Chapter 1 Key Concepts

Marine biology is a subject mixing functional biology and ecology.
Biodiversity is the third major factor in marine biological studies.
Marine biology began with simple observations of the distribution and variety of marine life.
In the nineteenth century, marine biology developed into a science involving ecology and hypothesis testing.
The voyage around the world of the H.M.S. Challenger gave us the first global-scale view of marine biology.
Advances in modern marine biology included the development of major research institutions, faster ships, better navigation, and greatly improved diving technology.
Technology in both the laboratory and the open sea has played an important role in the development of marine biology.
Marine biologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method, which is a systematic means of reasoning and observation.
Most marine biological research requires extensive observations and correlations, but experimentation is usually the most efficient way to answer a question.
Experimentation is a much sharper and more powerful way of establishing cause.
Marine biological research involves the testing of hypotheses and may involve experimentation or sampling.
Hypothesis testing is most powerful when specific predictions for an experimental treatment can be contrasted with difference from a control.
Some terms are necessary to describe life habits of marine organisms: neuston, plankton, nekton, benthos.