Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) is a learned society with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology.^[1] The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth since the Citadel Hill Laboratory was opened on 30 June 1888. It has a world-leading reputation for marine biological research, with some twelve Nobel laureates having been or being associated with it over the course of their career. Among them, A. V. Hill received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1922 "for his discovery relating to the production of heat in the muscle".^[2] 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. The MBA publishes the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.^[3] The MBA is also home to the National Marine Biological Library, whose collections cover the marine biological sciences, and curates the Historical Collections.^[4][5] Throughout its history, the MBA has had a Royal Patron. The current patron of the MBA is H.R.H. The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 2013, the MBA was granted a Royal Charter in recognition of the MBA's scientific preeminence in its field.^[6]

Origins and foundation

In 1866 the Royal Commission 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.^[7] 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,^[8] 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."^[9] 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 construct 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 Lubbock, MP (later Lord Avebury)
• P. L. Sclater FRS, Secretary of the Zoological Society
• F. Jeffrey Bell, Professor of Zoology at King's College London
• Michael Foster FRS, Professor of Physiology at University of Cambridge
• J. Burdon-Sanderson FRS, Professor of Physiology at University of Oxford
• W. H. Flower FRS, Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons
• G. J. Romanes FRS, Secretary of the Linnean Society
• A. Sedgwick, Trinity College, Cambridge
• H. N. Moseley, Linacre Professor of Anatomy at University of Oxford
• A. Milnes Marshall, Professor of Zoology at University of Manchester
• W. T. Thiselton-Dyer FRS, Assistant Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• W. B. Carpenter FRS
• G. J. Allman FRS, Emeritus Professor of Natural History at University of Edinburgh
• John Murray, 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 in London on 31 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.

Presidents and Directors

The MBA is governed by a Council which is headed by a President. The MBA's Director is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Association.

Presidents

Since 1884, the MBA has had fifteen Presidents.:^[1][10]

• T. H. Huxley (1884 to 1890)
• Sir E. Ray Lankester (1890 to 1929)
• Lord Moyne (1930 to 1939)
• George Parker Bidder (1939 to 1945)
• Sir James Gray (1945 to 1955)
• A. V. Hill (1955 to 1960)
• C. F. A. Pantin (1960 to 1966)
• Sir Alan L. Hodgkin (1966 to 1976)
• J. Z. Young (1976 to 1986)
• James Lovelock (1986 to 1990)
• Sir Crispin Tickell (1990 to 2001)
• Sir Neil Chalmers (2002 to 2007)
• Sir Howard Dalton (2007 to 2008)
• Sir Geoffrey Holland (2008 to 2014)
• Sir John Beddington (2014 to present)

Directors

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 FRSE
• 1894–1936: Edgar J. Allen FRS
• 1936–1945: Stanley W. Kemp 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–present: Colin Brownlee^[11]

Current Research Programme

The MBA research programme reflects a long-standing commitment to the development of marine biology. It addresses both fundamental and strategic issues in marine science and is structured around two principal themes: Ecosystems and Environmental Change, and the Mechanisms Underlying Biogeochemical and Ecological Processes.

The research programme covers a range of disciplines including cell biology, physiology and functional biology, phytoplankton dynamics, ecology and animal behaviour and ecosystem change. An overarching rationale for the MBA research programme is to understand mechanisms that underlie key marine life processes. This includes research on model marine organisms that informs a broader knowledge of fundamental mechanisms as well as research that is specifically targeted at understanding biogeochemical and ecological processes and their complex interactions with environmental factors, including long-term and rapid environmental change. Long-term science observations of physical and biological parameters in the ocean have been collected by the MBA for over 100 years providing a foundation of data supporting studies aimed at understanding biological responses to marine environmental changes including effects of climate change.

The research programme is managed by the MBA Council through its Director and Deputy Director (Research) with the prime aim being to promote individually motivated research into problems of fundamental importance in marine biology. This is achieved by interweaving the work of resident Research Fellows with that of visiting workers. The groundbreaking work of MBA research scientists has been recognised by many national and international awards over the years, including the Royal Society's Royal Medal, Darwin Medal and Croonian Lecture, the Zoological Society of London's Frink Medal, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science's International Prize for Biology.

National Marine Biological Library

The National Marine Biological Library (NMBL) began in 1887 as the research support library for the MBA.^[1] Today, it provides research support for the MBA, the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The NMBL's holdings include periodicals, serials, journals, reports and grey literature, a large collection of historical and modern books, an extensive reprint collection, and expedition reports. These cover the vast majority of the world. The NMBL’s Special Collections include the research libraries of several eminent MBA scientists; these are George Parker Bidder, Edward Thomas Browne, Sidney Frederic Harmer, E. Ray Lankester, Marie Victoire Lebour and John Zachary Young. Additionally, the NMBL curates the MBA Archive Collection which details the MBA's institutional history as well the history of marine biology in Britain since the late-nineteenth century, especially through the collection’s personal papers. These include scientific papers and material from Walter Garstang, Sidney Harmer, Hildebrand Wolfe Harvey, Thomas Hincks, Thomas V. Hodgson, Stanley W. Kemp, Charles A. Kofoid, Mary Parke, John Richardson, Frederick S. Russell, Thomas A. Stephenson, Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, Edward A. Wilson and William Yarrell.

Journal of the Marine Biological Association

Since 1887, the MBA has published the Journal of the Marine Biological Association (JMBA), a scientific journal "publishing original research on all aspects of marine biology".^[12]

References

External links

• Website of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Website of the National Marine Biological Library
• MBA Archive Collection
• Further biographical information of former directors and MBA scientists