CONTENTS &
ABSTRACTS
In
English. Summaries in Estonian
Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.
Biology. Ecology
Volume 50 No. 2
June 2001
Special
issue on the history of marine and freshwater research
Foreword; 51
Toomas SAAT
The address by Mr. David de
G. Griffith, General Secretary of ICES; 52
History of marine research
in Estonia; 53–65
Evald OJAVEER
Abstract. Estonian marine research started with investigations of remote seas mainly by the Baltic German noblemen in the 18th century. In the first half of the 19th century measurements of the sea level were started in the Tallinn Port (1805), and the salinity and temperature were determined in some areas of the Estonian coastal sea. In the early 1850s K. E. von Baer carried out probably the first large-scale studies on overfishing of marine fish stocks in the world. After the Estonian War of Independence, in the 1920s–30s, fisheries research developed and regular monitoring cruises were performed in Estonian waters. Estonian occupation in 1940 disrupted the work. In World War II the losses of Estonian marine science were very great. In 1944 the Estonian Department of the All-Union Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography was founded. The institution was repeatedly reorganized, being subordinated to the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR, the Baltic Fisheries Research Institute (in Riga), etc. Marine studies were also performed by the Section/Department of the Baltic Sea (founded in 1972) and the Section of Marine Biology (founded in 1974) of the institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR, and elsewhere. Important scientific and practical results were achieved, a number of theses promoted, and publications produced. Strong staff of scientists allowed the formation of the Estonian Marine Institute after Estonia regained independence. The Institute has developed good international collaboration, especially in the framework of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), to which Estonia belongs as a full member since 1994. In 2001 the Institute was affiliated to the University of Tartu.
Key words: marine/fisheries research, Estonian Laboratory of Marine Ichthyology, Tallinn Department of the BaltNIIRH, Estonian Marine Institute, Section/Department of the Baltic Sea, Section of Marine Biology.
From Insecta, piscatoribus … noxia to ecological models – history of
brakish-water biology in Finland; 66–84
Erkki LEPPÄKOSKI
Abstract. The history of brackish-water biology in the Finnish coastal waters from the Linnaean period to the 1990s is briefly reviewed. The first notes on benthic animals date back to 1769. Two “insects”, Idotea entomon (Oniscus) and Gammarus pulex, were mentioned as causing damage to fishing. Sporadic studies of benthic organisms were started in the middle of the 19th century. In the 1920s, S. G. Segerstråle began studies of the Fucus belt and soft bottom fauna. A gradual ecologization of brackish-water biology took place.
The 1960s saw a huge increase in the volume and diversity of marine biological studies. The growing environmental awareness resulted in legislative reforms. Applied (environmental) marine ecology now played a significant role. In the 1980s, marine research demonstrated both advances in theoretical ecology and the need to address problems specific to the Baltic Sea through field experiments and studies of recovery from pollution or other forms of disturbance.
Key words: history of science,
bibliography, Baltic Sea.
History of Latvian fisheries
research; 85–109
Mâris VÎTIÒÐ, Ritma GAUMIGA, and Andis MITÂNS
Abstract. The history of the development of Latvian fisheries research and marine investigations connected with it is described, starting with the 18th century. The development of research fields and institutions, the role and achievements of main scientists involved, most important publications, and the place of Latvian fisheries science in national and international research community are shown. During the 18th–19th centuries mainly the accumulation of knowledge on the fauna, flora, and water environment of Latvian coastal sea and inland waters, fishery, and aquaculture by naturalists and scientists took place. The First International Baltic Sea Fisheries Congress in 1910 in Riga promoted the investigations on fish fauna and fishery regulation in the Baltic Sea. Since the first years of the independent Republic of Latvia, the Ministry of Agriculture organized regular fisheries and marine investigations in the Gulf of Riga and the open Baltic Sea and established research cooperation with other Baltic Sea countries. In 1923 Latvia became an associated member and in 1937 a full member of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Since 1945 the Latvian fisheries and marine research was concentrated in one institution, further developed as the Latvian Fisheries Research Institute expanding the regular surveys in the whole Central Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Riga, and inland waters, and covering a wide spectrum of research, monitoring, and modelling, including the environment, hydrobiology, fish resources, fishery, and aquaculture. The Institute maintains intense research cooperation with other countries and within international organizations – ICES, International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission, Helsinki Commission, and others.
Key words: fisheries/marine research, history, Latvian Fisheries Research Institute.
History of hydrographic
research in Sweden; 110–129
Stig FONSELIUS
Abstract. Hydrographic investigations in the 18th and 19th centuries are briefly described. An extensive investigation of the Baltic Sea was performed in 1877. Regular observations of temperature, salinity, and currents were started on Swedish lightships and coastal stations in 1878. The different hydrographic organizations and scientists are presented. In 1893 the Swedish Hydrographic Commission, from 1902 the Hydrographic-Biological Commission, was formed. The complicated relations between the Oceanographic Institution at the University of Göteborg, the Oceanographic Institute, and the Hydrographic-Biological Commission are explained. Some world-famous oceanographers and their works are presented. The Commission was dissolved in 1948 and the Board of Fisheries of Sweden was formed, taking over its responsibilities. The hydrographic investigations were assigned to the Hydrographic Department of the Board of Fisheries. The development of the Hydrographic Department and its transfer to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute are described. The work of the Fisheries Bureau and the Navy Hydrographic Office are briefly explained.
Key words: hydrography,
Hydrographic-Biological Commission, Hydrographic Department, SMHI Oceanographic Laboratory,
Oceanographic Institution, Oceanographic Institute, Board of Fisheries,
research vessels, leading scientists, Baltic Sea.
IN MEMORIAM
Viktor Masing; 130–131