Much of our knowledge of the biology of the oceans is derived from “blind” sampling. We use instruments to measure bulk properties of the environment, such as salinity and temperature, and we use bottle or net samples to (a) extract knowledge about the organisms living in the ocean. This kind of approach has contributed important knowledge but has also influenced the way we view marine life. It leads us to focus on abundances, production rates, and distribution patterns. Such a perspective is very (b) relevant in the context of the ocean as a resource for fisheries. It is also helpful in developing an understanding of biogeochemical issues such as ocean carbon fluxes. But on its own, this approach is (c) insufficient, even for those purposes. The kind of intuition that we develop about marine life is, of course, influenced by the way we (d) observe it. Because the ocean is inaccessible to us and most planktonic organisms are microscopic, our intuition is elementary compared, for example, to the intuitive understanding we have about (macroscopic) terrestrial life. Our understanding of the biology of planktonic organisms is still based mainly on examinations of (dead) individuals, field samples, and incubation experiments, and even our sampling may be severely biased toward those organisms that are not destroyed by our harsh sampling methods. Similarly, experimental observations are (e) extended to those organisms that we can collect live and keep and cultivate in the laboratory.

* salinity: 염도 ** flux: 흐름 *** terrestrial: 육지의