Marine Physiological Ecology

Marine models offer a varied suite of problems and solutions to understanding of physiological function. The water bath that is the sea is in some places unusually cold, providing extreme models for studies of cold adaptation. The medium strongly modulates the transmission of sensory information of all kinds. The medium also modulates transmission of light in a very wavelength-dependent way that places limits on ultraviolet penetration and on the supply of light for photosynthesis. Respiratory physiology must adapt to the process and rate of gas transfer in water. The sea provides a diversity of unusual foods and toxicants that afford the ability to choose typical models as well as extremes in toxicology and digestive physiology.

Participating Faculty