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BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES v vac Architect's sketch of Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Great Lakes have a connected water area of 95,170 square miles. Each lake stratifies thermally and has at least partial ice cover in winter. Other physical, chemical, and biological characteristics vary widely among the five lakes and to a large extent within each of them. The deepest and largest, Lake Superior, has an average depth of 487 feet (maximum, 1,333); an area of 31,820 square miles; average maximum surface water temperature, 66°F; dissolved solids, 60 p.p.m.; and an annual commercial fish production of less than 1 pound per acre. Corresponding data for Lake Erie, the shallowest, are: average depth, 58 feet (maximum 210); area, 9,930 square miles; average maximum surface water temperature, 78°F; dissolved solids about 200 p.p.m.; and average fish production about 7 pounds per acre. Fishes produced in the Great Lakes are primarily from the genera Coregonus, Perca, Slizostedion, Salvelinus, and in recent years, Osmenis; total commercial production (U. S. and Canada) is seldom less than 100,000,000 pounds per year. Federal research in fisheries and limnology on the Great Lakes has been continuous since establishment of the laboratory in 1927. Since its inception, the work has been carried out in close cooperation with the University of Michigan, and the facility's headquarters have been on the University campus. The original small staff has increased to a current full-time complement of 90, of whom 50 are fishery biologists. The laboratory's biological research is directed primarily toward development of a basic understanding of Great Lakes fish stocks — the life history, ecology, and interrelations of different species; factors of fluctuations in growth and abundance; and the effects of the environment and of varying rates of exploitation. Since 1949, a major portion of the effort has been concerned with studies of the effects of predation by the sea lamprey, Petromyzon mari?ius, on fishes in Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan; the development of methods for its control; the experimental application of control methods; and the rehabilitation of stocks of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, which the sea lamprey brought to commercial extinction. A second major field of study has been the relation of recent pronounced changes in the limnology of certain waters and the accompanying major shifts of species abundance. Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, 1220 East Washington Street, P. O. Box 640, Ann Arbor, Michigan. BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, AUKE BAY, ALASKA Dr. George Y. Harry, Director This laboratory serves as research headquarters for the Bureau in Alaska. It is located in Southeastern Alaska 12 miles north of Juneau, the State Capital. Completed in 1960, the two-story building houses facilities for controlled experiments relating to the biology and physiology of fish and shellfish in fresh and salt water. Nearby Auke Lake and Mendenhall Lake serve as natural fresh-water experimental areas, while adjacent Auke Bay is used for estuarine studies. The Laboratory also houses a growing reference collection of over 300 species of fresh- and salt-water fishes and shellfishes native to Alaskan waters. Other facilities include a comprehensive scientific library, 376 BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES 4-- Bureau o[ Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, Auke Bay, Alaska a complete water chemistry laboratory, photographic dark room, and statistical section with IBM card processing equipment. The building also contains office and laboratory space for about 30 scientists and 12 supporting personnel. In addition, the Bureau maintains an 86-foot power barge fitted out for oceanographic investigations now being conducted throughout Southeastern Alaska waters by laboratory personnel. Other investigations currently under way include studies of the physical, chemical, and biological factors affecting the freshwater and early marine survival of Pacific salmon, studies of the population dynamics and biology of the commercially important shrimp species and king crab in Alaska, and a study of the effects of DDT appli- cation as a forest insecticide on salmon survival in southeastern Alaskan streams. The area adjacent to the laboratory includes a variety of ecological situations in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Alpine tundra, Sitka spruce rain forests, glacial out-wash plains, glaciers, and permanent snow fields all lie within easy access from the laboratory. Clear and glacial lakes, ponds, short coastal streams and rivers provide a variety of fresh-water environments for study. The many estuaries, islands, and miles of beaches afford numerous opportunities for those wishing to study intertidal and marine environments. Visiting investigators are welcome. Laboratory facilities usually are available from June to the end of August, a time when many resident biologists conduct their BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES studies at various field stations located throughout the State. Living accommodations may be obtained either in Juneau or in the smaller communities of Douglas or Auke Bay. Reservations for housing should be made well in advance of the proposed field season. Often arrangements can be made through the laboratory staff to rent from resident biologists spending the summer at outlying field stations. Investigators considering southeastern Alaska as a study area should include at least 25% addition to their cost-of-living budget over other regions of the United States. Juneau can be reached by air or water but not directly by car. Several commercial airlines and a state-operated marine highway system provide regularly scheduled service. Ferries with automobile facilities connect with the Alcan Highway at Haines, and there is ferry service from Prince Rupert. Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, P. O. Box 1155, Auke Bay, Alaska. BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, STANFORD, CALIFORNIA Dr. O. E. Sette, Director This laboratory is engaged in the study of ocean-wide, medium-term changes in the oceanographic conditions in the Pacific Ocean, the processes that cause them, and the effects they have on the abundance of Pacific marine fish populations. The Laboratory uses published and unpublished time-series data on the atmosphere, ocean, and fisheries. It does not engage in collection of data, but is assembling an extensive "library" of published and unpublished data of this description. The Laboratory is located in the School of Biological Sciences on the Stanford University campus. No space is available for visiting scientists. Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, 450 B Jordan Hall, Stanford, California. 377 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, La Jolla, California BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA Dr. Elbert H. Ahlstrom, Director This laboratory at present is housed in a two-story white frame house on the campus of the University of California at San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A new modern laboratory for which plans are almost completed should be ready for occupancy in early 1964. The San Diego area has become one of the leading fishery research centers in the United States. Within easy commuting distance of each other are two laboratories of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, Scripps Tuna Oceanography Research, and the Marine Life Research Program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All except the last-named will be housed in the new laboratory. In addition, the new building will provide generous facilities for visiting scientists interested in studying marine life. The Laboratory is investigating population dynamics of pelagic fishes, particularly the Pacific sardine and ecologically associated species including northern anchovy, Pacific mackerel, and jack mackerel. Research on the sardine and related species forms part of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI).