This volume is based on the proceedings of a conference held at Florida
State University in April, 1978. This conference was supported by the
Florida State University Graduate Research Council, the Department of
Biological Science (F. S. U. ), and the Center for Professional
Development and Public Service. Particular recogni- tion should be made
of the efforts of Dr. Anne Thistle in the organization of the conference
and the completion of this book. Julia K. White and Sheila Marrero
produced the typescript. The principal objective of the conference was
to assemble a group of marine scientists from diverse disciplines to
discuss the state of marine ecology with particular attention to new
research directions based on previous studies. Emphasis was placed on
the integration of different research approaches and on the application
of established procedures to various environmental problems. An effort
was made to eliminate traditional disciplinary boundaries which often
hinder our understanding of marine systems. There was generally wide
latitude for review and speculation concerning such topics as
physico-chemical processes, productivity and trophic interactions,
population distribution and community structure, and natural or
anthropogenic disturbance phenomena. Throughout, the usual
miniaturization of the scope of discussion was subordinate to a frank
appraisal of the present status of marine research. Although many
introductory ecological texts stress the so- called ecosystem approach,
individual marine research projects seldom encompass this broad course.
There is, in fact, a real need for system-wide studies at both the
theoretical and applied levels.
