For almost a century and a half, biologists have gone to the seashore to study life. The oceans contain rich biodiversity, and organisms at the intersection of sea and shore provide a plentiful sampling for research into a variety of questions at the laboratory bench: How does life develop and how does it function? How are organisms that look different related, and what role does the environment play?

From the Stazione Zoologica in Naples to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, the Amoy Station in China, or the Misaki Station in Japan, students and researchers at seaside research stations have long visited the ocean to investigate life at all stages of development and to convene discussions of biological discoveries. Exploring the history and current reasons for study by the sea, this book examines key people, institutions, research projects, organisms selected for study, and competing theories and interpretations of discoveries, and it considers different ways of understanding research, such as through research repertoires. A celebration of coastal marine research, Why Study Biology by the Sea? reveals why scientists have moved from the beach to the lab bench and back.

Part One: Marine Places
1. Why Have Biologists Studied at the Seashore? The Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory by Jane Maienschein
2. Marine Biology Studies at Naples: The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn by Christiane Groeben
3. The First Marine Biological Station in Modern China: Amoy University and Amphioxus by Christine Yi Lai Luk
4. The Misaki Marine Biological Station’s Dual Roles for Zoology and Fisheries, 1880s– 1930s by Kjell David Ericson
Part Two: Marine Practice
5. Illuminating Animal Behavior: The Impact of Laboratory Structure on Tropism Research at Marine Stations by Samantha Muka
6. The Scientific Fishery: Sampling, Dissecting, and Drawing in the Gulf of Naples by Katharina Steiner
7. A Dual Mission: Research and Education as Critical Factors for the Scientific Integrity of the Marine Biological Laboratory by Kate Maccord
8. Francis O. Schmitt: At the Intersection of Neuroscience and Squid by Kathyn Mazson Jones
9. Microscopes and Moving Molecules: The Discovery of Kinesin at the Marine Biological Laboratory by Karl S. Matlin
10. Using Repertoires to Explore Changing Practices in Recent Coral Research by Rachel A Ankeny and Sabina Leonelli
11. Why Study Sex by the Sea? Marine Organisms and the Problems of Fertilization and Cell Cleavage by Michael R. Dietrich, Nathan Crowe, and Rachel A. Ankeny
12. Hagfish and Vascular Biology: Why the Marine Model Matters by Marianne A. Grant and William C. Aird
Epilogue: The Future of Biological Research Will Be Found in the Oceans Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado