the formation of the Marine Biological Association and building of the Laboratory in Plymouth. They were:- Sir John LubbockJohn Lubbock, 1st Baron AveburyJohn Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury PC , FRS , known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet from 1865 until 1900, was a polymath and Liberal Member of Parliament....
, MP (later Lord Avebury) - P. L. SclaterPhilip SclaterPhilip Lutley Sclater was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world...
FRS, Secretary of the Zoological Society - F. Jeffrey Bell, Professor of Zoology at King’s College London
- Michael FosterMichael Foster (physiologist)Sir Michael Foster was an English physiologist.He was born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire and educated at University College School, London....
FRS, Professor of Physiology at University of Cambridge - J. Burdon-SandersonJohn Scott Burdon-SandersonSir John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, Bt., F.R.S. was an English physiologist born near Newcastle upon Tyne. A member of a well known Northumbrian family, he received his medical education at the University of Edinburgh and at Paris...
FRS, Professor of Physiology at University of Oxford - W. H. FlowerWilliam Henry FlowerSir William Henry Flower KCB FRCS FRS was an English comparative anatomist and surgeon. Flower became a leading authority on mammals, and especially on the primate brain...
FRS, Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons - G. J. RomanesGeorge RomanesGeorge John Romanes FRS was a Canadian-born English evolutionary biologist and physiologist who laid the foundation of what he called comparative psychology, postulating a similarity of cognitive processes and mechanisms between humans and other animals.He was the youngest of Charles Darwin's...
FRS, Secretary of The Linnean Society - A. SedgwickAdam SedgwickAdam Sedgwick was one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Devonian period of the geological timescale...
, Trinity College, Cambridge - H. N. MoseleyHenry Nottidge MoseleyHenry Nottidge Moseley, FRS was a British naturalist who sailed on the global scientific expedition of the HMS Challenger in 1872 through 1876....
, Linacre Professor of Anatomy at University of Oxford - A. Milnes Marshall, Professor of Zoology at University of Manchester
- W. T. Thiselton-DyerWilliam Turner Thiselton-DyerSir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer KCMG FRS FLS was a leading British botanist, and the third director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.- Life and career :Thiselton-Dyer was born in Westminster, London...
FRS, Assistant Director, Royal Gardens, Kew - W. B. CarpenterWilliam Benjamin CarpenterWilliam Benjamin Carpenter MD CB FRS was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.-Life:...
FRS - G. J. AllmanGeorge James AllmanGeorge James Allman FRS , M.D., Emeritus Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh, was an eminent Irish naturalist.-Life:...
FRS, Emeritus Professor of Natural History at University of Edinburgh - John MurrayJohn Murray (oceanographer)Sir John Murray KCB FRS FRSE FRSGS was a pioneering Scottish oceanographer, marine biologist and limnologist.-Early life:...
, Director of the Challenger Expedition Reports
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom was formed at a meeting held in the rooms of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in London on 31st March 1884. All but two of the signatories of the resolution of 1883 were present, together with some other scientists. By this time Professor Huxley had been persuaded to give his support and was elected as the first President of the Association, with Ray Lankester as Honorary Secretary.
There have been twelve Directors of the Marine Biological Association since its foundation:
- 1884–1888: Walter Heape FRS
- 1888–1890: Gilbert C. Bourne FRS
- 1890–1892: William L. Calderwood
- 1892–1894: Edward J. Bles
- 1894–1936: Edgar J. Allen FRS
- 1936–1945: Stanley W. KempStanley Wells KempStanley Wells Kemp, FRS was a British marine biologist.He was born in London, the second of three sons of Stephen Kemp, a professor at the Royal Academy and Royal School of Music. As a boy he took an interest in animals, collecting water beetles and maintaining them in aquariums and was a member...
FRS - 1945–1965: Sir Frederick S. Russell FRS
- 1965–1974: Sir J. Eric Smith FRS
- 1974–1987: Sir Eric J. Denton FRS
- 1987–1999: Michael Whitfield
- 1999–2007: Stephen J. Hawkins
- 2007– : Colin Brownlee