Description: "Since the middle of the 19th century, biologists have migrated to the seashore to study marine organisms as a way of understanding life. By the turn of the 20th century, such work was being done inside permanent seaside field stations. The Stazione Zoologica, in Naples, Italy (from 1874), and the Marine Biological Laboratory, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (from 1888), attracted leaders in many biological fields, and helped establish biology as a modern science. Why Study Biology by the Sea? tells the story of these unique scientific institutions while attempting to answer the contemporary question, "Why study biology by the sea?" The volume examines the origins and value of these places via perspectives that range from cell biology to philosophy of science"--
Brief description: Karl S. Matlin is professor emeritus of biological sciences and conceptual and historical studies of science at the University of Chicago.
Review Quotes: "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"