The first number of the Journal-of the Marine Biological Association appeared in August 1887, during the final stages of the building of the Laboratory, while research was being carried out from rented rooms in the Barbican. To celebrate the centenary of this outstanding serial publication in marine science, and the centenary of the opening of the Laboratory in June next year, we are including in the present issue an updated account of the history of the Association, based on a version originally published in 1984 to celebrate the founding of the Association in March 1884. We are indebted to the Council of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science for permission to reprint a substantial part of the text that appeared in their Transactions for 1984.

The reproduction of the plaice has been studied in the North Sea (Wimpenny, 1949; Barr, 1963), in the eastern and western English Channel (Houghton & Harding, 1976) as well as in the bay of Douarnenez (Deniel, 1981). In 1972, Lahaye described the sexual cycle of the plaice caught in the Portsall area.

After the wreck of the ‘Amoco Cadiz’ off Brittany in March 1978, more diversified studies of this species were made to assess the effects of the oil spill on the plaice stocks in the contaminated area. In Lannion and Morlaix Bays, these fishes exhibited a clear decrease of growth, fin necrosis and an absence of recruitment in the population in 1978 (Desaunay, 1981; Maurin, 1984). In the Abers Wrac'h and Benoit, estuaries of the north-west coast of Brittany (Fig. 1) which were gravely affected by the oil spill, Haensly & Neff (1979) and Miossec (1981, 1984) noted a big change in reproduction. Conan & Friha (1981) observed abnormally low growth for plaice in Aber Benoit.

The tidal streams in the Channel Islands region are rotary anticlockwise. At spring tides anticlockwise Eulerian residual currents of about 20 cm s–1 develop around Guernsey which indicate that frictional effects exceed those due to the Earth's rotation in the generation of Eulerian residual currents in this shallow-water situation. Lagrangian anticlockwise residual currents can exceed 60 cm s–1 at spring tides, indicating that Stokes-induced currents are larger than the Eulerian residual currents around Guernsey. Remote sensing studies show anticlockwise-directed jets which also indicate an anti-clockwise circulation around the island. A tidal circulation pattern for the Channel Islands area is presented based on anticlockwise gyres around all the major topographic features in the region. This pattern off low is consistent with the formation of the well-known front between Guernsey and Jersey and the residual currents derived from a numerical model.

Relative abundance, seasonal occurrence, population structure and growth-rate are described for a population of the grey mullet Liza aurata from Langstone Harbour, Hampshire. The occurrence of juveniles as small as 21 mm is interpreted as evidence for spawning in British waters, but no direct information on spawning areas or spawning seasons was obtained.

Dogfish eggs would appear to be eminently suitable for physiological study because of their large size, easy availability (egg laying seems to be continuous throughout the year except for a break during the autumn (Craik, 1978)); their long lasting development (between 240 and 300 days from laying to hatching (Foulley & Mellinger, 1980a)); the clear separation between yolk-sac and embryo, and the fact that eggs are normally laid in pairs (opening up the possibility of keeping one of them as control whilst experimenting upon the other).

First reports of the association between Exspina typica and three species of abyssal holothurian are presented. These records suggest that the association is a real one, and not an artefact of sampling, but throw no light on the nature of the association. The geographic and bathymetric distributions of E. typica are summarized, and the species is shown to be a widely distributed cold water stenotherm.

The paper describes the design and use of a tide machine capable of producing near-sinusoidal hydrostatic pressure cycles varying in period from 12 to 999 min and in amplitude from 0·4 to 3·2 m. In conjunction with infra-red detection units and a microprocessor logging system the apparatus can be used to detect and record the response of a variety of organisms to cyclic pressure changes.

The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of rapid change in the natural sciences in Britain, reflecting changes in social conditions and improvements in education. A growing number of naturalists were becoming socially conscious and aware of the need for a proper study of the sea and its products, following the success of the ‘Challenger’ Expedition of 1872–6. In 1866 the Royal Commission on the Sea Fisheries, which included among its officers Professor T. H. Huxley, one of the new breed of professional scientists, had reported that fears of over-exploitation of the sea-fisheries were unfounded, and had recommended doing away with existing laws regulating fishing grounds and closed seasons. Nevertheless, the rising trade in fresh fish carried to towns by rail or by fast boats (fleeting), and the consequent increase in size and number of registered fishing vessels, was causing widespread concern, and there were reports from all round the coasts about the scarcity of particular fish, especially soles. This concern was expressed at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London in 1883, a conference called to discuss the commercial and scientific aspects of the fishing industry, attended by many active and first-rank scientists. However, in his opening address Professor Huxley discounted reports of scarcity of fish, and repeated the views of the Royal Commission of 1866: that, with existing methods of fishing, it was inconceivable that the great sea fisheries, such as those for cod, herring and mackerel, could ever be exhausted.

The term ‘imposex’ was coined by Smith (1971) to describe the superimposition of male characters onto unparasitized and parasitized females of gonochoristic gastropods. In Nassarius obsoletus (Say) the development of imposex results in the female having one or more of the following characters: (1) a penis with a duct leading to (2) a vas deferens which passes back to the ventral channel of the capsule gland and (3) convolution of the normally straight gonadial oviduct (Smith, 1980). Imposex in the similarly gonochoristic Nucella lapillus (L.) was first noted by Blaber (1970) who found females with penis-like outgrowths in Plymouth Sound populations. Subsequent studies (Bryan et al. 1986; Gibbs & Bryan, 1986) have demonstrated that the incidence and intensity of imposex have since increased markedly in the same populations and that the phenomenon is widespread around south-west England.

In Britain, the cushion star Asterina gibbosa Pennant 1897 (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) is confined to the west coast, where it occurs on rocky shores, often sympatrically with the closely related Asterina phylactica Emson & Crump 1979 (Crump & Emson, 1983; Emson & Crump, 1984). The vertical distribution of A. gibbosa extends from about 100 m depth, into the intertidal; however, littoral cushion stars occupy rock pools and relatively damp habitats such as gulley walls, crevices, overhangs and the underside of boulders, generally on the lower shore (Emson, 1979). On shores with rock pools, cushion stars may extend their upper limits of vertical distribution but not beyond the mean high-water neap-tide level (Crump & Emson, 1978). Absence of A. gibbosa from higher shore levels has been related to intolerance to desiccation and high temperature, inadequate food supply, and complex behavioural responses to gravity and light (Crozier, 1935; Emson, 1979; Crump & Emson, 1983). Prior to the present study, it has not been possible to discuss the influence of respiratory requirements on the vertical distribution of this species.

As well as being a popular sport fish, the bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L. 1758) is a valuable commercial species in England and Wales. In 1984 bass landings in England and Wales were estimated to have a first sale value of between £5–6 million (G. D. Pickett, personal communication). Concern has been expressed about the vulnerability of the stock to overfishing and to variability in recruitment, and there have been a number of studies of bass biology, distribution of the eggs and larvae, and of possible migratory movements of the fish during the adult phase, (Kennedy & Fitzmaurice, 1968, 1972; Kelley, 1979; Holden & Williams, 1974; Dando & Demir, 1985). This paper reviews the published data on eggs and larvae and presents new data on their distribution and abundance in the English Channel and southern North Sea between 1981 and 1984.

Orientated navigational behaviour in Talitrus saltator (Montagu) was studied throughout the diel cycle. Amphipods released at the centre of a circular arena without an artificial horizon on the periphery showed random escape directions at all times of day. In the presence of an artificial light/dark boundary the escape direction was random at night but was towards the boundary by day. The onset of significantly orientated navigation occurred just before the time of dawn and persisted in a typically circadian manner for 7 days in amphipods kept in continuous darkness.

The phase of the circadian rhythm could be reset in altered light/dark cycles. Phase changes were directly proportional to imposed L:D phases over the range —4 to + 12 h, except that shifts from —2 to +2 h induced no phase change in the orientation rhythm. The endogenous pattern of change of orientated navigation is discussed in relation to the nocturnal endogenous locomotor activity rhythm of Talitrus and its diel pattern of foraging and burrowing behaviour on sandy beaches.

The common dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula L.) is caught regularly at Plymouth and is parasitized by two monogeneans, the gill-parasitic polyopisthocotylean Hexabothrium appendiculatum (Kuhn, 1829) Nordmann, 1832 and the skin-parasitic microbothriid Leptocotyle minor (Monticelli, 1888) Gallien, 1937. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to hatch the larvae of both of these parasites, e.g. Euzet (1957) and Wiskin (1970) for H. appendiculatum, and Llewellyn (1963) and Kearn (1965) for L. minor. Euzet (1957) and Kearn (1965) found that larvae developed within the eggs of H. appendiculatum and L. minor respectively but that these larvae failed to hatch.

Populations of the gastropod, Nucella lapillus (L.), normally one of the commonest of rocky-shore macroinvertebrates, have recently suffered from declining numbers at many sites along the south coast of England. Bryan et al. (1986) showed that these declining populations exhibited a high degree of imposex (the induction of a penis and vas deferens in females) and that imposex was almost certainly caused by tributyltin (TBT) compounds leached from ships' antifouling paints. Evidence implicating TBT compounds in the development of imposex included: (1) a good relationship between the degree of imposex and the proximity of affected populations to harbours and marinas; (2) in Plymouth Sound, the degree of imposex increased dramatically between its discovery in 1969 (Blaber, 1970) and 1985, thus coinciding with the introduction and increasing usage of TBT-based paints; (3) tissue concentrations of tin as TBT increased consistently with the degree of imposex; (4) animals transplanted from a ‘clean’ area to a harbour site absorbed TBT and developed imposex; (5) preliminary experiments showed that imposex was induced by exposure to 20 ng/1 of tin as TBT leached from a TBT-based paint; (6) TBT is implicated in the induction of imposex in other stenoglossan gastropods including Nassarius obsoletus (Say) (Smith, 1981) and Ocenebra erinacea (L.) (Féral & Gall, 1982).

Published information on the diet of bass in U.K. waters is limited. The very young fish, mainly 0- and 1-groups, have been investigated in the Fleet (Dorset) by Bass et al. (1983), in the Severn Estuary by Aprahamian & Barr (1985), and at the Kingsnorth power-station outfall in Kent by Langford (in preparation). Limited data for older fish have been given by Sant (1978) for the central Welsh coast and by Hester (1980) for the Cornish coast. An early report by the present author reviewed the feeding habits of 250 bass aged 3–16 years caught in 1946–52 in Devon and Cornwall (Kelley, 1953). Data for southern Irish waters have been given by Kennedy & Fitzmaurice (1972), and for west Brittany waters by Boulineau-Coatanea (1969). Other reports from mainland Europe are concerned chiefly with young bass reared in the etangs of the south and west coasts of France and in similar habitats on the coasts of Spain and Italy. There are similar reports from Tunis and Israel. These more specialised studies are listed by Barnabe (1980).

The partitioning and utilization of energy reserves during embryogenesis were followed in the cirripede Balanus balanoides and related to the described sequence of developmental stages. Egg volume and dry weights were measured. Between the recently fertilized egg and eggs containing well-developed embryos at the end of natural incubation there is a doubling of egg volume.

The biochemical composition of the newly fertilized egg is dominated by TCA-insoluble protein (55 %). Neutral lipid accounts for 17 % of the dry weight, while phospholipid and polysaccharide contribute 3–5% and 5–7% respectively. About 36% of the TCA-insoluble protein is utilized during in vivo development, accounting for about three-quarters of the energy expenditure. During this time 40% of the carbohydrate and 20% of the neutral lipid reserves are also utilised. However, when starved adults retain their mature egg masses beyond the normal term, egg metabolism occurs largely at the expense of the remaining lipid reserves. These would be exhausted in a further 6–7 weeks and the embryos unable to survive. The ability of adults to postpone hatching may therefore have important implications for the energy reserves and viability of the newly hatched nauplii. Protein supplies most of the energy during embryogenesis, with neutral lipid assuming increased importance after development has been completed.

Oxygen consumption of the egg masses measured in vitro was converted through aerobic oxycalorific equivalent into biochemical loss. This showed good agreement with direct measurement of summed energy losses of the biochemical components. It was apparent that oxygen uptake rate in the later stages was restricted by diffusion resistance due to egg packing, since eggs freed from the egg mass matrix showed a 30% increase in oxygen uptake and a reduction in development time.

The feeding successes of four species of crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura) which are potential predators of the scallop Pecten maximus (L.) were studied under laboratory conditions. When provided with scallops of 4 and 5 cm shell height, Liocarcinus depurator (L.) did not consume any scallops whereas Liocarcinus puber (L.), Carcinus maenas (L.) and Cancer pagurus L. ate both size groupings but with varying success. The differences in the number of scallops eaten paralleled crab size such that C. pagurus, the species with the largest individuals (ca. 10.4 cm carapace width), ate the most, and small crabs (< 5.5 cm carapace width), irrespective of species, ate none or very few scallops. Further experiments with C. pagurus and a wider size range of scallops (3–9 cm shell height) revealed the following trends: as prey size increased, the proportion of crabs feeding decreased and there was minimal predation on scallops > 7 cm shell height; male and female crabs showed similar predatory behaviour; and marine fouling on scallop shells had no significant effect on crab feeding (X2 test, P > 0.05). These findings are discussed in relation to the potential for bottom culture of P. maximus.

The suggestion that the two chaetognath species Sagitta setosa and S. elegans were ‘indicators’ of different water masses was first made by Meek (1928), working off Northumberland, and subsequently developed by Russell (1933, 1935, 1939) in his classical work on their distribution as indicators of ‘Channel’ and ‘Western’ water off Plymouth. The alternation in dominance of the two species during the well-known changes in the Western Channel off Plymouth during the past 60 years (which have been termed the ‘Russell’ cycle; Cushing & Dickson, 1976) have most recently been reviewed and discussed by Southward (1984).

Previous studies of the anatomy of the oncomiracidia of the hexabothriids Rajonchocotyle emarginata and Hexabothrium appendiculatum have been made on unhatched larvae viewed through the egg shell or on larvae pushed out of the egg by coverslip pressure. A study of freshly hatched, free-swimming oncomiracidia has permitted a more detailed anatomical study especially of the gland cell system, the distribution of locomotory ciliated cells and surface sensilla and the flame cell system. Anatomically, the two larvae are closely similar but the oncomiracidium of R. emarginata possesses spherical refringent droplets in the locomotory ciliated cells and, in the head region, a pair of translucent bodies which may be photoreceptors. The oncomiracidia of both parasites possess posterior body gland cells with ducts entering the haptor. Such gland cells have not been recorded previously in the larvae of hexabothriids or in those of other polyopisthocotyleans and the function of these and other gland cells is discussed.

Previous records of Blackfordia virginica, from river estuaries and marineconnected lagoonal systems, show the species to be euryhaline and eurythermal. The collection of the medusa in the estuary of the River Mira provides not only a second record for the eastern North Atlantic but also further evidence of the medusa's requirement for such conditions. It is known to tolerate salinities of 3–35‰ (distribution). Measurements of salinity in the Mira Estuary in April and November 1984, when the medusae were collected, were 15 and 32.5‰ respectively (J. Paula, personal communication).