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The nature of applied biological research is not always clear to students of biological subjects or to the general public. The work of government research departments and research institutions appears with few exceptions only in technical journals and is rarely interpreted in the current press for general consumption. This does not mean that such work as has been done has little value, or that the potentialities of biological work are necessarily small. It does mean that there is real scope for a journal which will provide articles on biological research in New Zealand readily accessible to the student and the general public. This is a task which the Biological Society of Victoria University College has undertaken in the production of “Tuatara” in its new form.
Biological research is neither narrow in purpose nor in application. It touches on all aspects of human existence and has contributed to human welfare in many ways. Urbanisation, the development of city communities, throws an ever increasing strain on the production of foods on the land and from the seas; restriction of food sources paves the way to widespread nutritional defects; the aggregation of individuals facilitates the transmission of contagious disease; the disruption of biologically balanced communities liberates pests of all kinds, and has created such far-reaching problems as soil erosion, and the depletion of essential nutriment from the land. The solution to these and other kindred problems of our civilization comes, and must come in the future, through biological research.
Already the application of scientific method to agriculture in New Zealand has brought about marked increases in the yield of farm products from given areas. These results were achieved by improvements in the quality of crops and grasses, the utilization of fertilizers best suited to soil requirements, advances in animal husbandry and breeding, and many other developments resulting from research. Marine and freshwater food resources have not as yet been fully exploited in this country. The eel-canning industry and the extraction of shark liver oil for its vitamin content are two recent developments, but a great deal of survey and research work must be done before our aquatic resources are utilized to the best advantage. Although the food stuffs to remedy nutritional deficiencies must come from our agricultural and fisheries resources, foods can only be put to the best use when their relative nutritive values are known. Valuable studies on this problem are being undertaken in New Zealand.
The spread of infectious diseases is a trend favoured by the growth and aggregations of human populations. However, the results of experience and research have not only countered this trend, but have materially reduced the range and incidence of such diseases; and have also provided greatly improved methods for treatment and control. Many of the treatments have general application and are the results of research carried out in all parts of the world, but others are of special importance locally. Tuberculosis (especially among Maoris), goitre and hydatids, assume greater importance in New Zealand than in many other countries, and important contributions towards the understanding of these diseases are being made here. Domestic animals and plants have their own diseases and parasites. These have increased with closer interchange between countries, and a significant contributory factor has been some loss of stamina in domesticated species after selection for production. If unchecked, such tendencies counteract the effect of gains in production from improvements in agricultural method, but research on disease control in both animals and plants has prevented much of this loss.
Other pests not actually associated with disease have also increased, due to the upset of the balance of nature by man. The settlement of areas previously occupied by indigenous plants and animals has lead towards the extinction of many once common species but has provided conditions suited to many introduced species. Those whose multiplication has caused severe competition with species of greater value to man, have become pests. Ragwort and gorse, many insects and rabbits and deer, have already reached this status. Some plants, valueless to man have increased in numbers so greatly that they are invading areas intended for economic crops, and their elimination requires special study and treatment. Vast numbers of insects have threatened crops, orchards, and timber, and the constant attention of entomologists must be given to their control. Rabbits and deer are severe competitors with sheep and cattle for grazing on high country and reduce the carrying capacity of land. Their control is becoming even more urgent as their part in the depletion of permanent plant covering to steep slopes is realised, and the scale of such resulting phenomena as soil erosion is appreciated. Man's removal of plant covering by overgrazing and deforestation had vastly added to the waste of irreplaceable soil before the significance of the changes he introduced was realised. An understanding of complete biotic interrelationships is therefore essential for society to maintain harmony with its environment.
Much has already been done by the application of biology to problems affecting man's welfare. It should be apparent, however, that a great deal more research is needed. This will require many more workers. The success of such persons will depend as much on the real interest with which their study is pursued as on previous technical
One of the main objects of “Tuatara” is to provide reviews showing the present applications and future scope of biological research. Other articles designed to assist students of biology will be included in each number.
Students are frequently faced with the problem of the identification of specimens collected or observed by their friends or by themselves. Some of the more conspicuous groups of animals and plants are described in monographs, but many specimens can only be identified after prolonged search in various journals. References to the main literature on certain groups, and keys to the identification of common or conspicuous species will be given in this and subsequent issues. It should assist the beginner who may obtain a certain satisfaction from specifically identifying a specimen and aid others seeking correct identification, which is so essential as a starting point for the detailed study of any organism in the laboratory and the field.
This journal is intended to give some information which cannot be included in an already crowded course of instruction, but is frequently wanted by students. It will be serving its purpose if it can rouse some interest in the general topics discussed and especially lead to further inquiries into the points outlined.
The student of biology must at times ask himself the question “To what use am I going to put my biological studies in my vocation in life”? It is true that a knowledge of biology may be regarded as an essential to a sound education. Those who propose to enter the teaching profession will require it for the instruction of their pupils. There are others, possessed of the gift and the flair for undertaking research, whose inclinations may direct them into the fields of biology. What opportunities are there in New Zealand for those wishing to engage in biological research? What is the nature of the biological research now in progress in New Zealand, and where is such work proceeding at the present time? This article will attempt to set out briefly the answers to those questions insofar as the plant kingdom is concerned.
The Plant Diseases Division in Auckland under the direction of Dr.
However, despite these results, the fight against plant disease must continue, for many still remain unconquered, while new ones regularly appear. The field for the research biologist with inclinations towards mycology, bacteriology, virology, entomology and taxonomy appears likely to offer prospects of an abundance of interesting problems.
At Palmerston North, in close proximity to Massey College, the Grasslands Division, directed by Mr.
It has been shown that most pasture plants are capable of being improved by selection and breeding. Much of New Zealand's promin-
Pasture is grown for stock to consume either in the green stage, or as ensilage or as hay. The animal converts the substance of pasture into milk, meat, wool and bone. It is important that this conversion be carried out economically insofar as both pasture and animal are concerned. Studies of the nutritive value of pastures at various stages of growth, of ensilage, of hay, using animals for making these tests, checked against those made in the chemical laboratory, are therefore made. The influence exerted by the grazing animal upon pasture composition is all important to ascertain the best use which can be made over a long period of any pasture and this leads to further studies associated with pasture establishment, pasture management and the use of supplementary fodders. All this work is of interest to both plant and animal biologists and its results all have bearing upon pasture utilisation. Soil and climatic conditions greatly favour pasture production in New Zealand, but there is a vast field of unexplored problems ahead for the plant biologist, especially those interested in ecology, genetics, plant breeding and plant physiology.
The Botany Division has its headquarters in Wellington, and is under the direction of Dr.
The Entomology Division, under the direction of Dr. Porina, an indigenous species of grass caterpillar, is a serious pest of pastures, particularly in the South Island, and has been brought under control by the use of poison bait applied with a manure spreader. A more serious pest of pastures, Odontria, the New Zealand grass grub, is presenting a much tougher problem and the staff of the Division still engaged on studies of its habits are testing the use of every known method of control, physical, chemical and biological, in order to check its ravages. This pest constitutes one of New Zealand's most serious problems, and the search for likely parasites is proceeding in Australia and South America.
The Agronomy Division is established at Lincoln, Canterbury, in the vicinity of Lincoln College. Mr.
The Wheat Research Institute, under Dr.
The Tobacco Research Station at Motueka, in charge of Mr.
Fruit Research is in progress at the Plant Diseases Division, Auckland, which has substations in Hawke's Bay and Central Otago. In Nelson the Appleby Research Orchard is used for manurial and spraying trials, while in Wellington provision is made for gas storage research. Fruit Research has an extensive range. It begins with studies of the soils on which orchards are established and finishes with fruit in raw, dried, or cooked form on the table. It embraces pip, stone, berry and citrus fruits. The soil and manurial work has a direct bearing on tree growth, fruit yield and fruit quality. New Zealand workers were first to discover that shortage of boron in the soil was responsible for the serious trouble, “corky core”, which rendered apples and pears unfit for marketing. The study of tree stocks and scions, propagation and
This gives in brief outline the scope and nature of the plant research work undertaken in various branches of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and indicates the opportunities for those possessed of a bent for biological research to engage in work which has a distinct bearing on the future prosperity of New Zealand.
Mosquitoes of various genera act as vectors for the organisms which cause malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, and yellow fever. In military campaigns, particularly those in tropical areas, these diseases may offer at least as great a hazard to the combatants as do the operations of the enemy. The truth of this statement had been sufficiently demonstrated long before the Second World War. In the Spanish-American war the U.S.A. suffered more casualties from malaria and yellow fever than from actual combat. The Macedonian campaign in the First World War was disrupted by the effects of malaria, which caused the hospitalization of very large numbers of troops on both the Entente and Allied sides. Coming to the early stages of the recent Pacific campaign, the fall of Bataan in the Philippines was hastened by the facts that about 35,000 men of the U.S. garrison were suffering from malaria and that suppressive drugs for the treatment of this disease were in short supply.
Occurring over the greater part of the land masses of the world, malaria is the most important of the endemic diseases affecting mankind. Records clearly referring to this disease have come down to us from very ancient times, although it was not until towards the end of last century that the true nature and means of transmission of malaria became known. The Grecian legend of the slaying of the Hydra by Hercules is thought to be an allegorical reference to the reclamation of fever-ridden marsh lands. Almost 2,500 years ago Hippocrates gave a clear account of the distinguishing features of the different types of
Malaria, caused by protozoon parasites of the genus Plasmodium which attack the red blood corpuscles, is spread by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. These insects develop as aquatic larvae, usually in stagnant pools of various kinds, and the adults are most active at twilight. The disease is of high incidence over many of the South-west Pacific island-groups which became familiar to New Zealand servicemen during the war—the New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. It does not occur in New Caledonia or the Polynesian islands east of 170 deg. E. The effects of malaria become apparent about ten days after the bite of an an infected Anopheles, the symptoms consisting of alternate chills and feverish spells with either one or two fever-free days between attacks depending on the species of Plasmodium concerned. In the absence of treatment with quinine or certain synthetic drugs these attacks may continue over a long period. Relapses, less severe than the original attacks, may continue throughout life, depending on the resistance of the individual concerned. Tropical or malignant tertian malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, may have a fatal termination. The cumulative effects of long-continued attacks of the less severe forms of malaria may also play an important part in bringing about death.
In the Pacific, human filariasis is caused by nematode worms of the genus Wuchereria. The chief vectors are the cosmopolitan Culex fatigans, a night-biting mosquito, and Aedes scutellaris, a day-biting species. Both insects breed in water held by such natural containers as coconut husks, or such artificial ones as water tanks. Filariasis is particularly prevalent in Fiji and Samoa. The effects of the disease, unlike those of malaria, do not become manifest until after many separate infections over a long period of time. This entails long residence in close proximity to a heavily-infected native population, together with a high incidence of the mosquito vector. The disease never attained prominence among troops during the Pacific war, and few cases were reported among New Zealand personnel. The symptoms include gross swellings in the vicinity of the lymph nodes, which become blocked by the calcified remains of great numbers of the developmental stage of the
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus transmit the virus which causes dengue fever. The breeding habits of these day-biting species are similar to those of the vectors of filariasis. Dengue, and various forms of dengue-like-fevers, occur throughout the tropics. The effects become apparent in from seven to nine days after the bite of an infected insect. There are two main crises of fever, and very severe pains in the joints and muscles—hence the name of “breakbone fever” sometimes applied to this disease. Recovery takes place in about a week, there being none of the recurrent ill-effects associated with malaria. The disease very rarely has a fatal termination. However dengue fever is of great importance from the military standpoint, as it is liable to occur in “pandemics”—explosive epidemics which may temporarily incapacitate an entire unit of men.
Yellow fever, a virus disease spread by Aedes aegypti, does not occur in the area under discussion and need not concern us here.
Under peacetime conditions permanent military establishments in malarious areas are maintained in a good state of sanitation. Adequate drainage within camp bounds reduces the number of ground pools suited to the breeding requirements of Anopheles. Control measures are taken against both larval and adult mosquitoes, and personnel generally sleep under mosquito nets or in mosquito-proofed barracks. Thus the chances of servicemen contracting malaria under these conditions are relatively slight.
Combat conditions, however, immeasurably increase the hazard of insect-borne disease. Troops may live for many weeks in Anopheles-infested areas before there is any opportunity to drain permanent pools or carry out any other anti-mosquito measures. Furthermore, innumerable fresh anopheline breeding places are formed as water accumulates in shell-holes, bomb-craters, and the wheel-ruts made by supply and combat vehicles. As personnel are living for the most part in hurriedly improvised shelters, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for them to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. If the supply of anti-malarial drugs is cut off, malaria soon becomes widespread.
Allied malaria casualties were severe during the Japanese southward drive, largely because of a shortage of suppressive drugs. The Japanese gained by this drive virtually the whole of the world's quinine-producing areas. Thus the Allies were forced to concentrate on the production of synthetic antimalarial compounds, and America began to manufacture large quantities of atebrin for the use of her forces. This drug acts with great energy on the asexual forms of the malaria parasite in the bloodstream, and prevents the development of symptoms of malaria as long as it continues to be taken.
During the heavy fighting in the Solomons at the beginning of the Allied counter-attack, although anti-malarial drugs were available to the U.S. forces engaged, battle conditions rendered the enforcement of malaria discipline very difficult. The initial malaria casualty rate was thus very high. Before it became possible to undertake control measures against Aedes aegypti, severe epidemics of dengue fever also occurred.
As the northward drive continued, however, and the various island bases were consolidated, an intensive anti-mosquito campaign was developed. Special units were set up to carry out this campaign, and surveys of mosquito breeding places were undertaken in each military area. Squads of hygiene and sanitation personnel and native labourers commenced to drain swampy areas and large permanent pools. Any other pools in the area which for some reason or another could not be drained, but which were actual or potential anopheline breeding places, were sprayed once a week with such larvicides as D.D.T. in diesel oil. In the early stages of the operations in the islands, transport drivers had shown a tendency to avoid rutted sections of roads through coconut plantations by simply following new tracks through the lanes of trees. This caused the needless formation of fresh wheel-ruts and consequently of great numbers of potential mosquito breeding places, complicating subsequent control work. Traffic was now restricted to as few roads as possible, in order to minimize this danger.
In addition to these anti-anopheline measures, malaria surveys of local native populations were made. It was found that the disease was all but universal among the natives, who acted as reservoirs of malarial infection for newly-emerged Anopheles. Thus wherever possible, military camps were built beyond anopheline flight-range of villages, otherwise the natives themselves were given a supervised daily dosage of atebrin.
Control measures were also directed against the vectors of the causal agents of filariasis and dengue fever which, as has already been mentioned, are natural- and artificial-container breeders. The dumping of metal cans, disused rubber tyres, portions of wrecked trucks and aircraft, and other refuse capable of holding water, had brought about a sharp increase in the populations of these mosquitoes. Such disused material was now gathered together into dumps and earthed over. It was also made compulsory for small cans to be flattened and for holes to be pierced in larger metal objects before dumping, in order to prevent their holding water.
At the same time malaria discipline was enforced among troops on the island bases. A daily issue of atebrin was made, and the use of bednets made compulsory. Personnel were required to wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts from dusk onwards in order to guard against anopheline bites. An added precaution against such bites came with the development and issue of a satisfactory mosquito-repellant based on
All these anti-mosquito measures combined to reduce the incidence of insect-borne diseases among Allied troops to a very low level. During the early operations on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons over a thoustand attacks of malaria had been recorded for each thousand invasion troops; after the institution of full-scale malaria control here the primary malaria rate fell so sharply that in the last two years of the war only a few isolated cases of the disease were recorded from service personnel on the island. The majority of these cases were traceable to infections outside the military area. An even more striking illustration of the efficiency of the control programme is seen in the case of Espiritu Santo Island in the New Hebrides. Here, in what was previously one of the most heavily malarious islands of the Pacific, no primary cases of the disease were recorded from troops over a two-year period.
It has been said that the only ways of eliminating human malaria from the world would be to wipe out either all the anopheline mosquitoes or all the human beings—of these alternatives the second would be decidedly the easier to put into effect! In heavily malarious localities still in more or less virgin condition, the problems of anti-malarial work are so complex that it is quite impossible to do more than keep relatively small areas temporarily free from the disease. Once mosquito control operations in such areas are discontinued, the Anopheles population is soon restored to its former level by invasion from outside the old control limits. Provided that a reservoir of infection is still available to these insects, malaria once more becomes a problem.
However, wartime entomological control experience served to show that, as long as the requisite equipment and organization are available, it is possible to safeguard people entering the tropical islands of the South-west Pacific from mosquito-borne disease.
Suggested reading: Svensson, R. 1940. A Handbook of Malaria Control. Published by the Shell group of oil companies.
To most people the vegetation of the sea is limited to the more conspicuous seaweeds found in the littoral zone (interdial regions). But is this all? Does the large expanse of ocean support plant life? It actually sustains the major portion of marine plant life which consists of minute, floating unicellular plants, collectively known as phytoplankton. These plants are found in the upper layers of the sea where the penetration of the light is sufficient for photosynthesis to be carried out. The euphotic zone, as it is called, extends down to approximately 80 metres (266 feet) the depth of course depending on the time of the year and the latitude. In spite of their microscopical size the total bulk of these plants is greater than all the rest of the life of the sea. Sometimes they are found in such quantities that the sea is quite turbid. Their production is greater in enclosed seas and fjords, rather than in more exposed unstable waters, in coastal waters over the continental shelf rather than in mid ocean, in colder waters rather than in the warmer tropical waters. This is illustrated by the huge deposits of plant remains (diatomaceous ooze) which occurs as a more or less continuous belt around the Antarctic and as a band across the North Pacific ocean.
There are two chief components of the phytoplankton, diatoms and dinoflagellates. Besides these, there are several other simple algae which rarely occur in sufficient numbers to be of great significance. Diatoms are all microscopic in size, varying greatly in form and structure. Typically they are yellow-green in colour, due to the presence of both yellow and green pigments. They are unicellular though often joined together in various ways to form chains and other aggregates. The characteristic feature of diatoms is their cell wall. It is composed of translucent silica and the variety of sculpturing shown by the striae (parallel lines) and pits its truly remarkable. These shells are of considerable importance in the formation of siliceous sediments and have formed great fossil deposits known as diatomaceous earth. These deposits have been known from the earliest of times and were used for making bricks for the temples of the ancients, and later for making glass and generally as a source of silica. The variation in form of these plants is largely a matter of structural adaptations to counteract the tendency to sink. Four main type of adaptions are to be found. The bladder type has cells which are relatively large, with a thin peripheral layer of cytoplasm and a large central cavity filled with light cell sap. Examples of this are Coscinodiscus species. In the needle type the cells are long and slender, for example Rhizosolenia species. Fragillaria or Eucampia illustrate the ribbon type with broad flat cells attached to one another to form long chains. The branched type is illustrated by Corethron and Chaetoceros species. These have spines
Licmophora frequently grows on other seaweeds, whilst the massed growth of Cocconeis ceticola flourishing on the skins of whales that have spent considerable time in the cold Antarctic waters, have by their yellow colour, given rise to the name “sulphur bottom” to the blue whale.
Dinoflagellates are an extremely diverse group about which it is hard to generalise. Some possess no cell wall and are more animal in character, while others are truly plant-like having a definite cell wall made of cellulose plates. All possess two whip-like extensions—flagella—which help to propel them through the water to a limited degree. Like diatoms, dinoflaellates also have various structural adaptations to their floating existence. They may have long arm-like extensions or conspicuous wing-like membranes or parachute-like structures, especially in tropical waters where the water is lighter. Many dinoflagellates are luminescent being responsible for much of the brilliant phosphorescence of the sea.
The study of diatoms and dinoflagellates dates back to
Next came the investigations of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Scientists of the different nations of Europe together carried out a series of investigations to form part of one great plan. Not only are they enquiring into the lives of fishes, their lifehistories, food and feeding habits, migrations, growth, birth rates, etc., but with continually improved equipment they are studying the distribution of the different plankton forms, the conditions under which they live, the flow of ocean curreent, the chemistry of the sea, and the varying nature of the sea bottom and its life. Since 1918 much work has been done in this direction especially by the “Discovery” Expeditions,
There are various methods of collecting, concentrating and computing phytoplankton samples, depending on the accuracy required and the number of plants present. The plankton tow-net, consisting of a filtering cone, made of very fine bolting silk (200 meshes to the linear inch being the finest) with a metal ring attached to the wide end and a detachable collecting jar at the tail end, is widely used for the collection of phytoplankton samples. For more accurate quantitative work however, the tow-net has largely been superseded by various other collecting devices such as bottles, buckets and pumps, whereby known volumes of water are collected and out of which the plant population is later concentrated. The method used for concentration depends largely on the quantity of plants present. If large quantities are present they can be concentrated by settling and if free from zooplankton or if estimates of the total plankton are required, the concentrate can be expressed in terms of volume. Concentrating can also be done by filtering through bolting silk. This is commonly employed when large volumes of water are involved as in the use of the pump. The most accurate method is the use of the centrifuge. By this means even the tiniest of plants are retained. The results can be expressed in terms of volume, numbers of plant cells per unit volume, or they can be computed by chemical analysis. In the latter case the plant pigments are extracted with acetone and reported as numbers of plant pigment units. (The tinted acetone is compared colourmetrically with an arbitrary standard prepared by dissolving 25 mg. of potassium chromate and 430 mg. of nickel sulphate in one litre of water. One ml. of standard equals 1 pigment unit.).
By the above methods the seasonal distribution of the phytoplankton can be ascertained for any given locality. ‘Overseas workers correlating the seasonal distribution of the phytoplankton with such factors as sunshine and phosphate content of the water, have shown how interrelated one is with the other. In spring when the temperature and hours of sunshine are increasing, conditions are favourable for the production of phytoplankton which increases to such an extent that soon the phosphate content is almost depleted, limiting the further production of plants. Their numbers then decrease markedly. This makes possible the accumulation of phosphates and other nutritive salts by late summer, the amount being supplemented by a mixing from deeper waters due to an overturning of the water strata as their relative temperatures change. Conditions of light and temperature are still adequate at this time, allowing a further production of
Thus the cycle of life in the sea continues. The sun shining down on the water provides the energy for plant growth. From the atmosphere, carbon dioxide and oxygen are dissolved in the water and the mineral salts such as phosphates, nitrates are derived from land and spread throughout the sea. These form the raw materials from which plant cells synthesis complex organic material. They alone can utilise these simple substances in solution. On them, directly or indirectly,’ depend all the animal life of the sea.
The phytoplankton forms the food of the zooplankton which consists of very small animals such as copepods, other crustacea, and the larval stages of fish, all of which may occur in immense numbers through the upper layers of the sea. Great quantities of the zooplankton are captured and utilised by carnivorous animals such as many actively swimming fish, certain sea birds and whales. There is also a continuous rain of dead and dying material from above which forms the food of many detritus feeders and scavengers on the sea bottom. Bottom feeding fish prey on many of these forms although the larval stages of the fish are usually planktonic. From the human standpoint, man is regarded as the culmination of the food cycle. In practice this is frequently the case with his inroads on fish populations by net, line and trawl, and depletion of whale populations with the use of the explosive harpoon.
The economic importance of these animals is very great both as a supply of a large percentage of human food, and of very valuable oils. For this reason it is important to understand the factors regulating the production of the marine animals utilised by man.
Results from the study of fundamental factors in the marine food chain are being used in at attempt to understand the fluctuation of fish populations, and to forecast the future numbers and their movements, and to decide whether it is economic to supply nutrient materials to enclosed water masses in order to increase the economic populations they can support.
Already some economic applications of plankton study are being used. At Hull much work has been carried out in an attempt to correlate changes in plankton with those of the fisheries in the north. It
It is apparent then that a study of the changes in plankton can have a direct and important relation to economic problems. This relationship has yet to be elucidated, and utilised in New Zealand waters.
Suggested reading: The Seas, by A. Coscinodiscus sp. B. Corethron criophilum. C. Chaetoceros sp., D. Eucampia sp. E. Rhizosolenia sp., F. Ceratium furca, G. Dinophysis tripos, H. Ceratium tripos type.
The following key is designed for use by anyone without a specialised knowledge of echinoderms. Consequently the characters used are external ones, and the key is purely artificial. Only the shallow water species are included, except in the case of one or two species likely to be met with in fishermen's trawls down to 50 fathoms. None of the rarer forms are listed. The distribution is indicated in terms of the marine provinces, using the following abbreviations: A, Aupourian, i.e., the northern half of the North Auckland peninsula; C, Cookian, i.e., the remainder of the North Island, and the northern two-thirds of the South Island; M, Moriorian, i.e., the Chathams group; F. Forsterian, i.e., the southern third of the South Island, Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island; R. Rossian, i.e., the Auckland and Campbell Islands.
The four commonest starfish in Cook Strait rock-pools are: Asterina regularis, Stichaster australis, Astrostole scabra, and Coscinasterias calamaria.
Literature: This unfortunately is very scattered, but most important is Mortensen, Th. (1925), Vidensk. Medd. Dansk naturh. Foren., 79, p. 261, where further references will also be found. This publication is in the library of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
A, Asterodon miliaris, upper surface of one arm. B, Pentagonaster pulchellus, upper surface of one arm. C, Asterina regularis, lower surface of one arm. D, Sclerasterias mollis, cross-section of an arm, showing arrangement of spines. E, Stegnaster inflatus, lower surface of one arm. F, Stichaster australis, cross-section of an arm to show arrangement of granules and spines. G, Coscinasterias calamaria, crosssection of an arm to show spines. H, Astrostole scabra, cross-section of an arm to show spines. I, Psilaster acuminatus, side view of marginal plates of an arm showing arrangement of the spines on inferomarginal plates. J, Persephonaster neozelanicus, side view of marginal plates of an arm showing arrangement of spines on both superomarginal and inferomarginal plates. K, Diplodontias dilatatus, upper surface of an arm. L, Psilaster acuminatus, upper surface of one arm.
My first view of the Plymouth Marine Station was early last summer. It was a clear calm evening as I walked across The Hoe with an Egyptian zoologist, here to study plankton. There before us was the laboratory, a fine 3-storied building of white marble, placed just in front of the old Plymouth Citadel, and looking out to a glorious view of the broad Sound below.
The main front building, however, which one sees pictured on the covers of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association is by no means all; for behind is a second block, almost as large, housing the physiology department, the library, and the sale-of-specimens room; and beyond is a separate little building, the “Easter Class Room” used during the fortnightly vacation courses in marine biology for undergraduates.
The laboratory received several direct bomb hits, but by last summer the team of builders and painters who had been there for a year had repaired most of the research rooms. It was not until the winter following that the aquarium (where tanks had burst and flooded the ground floor in a raid) was reopened; whilst the rebuilding of the east wing, which used to be the director's home but is now an empty bombedout shell, has only recently begun. People there on the main night of the bombing give dramatic accounts of how Dr. Kemp, then Director, threw his energy into preventing the fire from spreading into the rest of the building and losing everything in his home as a result.
There are about a dozen on the permanent research staff; though half were in the services during the war, and last summer were just settling down at the laboratory again. Mr. Russell, the Director, with his cheery grin, is now resuming plankton work. Physalia and other animals which later I saw in London at the Royal Photographic Society. In a room nearby,
The physiology block upstairs has rather a chemical and physical bias. Dr. Atkins, at its head, goes into profound details about light
Although each worker is largely on his own special line, with a happy lack of any feeling that research is being “directed” by others, there is a certain amount of underlying team-work in connection with plankton and fisheries problems, both biological and chemical.
As well as the permanent staff (of whom I've only mentioned the ones I have chiefly met), numerous visiting workers come and go. At the moment, this being the summer vacation, these workers are in the majority. For instance, young Hodgkin from Cambridge arrives with a car-full of cathode ray gear, and soon brings Pantin (and me) to see his set-up of a squid giant nerve fibre recording itself, an electrode plunged inside it by micromanipulators. Down in the physiology lab., Pantin, together with another research student and myself, have spread over most of the benches. Pantin and I are on anemones—largely smoked-drum work and low frequency stimulation effects. The other research student, a lass who has just graduated from Cambridge, is tackling hydroid regeneration—grafting oral cones and so forth; for which gloriously non-utilitarian sort of work the D.S.I.R. here cheerfully hand out two-year grants to promising young graduates to gain research experience without tying their future plans in any way.
A German from Glasgow is tackling skate sense-organs with cathode ray oscillograph. An earnest young Dane and his wife have been studying the rate of filter-feeding in mussels; two Indian students are on fisheries problems, and many others, from the most senior to the most junior workers, come for longer or shorter times. I have just looked through the list of “table-holders” for the last year. Of 72 workers, 14 were from London, 14 from English provincial universities, 12 from Cambridge, 1 from Oxford, and 10 from overseas.
I must not close without mentioning the 90ft. trawler, the “Sabella,” which since the war has replaced the old “Salpa.” It's a thrill going out on her and seeing the live Amphioxus being dredged from near the Eddystone, and Alcyonium and Antedon coming up in trawl-hauls, especially if you manage the trip without being sea-sick. For inshore work, the 30ft. launch “Gammarus” is used, and you meet Old Bill, who has been naturalist-collector for over 50 years, knows just where every beast occurs, and casually reels off scientific names in the broadest Devonshire.
Then there is the Hoe Garden House nearby, where Miss Geake has had chiefly laboratory people staying for the last generation or so—a happy, friendly place. In fact those adjectives describe life at “Plymouth” in general. While the lab. is not as large or grand as, for instance, the Cambridge Zoological Department, there is about it an easy and friendly informality, with everybody ready to help everyone, and with exciting work emerging around you, that makes a few months there extraordinarily pleasant.
1. Annual General Meeting. After the election of officers Mr.
2. Miss Ralph gave a talk on the trip which the V.U.C. Biology Students made to the United States and Canada during the last vacation. A brief explanation of some of the epoch making apparatus that science has produced within the last, few years was given, namely the electron microscope and cyclotron, both of which were seen at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. Miss Ralph showed electro-micrographs of the trichocysts of Paramecium taken by Dr. Jakus of the Biology Department of M.I.T. who demonstrated the microscope to the students.
Landing in Norfolk, Virginia, the students went first to institutions along the east coast of U.S.A., to Canada, then across to Vancouver and down the west coast to San Francisco, from where the departure was made.
Miss Ralph then told a little of the differences of life in North America both inside and outside the University and some of the amusing incidents that are bound to happen when travelling in a strange country. The group was enthusiastically welcomed by students and University staff everywhere. The talk was illustrated with lantern slides.
3. An herbarium competition for Stage I students has been introduced for the first time this year. Students entering are required to collect up to 50 native plants and mount them in the standard manner. A prize will be given for the best entry. The competition is designed to stimulate an interest in field work, which the society regards as one of its main functions.
4. First Tararua trip. A party led by Mr. Laird spent a week-end making observations on animal and plant life in the Tauherenikau Valley. The first day was devoted to an intensive study of two 10ft. square quadrats selected at random, one in the bush, the other on the river-flat. Each area was searched systematically. The plant species at ground-level were first noted and then mosses were stripped from stones and logs and searched for insects and other small animals. Objects lying on the ground were turned over, and their under-surface and the ground beneath them examined. Rotting logs were split open, and loose bark and lichens peeled from standing trees. Finally the branches themselves were shaken over sheets of cloth, many insects and spiders being obtained in this way Prominent among the animals obtained in the river-flat collection were numbers of spiders, mock-scorpions and insects adapted for life beneath loose manuka bark by a dorso-ventral flattening. Peripatus, and a large colony of the native termite Calotermes ruficeps, were found in rotting logs in the bush. The results of this study will be written up in full at a later date. On the second day of the trip the party strolled up the river, botanizing and examining aquatic animals and bird-life. Those interested in plants examined the flora of the quadrats previously studied for animal life.
5. Trip to Red Rocks. Dr. Fell led a large party to identify and observe the commoner littoral animals in their natural habitats. Most of the typical Cook Strait starfish and brittle-stars and the common sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus were seen. Littoral mollusca, sea anemones, and polychaete worms were observed. A storm on the preceding days cast up a rich supply of sponges, polyzoa and hydrozoa together with masses of seaweeds. A number of the brachiopod Terebatella inconspicua were attached to the sponges.
The party studied another type of animal association, on raised bouldery beaches above tide level. Amphipod and large isopods were common together with numbers of millipedes and centipedes and occasional specimens of the lizard Lygosoma.
6. Brains Trust. The Question Master was Prof. Ian Gordon, and members of the Trust, Prof. Bailey, Prof. Cotton, Dr. Hamilton, Dr.
Co-education in schools was treated at some length, followed by a lively discussion on the Government's action in stopping the broadcast of “How Things Began.” The question “Should scientists carry on with their research when they do not know for what the result of of their researches will be used” was raised. The Trust came to the unanimous decision that stopping research for fear of such future consequences would impede progress. Another question dealt with slumps and following that the relative value of University Degrees in New Zealand and other countries was discussed. A question on Marxism was ably answered by Mr. Miller, and Dr. Newman dealt with a question of the mutability of genes. There was also discussion on the Metric system and other topics of wide interest. Included were questions in lighter vein which gave scope for the Trust to pool its wit and repartee.
7. Lecture on sex. Mrs. Cochran gave a comprehensive talk to women students on this subject. To encourage a freer discussion among the women students, this was delivered to an exclusively female audience. After giving a brief description of the male and female sex organs, Mrs. Cochran dealt with the psychological aspects of courtship and marriage, and such subjects as contraceptives, childbirth and maternity homes.
8. Wallaceville Trip. Dr. Cunningham, the Director of Wallaceville Animal Research Station, gave a short general talk on the work done at the research station. The party divided into two groups, one of which was conducted by Miss McKenzie, the other by Misses Filmer and Bown. In the Parasitology laboratory, Mr. Whitten explained work concerning internal and external parasites of farm animals and the treatment of affected animals. In the Chemistry section, the Toxicology laboratory was visited. Mr. Staples gave a general outline of the work. He discussed lead, strychnine, nitrate-nitrite poisoning and described the isolating technique. Mr. Andrews gave a talk on trace elements, illustrating his remarks with reference to copper, cobalt and iodine. The post-mortem room, incubating room and refrigerating room were also visited. In the Diagnostic laboratory, Mr. Peddie talked on the preparation of vaccines and how specimens are sent in from the field for diagnosis. At the Honey House, Mr. Palmer-Jones described his work on poison honey, the finding of supplements for pollen, etc. Miss Hodgson, the librarian, described her work, which includes looking up references, making photostats, and abstracting. Miss McKenzie spoke on blood groups in animals. At the Histology laboratory, Mr. Williams described the technique of making slides. The small animal section which includes the rat-room and mouse-room, was visited. Sheep infected with parasites and isolated for study were a feature of interest.
9. Second trip to Tararuas. This trip to Field Hut was led by Miss Mason, of the Botany Division. Soon after the party reached the bush a halt was called and all trees, ferns, etc., identified. Observations were repeated at different levels and it was interesting to note the upper altitude limits of the dominant plants. At 3200ft. the taxad rain forest is replaced by a typical beech association. At about 3800ft. sub-alpine scrub dominated by Olearia colensoi and
Kapiti trip. A party of 20 will be able to make this post-exam expedition in November.