History of Marine Biology- Timeline Fact Sheet
● Below is a chronological list of the events that have been significant in the development of the
science of Marine Biology.
● Fill it in using your notes and the history of Marine Biology presentation
● You will put a timeline together using this The Timeline Maker. using this information Be
creative.
● Include a brief description and a picture in your timeline on The Timeline Maker.
No. Event/ Date Description
Technology
Gatherers 10000 Shell middens were remains
BCE of seafood such as mollusca.
There was simple foraging;
gatherers lived on coastal
cliffs.
Pacific 3000 BC They sailed long distances,
Islanders navigating using natural
resources. They created
primitive ships and double
hulled vessels while
colonizing islands.
Phoenicians 1500 BC They voyaged the ocean using
celestial navigation, and also
developed sailing vessels.
Aristotle 384 BC He recorded specific marine
life, and identified and
classified them. He recognised
cetaceans and oviparous
(produce eggs).
James Cook 1768 He was a British navigator,
explorer, and cartographer. He
commanded 3 epic voyages.
He also brought artists and
naturalists who illustrated the
seas.
Charles 1831 Introduced the idea of
Darwin evolution by natural selection.
Published his information in
1859
The Wilkes 1838 An exploring expedition of the
Expedition Pacific ocean and surrounded
lands by the U.S.
Significance
There was an abundance of
marine resources that would
support large populations. There
were limited land resources, so
the ocean supplied simple
technology that helped create
more complex societies for
gatherers.
They navigated the oceans using
clouds, wave patterns, and
traveled the seas without
numerical modeling.
New ship building, creation of
geography, established trade
routes, and Inspired literature.
He was the father of marine
biology and was one of the first
to record his observations.
He mapped the world's
“unexplored” waters.
It explains diversity of life on
earth
It broadened knowledge of
uncharted areas of the world and
expanded American commerce,
science, and industry
Marine 1872 First marine lab in Naples,
Laboratories Italy
The Challenger 1872 A prolonged oceanographic
Expedition expedition cruise. It covered
68,900 nautical miles.
Sonar 1917 A technique for detecting and
determining the distance and
direction of underwater
objects by acoustic means.
SCUBA 1943 SCUBA (Self-Contained
Underwater Breathing
Apparatus) gear was invented
by Jacques Cousteau.
ROVs 1953 An ROV, remote operated
vehicle, is an unoccupied
robotic vehicle that can be
used to explore the deep sea
with someone actually going
into the ocean.
AUVs 1957 Autonomous underwater
vehicles require no human
control and automatically
search the ocean.
Satellite 1959 As well as taking pictures,
Imagery satellites could monitor global
temperature, weather, algae
production, pollution, and
more.
FLIP 1962 The R/P FLIP (Floating
Instrument Platform) is a ship
that fills up with water to flip
vertically.
Alvin 1964 One of the first deep sea
submersibles, created by the
Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution and owned by the
US Navy. It can reach 99% of
the ocean, it can submerge up
to 6500 meters, and it has
been on 4200+ dives
Provides science and biotech
applications to sustain, protect,
and restore coastal ecosystems
Gathered data on ocean
temperatures, sea water
chemistry, currents, marine life,
and geology of the sea floor.
Develop nautical charts, locate
underwater hazards, and search
for objects on the seafloor.
Revolutionized underwater
exploration.
The invention of ROVs opened up
new opportunities for exploring
the parts of the ocean that aren’t
safe for humans to dive.
This allowed scientists to use
that time that would otherwise
be needed to control the vehicle
to do other scientific research.
This was the first time people
saw our planet from space.
Opened up new opportunities for
marine research.
Alvin is able to reach 99% of the
ocean floor, which opened up
many new opportunities for
ocean exploration.
Marine 1960s Organizations dedicated to
Conservation preserving the ocean by
Organizations combating pollution.
Aquarius 1986 The Aquarius is an
underwater marine biology
lab owned by N0AA that
resides 20 meters below the
ocean's surface.
Crittercam 1986 The crittercam is a collection
of tools used to observe
animals close up using video,
audio, depth and temperature
sensors.
NOAA Okeanos 2010 The only federal vessel
Explorer dedicated to explaining the
unknowns in the ocean,
operated with telepresence,
Human impact is quickly killing
the ocean, but these
organizations attempt to combat
this.
The aquarius allowed scientific
discoveries of the effects on coral
reefs.
The invention of the crittercam
allowed for much better
understanding of what marine
life does under the surface of the
ocean.
This vessel is dedicated to
mapping and reconnaissance of
the ocean, giving us better maps
and opening the door for
discoveries.