Marine Fisheries Review 1996: Vol 58 Iss 3

49 Pages·1996·15.2 MB·English

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* REVIEW a
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Tates OF National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration * National Marine Fisheries Service
MARINE FLORA AND FAUNA
OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES
Marine Fi
EW
On the cover:
Tricellaria gracilis, Fig-
ure 43 from NOAA Tech-
nical Report NMFS 99,
“Marine Flora and Fauna of
the Northeastern United States:
Erect Bryozoa,” by John S.
Ryland and Peter J. Hayward.
Articles 58(3) 1996
History of a Systematics
Odyssey: The Marine Flora
and Fauna of the Eastern United States Melbourne R. Carriker 1
Recent Trends in the Catch
of Undersized Swordfish by
the U.S. Pelagic Longline Fishery Jean Cramer 24
The Crustacean and Molluscan
Fisheries of Honduras Clyde L. MacKenzie, Jr. and Linda L. Stehlik 33
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF The Marine Fisheries Review (ISSN 0090-1830) is tioned in this publication. No reference shall be made
published quarterly by the Scientific Publications Of- to the NMFS, or to this publication furnished by the
COMMERCE
fice, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 7600 MNFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which
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Annual subscriptions are sold by the Superintendent of ommends, or endorses any proprietary product or pro-
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National Marine Fisheries Service mined that the publication of this periodical is neces- intendent of Documents,
Rolland A. Schmitten, sary for the transaction of public business required by U.S. Government Print-
law of this Department. Use of the funds for printing ing Office, Washington,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries this periodical has been approved by the Director of DC 20402. This issue,
the Office of Management and Budget. volume 58 number 3,
The NMFS does not approve, recommend, or endorse was printed and distrib-
Editor: W. L. Hobart any proprietary product or proprietary material men- uted in November 1996.
History of a Systematics Odyssey:
The Marine Flora and Fauna of
the Eastern United States
MELBOURNE R. CARRIKER
On an early fall day in September the MBL Stone Candle House, across Where to begin? My desk top was
1962 I sat quietly, thoughtfully, at my the street the Woods Hole Oceano- empty. No one else had yet been re-
large desk in a newly renovated corner graphic Institution (WHOI) and to the cruited to the promising adventure: still
office in the old Crane wing of the Lillie far right, the Biological Laboratory of only a plan on paper. There were ob-
Building, Marine Biological Laboratory the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries jectives needing further focus, person-
(MBL), Woods Hole, Massachusetts. (BCF)! (Fig. 1). Down the inner hall nel to recruit, field and laboratory fa-
Looking out through high, ancient win- from my office stretched renovated cilities (beyond those of the MBL) to
dows, I could see the busy main street quarters for the fledgling, ongoing, establish, and contacts with neighbor-
of Woods Hole in the foreground, year-round MBL Systematics-Ecology ing New England universities to insti-
Martha’s Vineyard beyond, behind me Program (SEP), which I had been in- tute. It was, in truth, a lonely, but ex-
vited to direct. hilarating moment! Thus began the fast-
Melbourne R. Carriker, now with the College of paced, demanding SEP directorship.
Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Lewes, 1The BCF was then a part of the Interior I was informed of the opening of the
DE 19958, was the founding editor of the Ma-
Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. SEP directorship by Philip B. Arm-
rine Flora and Fauna publication series and con-
Since 1971, it has been the National Marine Fish-
tinues in that capacity. strong, Director of MBL, who wrote me
eries Service under the Commerce Department’s
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. on October 23, 1961:
Figure 1.—Aerial view of the Woods Hole scientific community, ca. 1966. Today the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
campus is extended some 2 km northeast to the Quissett Campus off Woods Hole road. Photograph by M. R. Carriker.
58(3), 1996
“The Marine Biological Laboratory, Hole, and my desire for a professional bility that goes with it. The appointment
which is primarily a summer operation, change, tentatively framed my response. will become effective on September 1,
is planning to embark on a year-round There followed a meeting with 1962 at an annual salary of $12,500.”
activity in marine systematics and ecol- Armstrong and Arthur K. Parpart (Vice
ogy. The systematics segment of this President, later President of the MBL Four days later, enthusiastically but
program will be financed by a grant Corporation) at Princeton University, to with some trepidation, I accepted
[$75,000] which the Laboratory has discuss the proposed program; and Parpart’s invitation. However, as the
been awarded by the Ford Foundation. shortly thereafter, a brief visit to Woods future course of events demonstrated, I
Would you by chance be interested in Hole and Falmouth, Massachusetts, need not have been disquieted. Begun
exploring this possibility with us?” with my wife, Meriel (“Scottie”) and as a long-range experiment, SEP in
four sons, Eric, Bruce, Neal, and Rob- many ways was a highly successful one.
At the time I was serving as Chief of ert, to explore at firsthand the new MBL A major, and the most enduring project
the Shellfish Mortality Program of the position and living conditions on Cape of SEP, which continues to this day, is
Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Com- Cod. Needless to say, I was impressed the “Marine Flora and Fauna” series of
mercial Fisheries, at Oxford, Md. with the opportunity offered me, and scientific reports issued by the National
Armstrong’s letter came at a propitious expressed an interest in exploring it. Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Sci-
moment. I was discouraged by the un- On March 28, 1962 Parpart wrote me: entific Publications Office (SPO) as a
responsiveness of the Bureau to my re- subseries of that agency’s peer-reviewed
quests to increase the personnel and “At a meeting of the Executive Commit- Technical Reports series (Fig. 2, 3).
enhance the research facilities of the tee of the Marine Biological Laboratory Closure of SEP, after 10 full, crowded
Shellfish Mortality Program. Both were held on March 16, 1962 it was voted to years, came about, not for want of merit,
urgently needed to combat such bivalve appoint you to serve as Director of the but because of dwindling foundational
diseases as MSX in the waters of the Systematics-Ecology Program at the support, especially for systematics.
Chesapeake Bay. These circumstances, Laboratory. We sincerely hope that you Although eager to start my new job,
the proposed SEP, the allure of Woods will accept this position and the responsi- particularly in the stimulating intellec-
NOAA Technical Report NMFS CIRC-374
NUat.iSon.al DEPARTMEOceani NT OF COMMERC. E Admini NOAA Technical Report NMFS 33 September 1985
National Marine FisherSieervsic e
Marine Flora and Fauna of
the Northeastern United States.
Echinodermata: Echinoidea
D. Keith Serafy and F. Julian Feil
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
Figure 2.—Cover page of the first MFF manual to appear in print Figure 3.—Cover page of the first MFF manual to appear in print
as a NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular, 1973. as a NOAA Technical Report NMFS, in 1985.
Marine Fisheries Review
tual environment of the Woods Hole urchin, Arbacia punctulata, popular tematics (the study of the diversity of
scientific community in the summer, I especially for embryological research at organisms) and taxonomy (the theory
had some concerns. I was troubled by MBL, were heavily harvested and dan- and practice of classifying) continue to
the potential impermanence of the pro- gerously depleted. It goes without say- be of pivotal importance in much of
posed grant-financed SEP operation, the ing that the willing efforts of the two both fundamental and applied biology
competition for space at MBL during resident biologists were only minimally (Mayr, 1969). For one thing, the immen-
the congested three summer months successful. Obviously, the enormity of sity of the diversity of organisms in the
when most visiting scientists and their the task far exceeded their energy and living world is staggering, a complex-
students were present, the low salaries resources. Ironically, some years later— ity impossible to deal with, if not or-
of MBL personnel, and (as I soon in the late 1960’s—the populations of dered and classified (Mayr, 1969). For
learned) the often disparaging attitude A. punctulata returned, perhaps simply another, identification of organisms
toward whole-organism biology, espe- a peak in a population fluctuation? gives access to stored systems of bio-
cially biosystematics, by many of the This was the backdrop that led to the logical information (all published
visiting biochemical-molecular-cellular establishment of SEP. In brief, the task knowledge on organisms is cataloged
oriented biologists. I was also con- before us was to conduct a long-range, and assembled under the scientific
cerned about the mainly empty labora- year-round, broad-based inventory of names of species in the world scientific
tories during the winter months. Dur- the estuarine-marine flora and fauna of literature). Indisputably, accurate re-
ing SEP’s first year or two from Sep- the Cape Cod region (Fig. 4), and on trieval of this information can only be
tember to May, the Program was the this biosystematic foundation to super- as reliable as the precision exercised in
principal, though minuscule, scientific impose basic investigations and foster the original identification and classifi-
activity at MBL. Essentially, we had the advanced training in biosystematics and cation. It follows undeniably that in-
run of the physical facilities, library, ecology. creasing refinement and quantification
chemistry stockroom, machine shop, As I paused in my new office in the of the results of biological investigation
biological supply services, and confer- Lillie Building on that September day will require comparable exactness in
ence rooms pretty much to ourselves. in 1962, I began more seriously to ap- identification of the organisms involved.
On the whole, but for SEP, the MBL preciate the enormity of the work ahead. This applies to both basic and applied
was an inactive, quiet place during the The only collection of local organisms, research. Imprecision in taxonomy will
period October through April. We felt the George M. Gray Museum in Candle neutralize whatever rigor was applied
as though we were rattling around in an House, was small and in poor condition. in the research; if identifications are in
over-sized building. In time, however, Principal knowledge of local organisms error, reports and published works on
to our advantage and stimulation, the lay unrecorded in the mental comput- them will be nonreplicable and corre-
MBL became increasingly active as the ers of MBL Collector Milton Gray and spondingly unreliable (Carriker, 1976b).
administration seriously promoted the the Manager of the MBL Supply De- Nonspecialists are usually able to
use of its nonsummer facilities and ser- partment, John J. Valois. Other than a identify and classify species only after
vices for research and training by inde- few mimeographed keys for local taxa, these species have been described,
pendent investigators and groups of re- prepared for teaching purposes by the named, and properly reported in the
searchers. The Boston University Ma- MBL marine ecology course staff, no technical literature. Owing to the diffi-
rine Program was one of the latter. Un- identification manuals, catalogs, or lists culty of use of this literature by non-
questionably, the year-round research of published systematic works existed. specialists, systematists often synthe-
and training in SEP benefitted the pro- Among scientists in the neighboring size the original literature into a form
motion. In the interim, our SEP isola- WHOI and the BCF Woods Hole Labo- that is more readily applied. Manuals
tion was warmly compensated by the ratory (WHL), there were a few system- in the “Marine Flora and Fauna”
full, year-round professional activities atically oriented, established investigators, subseries (Fig. 2, 3) are of this form. In
of the nearby WHOI and BCF. including Howard Sanders of WHOI and this context, Mayr (1968) noted:
For several years prior to the estab- Roland Wigley of the BCF Laboratory.
lishment of SEP, the MBL administra- They, however, were busy with their own “Taxomists supply a desperately needed
tion had been considering the need to biological research programs generally identification service for taxa of eco-
assess further the local marine plant and away from Woods Hole. logical significance . . . In all areas of
animal resources of the Cape Cod area, Because the title “Systematics-Ecol- applied biology good taxonomy is in-
the region from whence these organisms ogy Program” included “systematics” dispensable . . . Much work ‘a conser-
were collected for investigators and as well as “ecology,” we understandably vation, wildlife management, and the
teachers at the laboratory. Early moni- gave careful thought to the role of sys- study of renewable natural resources of
toring efforts in the 1950’s involved tematics in SEP, the marine biological all kinds depends for its effectiveness
Donald J. Zinn and John S. Rankin, Jr., sciences, and marine fisheries. As I re- on the soundness of taxonomic re-
who served consecutively as resident viewed the biosystematic literature in search. The faunas, floras, handbooks,
biologists. This was at a time when the large, comprehensive MBL Library, and manuals prepared by taxonomists
populations of the common purple sea it became abundantly clear that biosys- are indispensable in many branches of
58(3), 1996
biology and also widely used by the similar physiologically or ecologically. A case in point is that of wood-bor-
general public.” Not uncommonly, this results in both ing bivalves found in the warm-water
basic and applied research being re- discharge canal of a nuclear generating
Serious problems arise from inaccu- peated unnecessarily, because identifi- station in New Jersey. An investigator,
rate identification of biological species. cations of organisms in the original in- identifying them only to generic level,
This is evidenced by an excess of ex- vestigation were in error, or because the concluded they were indigenous. Ruth
amples in the scientific literature. Es- researcher did not consult the system- Turner, Museum of Comparative Zool-
pecially troublesome are marine species atic literature or museum collections ogy, Harvard University, was later re-
similar in external appearance, but dis- with sufficient thoroughness. quested to check the identification, and
eenobenenais.
I
Pi Me
<*
I ~S
ke° a 42
a)
I Ma ) 00
h
I
I
NAUTICAL MILES
I ss2 es a S|6
5 10
I KILOMETERS
I
x¢
Pa os ae -”
ee ee ee EL | 5 Oe pe Oe ow, 3
Figure 4.—The Cape Cod region, area of operation of the MBL Systematics-Ecology Program.
Marine Fisheries Review
to her surprise discovered that the On a broader organizational fisher- crisis of biodiversity has become a car-
bivalves were an introduced tropical ies level, Collette and Vecchione (1995), dinal concern, and description and
species (personal commun.)! while emphasizing the need for practi- documentation of “the grand pattern of
A second example concerns certain cal identification manuals for use by life on earth,” while still possible to ac-
species of marine planktonic dinoflagel- fishery scientists in the field, under- complish on a broad scale, is supremely
lates that in massive concentrations scored the importance of increased in- important. First field studies by SEP
sometimes produce “red tides” in teraction between systematists and fish- investigators soon demonstrated clearly
coastal waters. These species, in such ery scientists. Such cooperation, they that a knowledge of the kinds and
genera as Gonyaulax and Gymno- explained, would permit systematists to groupings of organisms (biosytematics)
dinium, produce toxins in some species obtain biological specimens for study is of fundamental importance in the ac-
of bivalves living in the red tide seawa- and concurrently help fishery scientists curate interpretation of the biotic pat-
ter that are fatally toxic to man (Dale resolve systematic problems of practi- terns evolving in the Cape Cod marine
and Yentsch, 1978); other species of cal importance—such as, for example, ecosystem and in deciphering the lev-
dinoflagellates do not. the accurate identification of seafood els of ecological integration of popula-
Libraries, unavoidably, retain many species for the seafood industry. They tions in the region.
examples of results of expensive re- suggest that existing fishery sampling And so the work of getting SEP un-
search discredited because of faulty or programs could aid systematists in derway began. In the beginning, I and
incomplete identification of the species monitoring and understanding biologi- my new secretary San Lineaweaver,
utilized. Michener et al. (1970) stressed cal diversity by expanding collecting running seawater troughs, and much
that underlying all important biological efforts at relatively little additional cost. empty laboratory space, occupied prin-
work is knowledge of the identity of the The resulting vouchered specimens cipally the second floor of a wing of the
species and its position in the ecosys- would record the distribution of these Crane building with partially remodeled
tem, and that without this basic infor- species and could be used in critical Candle House next door as an annex.
mation it is doubtful that any major ad- baseline studies of heavy metal, pesti- First to join me shortly after I arrived were
vances could have been made in biol- cide, and parasite levels in the ecosys- Victor A. Zullo, postdoctoral fellow;
ogy. According to Blackwelder (1967) tems of their origin. Henry D. Russell, curator; Dennis J.
systematics must precede all other Although the field of ecology was Crisp, visiting investigator from the Uni-
forms of biological investigation and generally accepted by many summer versity College of North Wales; and José
necessarily furnishes the foundation and biologists at MBL as an “emerging sci- Squadroni, s.j., visiting investigator from
frame upon which the results of re- ence” (but yet far down the pecking or- Montevideo, Uruguay. Growth of the SEP
searches on all the natural sciences can der), the majority delegated biosystem- group was rapid. By the end of the first
be built. atics to the bottom rung of the hierar- year, the number of full- and part-time
In addition to the pivotal significance chy. This attitude surprised most of us personnel reached 24. About half of these
of theoretical systematics to biology, I in SEP in view of the important pioneer- were involved in biosystematics.
soon rediscovered in my review that ing field studies carried out many de- Traditionally, MBL services had been
systematics contributes significantly to cades earlier by Verrill et al. (1873) and geared primarily to support laboratory
the solution of practical fisheries prob- Sumner et al. (1913) in southern New research and teaching, organisms being
lems. The much admired systematist, England coastal waters—the veritable collected in the Cape Cod region and
Waldo L. Schmitt (1967), Smithsonian “backyard” of Woods Hole! In spite of brought to MBL investigators by col-
Institution, related two such examples. this disinterested prevailing opinion, we lectors in the MBL Supply Department.
In the first, a specialist on sipunculid determined to consider biosystematics As SEP developed—because systemat-
worms was asked for copies of his pub- on a par with ecology, giving equal ics-ecological research generally re-
lications by an Alaskan cod fisherman. emphasis to both fields. The theoreti- quires investigators to enter the field to
This man had observed that wherever cal and practical significance of biosys- collect, observe, and experiment with
these worms occurred, he always made tematics, the increasing national aware- plants and animals in their native envi-
good hauls of finfish. He therefore ness of the growing number of known ronment—we added special facilities
planned to plot the distribution of the endangered biological species, and the and personnel beyond those available
worms in order to extend his fishing accelerating destruction of habitats to us through MBL. These included the
operation. In a second example, a fish- around the world (Carriker, 1967b) led 65-foot R/VA . E. Verrill (Fig. 5), small
erman sought information on the hab- us to this decision. The Cape Cod re- boats and vehicles, scuba facilities, bi-
its, distribution, and abundance of a cer- gion would not escape the pressure: otic reference collections in the Gray
tain species of crustacean that he had popular with summer visitors and grow- Museum, aerial and underwater
captured during recreational fishing. A ing rapidly, it would undoubtedly ex- biophotography, sampling and monitor-
specialist identified the species as a sto- perience pillaged habitats in the future. ing gear, crew for boats, and a technolo-
matopod, a favorite food of desirable By the early 1960’s we had reached the gist to work with investigators and stu-
panfish caught by fishermen in the conclusion, so eloquently phrased much dents in the field. These were all funded
Chesapeake Bay area. later by Peter Raven (1990), that the by grants and contracts to SEP.
58(3), 1996
England colleges and universities, to
conduct studies in association with the
resident staff and 2) foster research
training, communications, and experi-
ence in biosystematics, ecology, and
related organismic disciplines. This
milieu provided the impetus and an in-
valuable resource for the inception and
early development of the “Marine Flora
and Fauna” program and publications.
A major impediment to organismic
studies in the Cape Cod region was the
abysmal lack of adequate identification
literature and reference collections. As
the work of SEP investigators and stu-
dents progressed, the coastal plant and
animal reference collections in the Gray
Museum grew apace. With the valued
collaboration of visiting investigators,
mainly from New England colleges and
universities, our resident staff identified
and classified an increasingly large
number of specimens. This was a co-
lossal task and a complex organizational
Figure 5.—The R/V A. E. Verrill was launched formally late in 1966 and became the work-
horse of the Systematics-Ecology Program. Funded by the Ford Foundation and constructed problem for the curator of the Gray
for the Program, the ship is 64 feet 11 inches long. It has a large main research laboratory Museum, as well as for scientists and
with running fresh and seawater for processing samples, and an over-the-stern facility for
students undertaking regional biotic in-
collection of samples by means of a moveable gantry.
ventories. These were the major source
of biological specimens.
These censuses included the inten-
During our first year, we retrieved ing visiting summer population of sci- sive, quantitative analysis of the Cape
and incorporated the deteriorating rem- entists and students. Because SEP fund- Cod Bay ecosystem from the R/V A. E.
nants of the original Gray biotic collec- ing was primarily from grants and con- Verrill; and investigations of smaller
tions in the new SEP Gray Museum in tracts (over the decade from the Ford scale in Barnstable Harbor, Buzzards
Candle House. In February 1970, SEP Foundation, the Grass Foundation, the Bay, Hadley Harbor, Quicks Hole, Vine-
and the Gray Museum were moved to Federal Water Pollution Control Admin- yard Sound, the intertidal zones and
spacious new quarters in the new MBL istration, the National Science Founda- shallow water of the lower Cape and the
Loeb building across the street from tion, the National Institutes of Health, nearby islands (Fig. 4). A total of 42
Lillie (Fig. 1). The Museum collections Office of Naval Research, and Whitehall major algal, plant, and animal groups
were located in a large space on the Foundation, among others), frequent were examined during the SEP decade.
lower floor of Loeb”. Computer facili- changes occurred in SEP personnel, Several new species were described, and
ties and electron microscopes were avail- especially among the resident staff, who the range of many more was extended.
able at WHOI, where personnel were cor- sooner or later obtained “permanent” The majority of studies was on free-liv-
dial and generously cooperative. positions elsewhere. During the SEP ing benthic algae and animals, prima-
Ultimately, the maximal size of the decade (1962-72), a total of 256 per- rily macroalgae and invertebrates; a few
SEP staff was that which could be ac- sons were associated with the Program: were on parasites and commensals. A
commodated year-round in the facilities 20 resident investigators, 24 large part of SEP biosystematic research
set aside for SEP by the MBL adminis- postdoctoral fellows and research asso- was necessarily descriptive, at the al-
tration; this size, in turn, was limited ciates, 23 graduate research trainees, pha level, owing to the plethora of gaps
by the space requirements of the grow- and 42 visiting investigators; the re- in the knowledge of the holistic biol-
mainder were support staff. ogy of the Cape Cod region (Carriker,
In 1993 the Gray Museum collections were In addition to advancing knowledge 1962-72).
awarded, through competitive proposals, to the of the marine organismic biology of the Our earliest effort to fill the critical
Peabody Museum, Yale University, and were in-
corporated in the Peabody Museum collections. Cape Cod region by a resident research need for, and void in the identification
There they retain their identity in computerized and support staff, SEP biologists served literature of the Cape Cod region was
records, and can be searched electronically on as a nucleus to 1) attract faculty and enthusiastically and energetically spear-
the World Wide Web Site (personal commun.,
Eric A. Lazo-Wasem, Collections Manager). advanced students, primarily from New headed by Ralph I. Smith in 1963. He
Marine Fisheries Review
persuasively marshalled the collabora-
tion of some 25 biologists at MBL (and
some from elsewhere) who possessed
systematic expertise. With their help he
coordinated the preparation of and ed-
ited the valuable and still much used
(but out of print) “Keys to Marine In-
vertebrates of the Woods Hole region”
(Smith, 1964). With intensity but with
good humor, Smith kept our faith-
ful secretaries, Hazel Santos, San
Lineaweaver, and Virginia Smith, busy
and sometimes bewildered, as he orga-
nized and reorganized (no computers
then) the contributions of collaborating
systematists. [Secretary Eva Montiero,
who remained with SEP until its close,
did not join us until 1965.] In his
“Editor’s Preface”, Smith (1964) noted
“Relatively few present-day biologists
realize the difficulties involved in iden- Gammarus lfawrencianus Bousf.
tifying with certainty the myriad spe-
Figure 6.—A gammarid amphipod crustacean drawn by Ruth von Arx, Figure 2, p. 214, for
cies of marine invertebrates. . . . Keys Bousfield (1973).
are useful mainly in the identification
of common and obvious animals .. .
something out of the ordinary should and invertebrates of the New England rious planning of the systematic vol-
be referred to a specialist.” area. These keys would complement ex- ume. I prepared a draft manuscript on a
After publication of those “Keys,” isting as well as planned systematic mono- representative local taxon, and distrib-
there followed the SEP works: “Marine graphs and handbooks, and be directed uted it to several interested persons in
and Estuarine Environments, Organ- to undergraduate and graduate biology SEP and in the Boston area. It soon be-
isms and Geology of the Cape Cod Re- students and nonsystematic biologists. came painfully clear, however, that a
gion, an Indexed Bibliography, 1665- By this time (1965), Smith’s popular single volume accommodating all the
1965” by Anne Yentsch et al. (1966); “Keys” was in need of updating with ideas that were emerging would not be
and publications of broad scope by SEP additional taxa. We were confident that practical. For one thing, the proposed
visiting investigators from other insti- the impressive recent contributions in volume would include many systematic
tutions: “The Triumph of the Darwin- marine biosystematics by biologists of specialists, each probably completing
ian Method” by Michael Ghiselin the long established New England in- his/her contribution at a different time,
(1969), “Shallow-water Gammaridean Stitutions and the substantial research putting final publication years or de-
Amphipoda of New England” by E. L. accomplished by SEP investigators, cades away. For another, updating of
Bousfield (1973) with beautiful illus- with the support of the Gray Museum sections of different taxa would not be
trations (Fig. 6) by Ruth von Arx [now collections and continuing inventories possible without republication of the
deceased], and the “Ascidiacea of the in the Cape Cod region, would provide entire volume.
Atlantic Continental Shelf of the United a significant systematic resource for the Realistically, then, the concept of a
States” by Harold Plough (1978). preparation of the proposed volume. single volume had to be abandoned, and
Starting in early 1966, the hiatus in Furthermore, the opportunity for visit- in its place a plan evolved for a series
identification literature for the Cape ing investigators to use SEP field facili- of manuals, each for a major taxon, ap-
Cod region, importantly though only ties in cooperation with SEP staff and pearing periodically as manuscripts
partially, filled by Smith’s “Keys,” had the services of the Gray Museum, would were completed. The proposed series
prompted serious discussions among materially facilitate the research of col- was initially named the “Marine Flora
senior SEP investigators (primarily laborating systematists. Also possible, and Invertebrate Fauna of New En-
Ruth D. Turner, Robert T. Wilce, Victor was collecting in cooperation with bi- gland.” This was subsequently short-
A. Zullo, and I) on the need for a more ologists in other New England institu- ened to the “Marine Flora and Fauna of
comprehensive volume. It would be tions, such as, for example, the new New England” (MFF).
one, we hypothesized, that would in- marine station of Northeastern Univer- As planning of the MFF proceeded,
clude brief, illustrated, artificial couplet sity at Nahant in Massachusetts Bay. there arose the sensitive questions as to
keys and related biological information By early 1967, we had completed the official address and institutional
on the estuarine and coastal marine plants preliminary discussions and began se- sponsorship (if any) of the series. A
58(3), 1996
potentially vexing problem was re- seaward to about the 200 m depth on
vealed earlier by E. L. Bousfield, visit- the continental shelf; geographic distri-
ing investigator in SEP and senior sci- bution would vary with each major
entist, Museum of Natural Sciences, taxon treated and interests of authors.
Ottawa, Canada, who commented ca- Each manual was to be based primarily
sually one day that Ruth D. Turner, on recent research and a fresh exami-
Museum of Comparative Zoology, nation of organisms, where this was
Harvard University, and visiting inves- possible, and would be completed with-
tigator in SEP, and Nathan W. Riser, out a deadline, and published after due
director, Marine Laboratory, Northeast- review by referees. Each manual would
ern University, also had been thinking represent a major taxon and contain an
about preparing illustrated taxonomic introduction, illustrated glossary, uni-
keys to the marine organisms of the form originally illustrated keys, anno-
New England area. tated checklist with information when
To open the matter for discussion, I available on habitat, life history, distri-
telephoned Turner. We agreed to call bution, and related biology, references
several meetings, alternating between to major literature of the group, a sys-
Boston and Woods Hole, to talk over tematic index, and coordinating editor’s
our suggested format and direction for Figure 8.—Photograph of Robert T. Wilce, comments. Manuals were intended for
the MFF and the Turner-Riser plan for 1985. use by biology students, biologists, bio-
keys. Those attending generally in- logical oceanographers, informed lay
cluded Turner; Robert T. Wilce, Botany favored the Boston address, and Wilce, persons, and others wishing to identify
Department, University of Massachu- the SEP staff, and I equally strongly coastal organisms in the region, and to
setts and visiting investigator in SEP; leaned toward the Woods Hole address. serve as a guide to additional informa-
Riser; I. MacKenzie Lamb, Director, The strong systematic emphasis of the tion about the species in the taxon. A
Harvard University Farlow Reference SEP Program, proximity and access to version of this description appears in the
Library and Herbarium of Cryptogamic the Cape Cod marine-estuarine habitats, “Foreword” to each of the published
Botany; William Randolph Taylor, De- attractions of the Woods Hole scientific manuals.
partment of Botany, University of community, and the strong cooperative These plans were well received by
Michigan; Victor A. Zullo, resident sys- support we in SEP could provide, biologists. The format and plans for fi-
tematist in SEP; and me. At the onset, swung the decision in favor of Woods nancing and publishing of the MFF
we concurred that the official address Hole. The weight of these arguments were presented to and, following dis-
of the MFF should be either the Harvard prevailed, and SEP was eventually cho- cussion of several questions on the fi-
Museum of Comparative Zoology, or sen good-naturedly.
SEP-MBL, Woods Hole. Turner and the This matter peacefully resolved, we
Boston Malacological Club strongly turned next to detailed planning on the
MFF. An editorial board, consisting of
Turner (Fig. 7), Wilce (Fig. 8), and me
(Fig. 9), was formed. I consented to
serve as coordinating editor. We con-
curred that this administrative board
would function as an independent, non-
profit operation, responsible for the for-
mat, organization, financing, and pub-
lication of the MFF series.
Next, we developed a tentative for-
mat for a sample manual in the series
that would be applicable generally to
most taxa with minimal variation from
taxon to taxon. Such a format, we rea-
soned, would make the manuals “user
friendly.” We defined the “Marine Flora
and Fauna” as a series of original, il-
lustrated manuals on the identification,
classification, and general biology of
coastal marine plants and animals, rang-
Figure 7.—Photograph of Ruth Turner, Figure 9.—Photograph of Melbourne R.
1957. ing from the headwaters of estuaries Carriker, 1968.
Marine Fisheries Review