Publication of scientific periodicals dates from the middle of the 17th century in Europe. The longest-running journal is Philosophical Transactions which was first published in 1665 (https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/philosophicaltransactions/). There has followed a steady increase of formation of scientific journals, with the number of launched and still active publications, doubling every 20 years to the end of the 20th century (Mabe Reference Mabe2003). This included a flourishing period of development of scientific communication in the 1860s with new titles and formats appearing, including the first issue of Nature, launched in 1865 (Barton Reference Barton1998). It was 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, which saw the publication of volume 1, issue 1 of Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (JMBA). Since then the Journal has been continuously published, and this year it has reached the milestone of Volume 100. The first volume (with issues spread over several years) focussed on articles about fisheries and the flora and fauna of UK waters (for example Garstang, Reference Garstang1889 and Cunningham Reference Cunningham1890). However, there are hints of the international nature of marine science with the inclusion of a description of fishing methods in the Caribbean (Earle, Reference Earle1889). In this first issue of Volume 100, Paul Dando and Eve Southward (Reference Dando and Southward2020) review the history of the JMBA. They reflect on how the journal demonstrates the development of experimental and sampling techniques in marine science over the last 120 years, as well as now being truly international, including papers from all over the world.
Across this Volume 100 we will be celebrating by publishing a series of reviews on a variety of topics that have been addressed over the years in the journal. These reviews will celebrate the history of a particular topic but will also look forward to new developments and areas of exploration. This reflects the ethos of the MBA in celebrating and building on its eminent history whilst seeking to establish new areas of cutting edge research and investigation. We therefore look forward to continuing to publish original research from all aspects of marine biology.
