Re: what kind of boat is nessasary for being a marine biologist?

         Hello Neil,

Fortunately for me, the quick answer to your question is, "A boat ISN'T 
necessary for being a marine biologist"!  Since I've been on enough boats at 
sea to know that I get deathly seasick, I'm very pleased to be able to call 
myself a marine biologist while keeping my feet firmly planted on solid 
ground.

Seriously, though, the kind of boat (if any) you'd need to be a marine 
biologist would depend on the kind of marine biology you want to do.  
Obviously it would have to be big enough to be safe and seaworthy, since 
you'd be taking it out in the ocean.  Aside from that, the size and other 
specifications depend on the work being done.

Most research vessels are fairly large, again depending on the equipment 
needed by the scientists aboard.  One of my local institutions, the Monterey 
Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has two ships that are used by 
scientists to conduct research.  The R/V Point Lobos is the ship that 
deploys the Ventana, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that MBARI 
scientists use to observe and collect animals from the deeper waters of 
Monterey Bay.  You can learn about the Point Lobos at this MBARI site:
   http://
www.mbari.org/dmo/vessels/Ptlobos.htm

MBARI's newer ship is the R/V Western Flyer, which deploys the ROV Tiburon.  
This is the site to read more about the Flyer: http://www.mbari.org/dmo/
vessels/flyer.html

I suggest you check out the rest of MBARI's site, since it has lots of very 
good information and some awesome photos.  You can even follow the day-to-
day activities of the Point Lobos and the Western Flyer and learn what the 
scientists are doing.  Check out: http://
www.mbari.org

And of course you can do marine biology without a ship at all.  You can do 
what I do, and study the organisms that live in the intertidal zone and are 
accessible whenever the tide goes out.  Or you can study the ecology of the 
subtidal zone, and reach your study sites using SCUBA.  Or, if you want to 
study things in the open seas and (like me) don't like boats, you can 
persuade or pay someone to collect samples for you.

I hope this answers your question!

Allison J. Gong
Mad Scientist