Life Sciences at American Marine Laboratories, 1880-1930 Samantha Kay Muka University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1-1-2014 Working at Water's Edge: Life Sciences at American Marine Laboratories, 1880-1930 Samantha Kay Muka University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Muka, Samantha Kay, "Working at Water's Edge: Life Sciences at American Marine Laboratories, 1880-1930" (2014). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1379. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1379 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1379 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Working at Water's Edge: Life Sciences at American Marine Laboratories, 1880-1930 Abstract This dissertation traces the rise of marine-based life science in America between 1880 and 1930, and examines the malleable spaces and technologies that facilitated multifaceted approaches to marine investigation. I begin by establishing baseline spatial and technological requirements for scientific orkw at the shoreline during this period. In subsequent chapters, I analyze four episodes of highly disciplinary work performed in these spaces: taxonomy, embryology, physiology, and animal behavior. While historians have pointed to a balkanization of scientific disciplines during this period, including reliance on specialized technologies and spaces, this dissertation seeks to highlight the continuities of space and technique in marine science and sheds light on the impact of these commonalities on the development of a cohesive marine science over the remainder of the twentieth century. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History and Sociology of Science First Advisor M. Susan Lindee Keywords aquarium, Biology, field work, fisheries, jellyfish, Marine Biology Subject Categories History of Science, Technology, and Medicine This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1379 WORKING AT WATER’S EDGE: LIFE SCIENCES AT AMERICAN MARINE STATIONS, 1880-1930 Samantha K. Muka A DISSERTATION In History and Sociology of Science Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Supervisor of Dissertation Signature ________________________ M. Susan Lindee, Professor, History and Sociology of Science Graduate Group Chairperson Signature_________________________ John Tresch, Associate Professor, History and Sociology of Science Dissertation Committee John Tresch, Associate Professor, History and Sociology of Science Mark Adams, Associate Professor, History and Sociology of Science Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been started, let alone finished, without the help of a large group of people. I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to my advisor, M. Susan Lindee. She has allowed me to think broadly about my topic while reigning in my enthusiasm with hard questions, the answers to which I hope I have at least approached in this dissertation. John Tresch has pushed me to think expansively about my topic and to spend as much time reflecting as writing. Mark Adams continuously reminds me to not forget the basic history of biology in my pursuit of a fuller picture of the past. My committee has shaped both this dissertation and my larger scholarly goals and I thank them for their time and attention. Jim Endersby, Pamela Henson, Michael Ruse, and Fritz Davis have all shown me examples of the academic I would like to be; without their support I would be a lesser colleague. Thank you to all of the archivists who have listened to a broad explanation of my interests and steered me in the right direction. Thank you to Madeleine Thompson at the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives, Diane Rielinger at the Marine Biological Laboratory Archives, Anne-Flore Laloe at the National Marine Biological Laboratory Archives (Plymouth, UK), David Kessler at the Bancroft Library, Rebekah Kim and Yolanda Bustos at the California Academy of Science Archives, Peter Brueggeman and Rebecca Smith at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives, and Richard James at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Silke Feltz has done a fantastic job translating German biology texts and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. I was lucky enough to be part of a large cohort at Penn. Jason Oakes, Peter Collopy, Tamar Novick, Brittany Shields, Marissa Mika, Rachel Elder, and Andy Hogan are amazing. These seven individuals pushed me to read widely, think broadly, and to not take myself or my research too seriously lest I forget I know very little. Jessica Martucci and Kristoffer Whitney have read chapters when needed, and more importantly, bought me a beer when discussing my dissertation was the last thing I wanted; both have been a wellspring of personal and professional support and I would not have finished without them. Many people have taken time to read and critique my work and I hope someday to be able to return the favor. Until then, I thank Antony Adler, The Wildlife Conservation Society Historical group, Nadia Berenstein, Jesse Smith, Denzil Ford, Michaela Thompson, Peter Collopy, Betty Smocovitis, Lloyd Ackert, Deanna Day, Meggie Crnic, ii and the participants of the WHEATS 2013 workshop in Philadelphia, PA for their thoughtful suggestions regarding this dissertation. My family fostered my love of learning and did not bat a lash when I went into academia. My sister and parents have talked me through the process of getting in, getting through, and finishing graduate school and I could not have done it without them. Finally, I thank my husband for his support. He has forged his own path in academia and serves as a daily example of perseverance. Thank you for allowing me to go at my own pace, to fail miserably, and to mope dramatically, before reminding me to stay calm, see it through, and find a way. iii ABSTRACT WORKING AT WATER’S EDGE: LIFE SCIENCES AT AMERICAN MARINE STATIONS, 1880-1930 Samantha Kay Muka M. Susan Lindee This dissertation examines the rise of America marine stations between 1880 and 1930, and examines the malleable spaces and technologies that facilitated multifaceted approaches in these liquid laboratories. I begin by establishing baseline spatial and technological requirements for scientific work at the shoreline during this period. In subsequent chapters, I analyze four episodes of highly disciplinary work performed in these spaces: taxonomic illustration, embryology and morphology, neurophysiology, and animal behavior. While historians have pointed to a balkanization of scientific disciplines during this period, including reliance on specialized technologies and spaces, this dissertation seeks to highlight the continuities of space and technique in marine science and sheds light on the impact of these commonalities on the development of a cohesive marine science over the remainder of the twentieth century. iv Table of Contents Title Page…………………………………………………………...i Acknowledgements………………………………………………..ii Abstract……………………………………………………………iv Table of Contents………………………………………………….v List of Illustrations………………………………………………..vi Introduction………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 1: A network of liquid laboratories: building an institutional identity for American biology and marine science…………………..28 Chapter 2: Imagining the Ocean: the importance of field work on marine scientific portraiture………………………………………….83 Chapter 3: Crossing the lab-field border: working with embryological materials at marine stations…………………………………………119 Chapter 4: A Bundle of Nerves: Jellyfish and Neurophysiology at marine stations, 1850-193…………………………………………..151 Chapter 5: Illuminating Animal Behavior: the impact of malleable marine stations on tropism research………………………………...189 Conclusion………………………………………………………….234 Bibliography………………………………………………………..241 v List of Illustrations: Figure 1 Some of E.L. Marks’ students. 8 Figure 2 Researchers and families at a picnic in Woods Hole, 1925. 45 Figure 3 The Tortugas Laboratory offered little in creature comforts. 46 Figure 4 Vinal Edwards, collector at the USBF laboratory at Woods Hole. 61 Figure 5 Collecting at the USBF laboratory at Woods Hole. 67 Figure 6 The steam launch “Anton Dohrn” 69 Figure 7 Glassware, Carnegie Institution of Washington Tortugas Station 72 Figure 8 Large circulating aquaria, MBL Woods Hole, MA 76 Figure 9 Else Bostelmann working on illustrations 85 Figure 10 Fish portrait with a white background by A.H. Baldwin 101 Figure 11 Fish portrait with a dark background by C.B. Hudson 101 Figure 12 Charles Knight preferred a dark, romantic background 103 Figure 13 Helen Tschudy used a light, blank background 103 Figure 14 Hashime Murayama depicted flora and ground cover 103 Figure 15 A quick field coloring of living fish at Honolulu docks. 109 Figure 16 A.H. Baldwin’s published illustration based on the field sketch 109 Figure 17 Charles Bradford Hudson in his makeshift studio 111 Figure 18 Isabel Cooper painting a living fish aboard the Arcturus. 112 Figure 19 Painting of trout 115 Figure 20 photograph of trout 115 Figure 21 Field photograph of beaked whale 117 Figure 22 Else Bostelmann and Remington Kellogg’s beaked whale 118 vi Figure 23 W.K. Brooks' illustration of Lucifer's development. 121 Figure 24 Mr. Davis digging for Balanoglossus 127 Figure 25 Christianna