Science

Scientist at work inside of Whitney Laboratory. (From the St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library). 

When the attraction first opened, it was aptly named Marine Studios, to describe its primary function. Upon opening, the goal of the founders was to create a serene place for tourists and scientists alike to observe marine life in a habitat that mimicked the ocean. The inspiration to create Marine Studios originally came from W. Douglas Burden and Ilia Tolstoy, both trustees of the Museum of Natural History in New York; the board of directors also included Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, and Sherman Pratt. Originally, the men wanted to create their vision on the opposite coast in California, by simply creating a “natural open pen” for observation. This idea was found to be unrealistic and too difficult to control. Although their original plan did not come about immediately, it later blossomed into Marineland of the Pacific, the sister park of Marineland, Florida. Florida turned out to be the perfect location. The site of Marineland was chosen because Florida was found to have the best photographic conditions and was close to a water source. Aside from providing the water needed to fill the tanks, Florida waters were able to provide nearly 90 percent of the specimens needed to open the attraction. In order to collect specimens, Marine Studios owned and operated their own fishing fleet, which was on a continuous search for new specimens. Generally, all of their collecting was done in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys. 

Sharks in the Key West Aquarium were segregated, typical of most aquariums for the time; that is what made Marine Studios and the Oceanarium so unique and intriguing, 1946. 

Photoprint, State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/65556, accessed December 8, 2015. 

Once completed, Marine Studios was the largest and most innovative aquarium ever created, as well as, the first underwater movie studio. The most notable innovation enacted by Marine Studios is described in their literature from 1941. Within Marine Studios fish were “placed together as it exists in the open sea,” rather than segregated by species as in traditional aquariums. Marine Studios tanks included porpoises, rays, sharks, turtles, and tropical fish; each tank is circulated by five million gallons of water per day, all water was pumped directly from the ocean. In his article, “Simulated Seas: Exhibition Design in Contemporary Aquariums,” Dennis Doordan describes the same techniques used by Marine Studios as “new” techniques that aquariums began using in the 1990s, over 50 years after the completion of Marine Studios. The techniques Doordan describes include habitat simulation, in which fish are surrounded by coral and plants and tanks are made of large glass walls. The aquarium revolution which took place in the ’90s was thought to immerse visitors and thus foster a comprehensive learning environment. Doordan’s assertion that modern aquarium techniques were a result of improved technology emphasizes the extent to which Marine Studios was ahead of its time and that the founders were truly pioneers in aquatic displays and Marine Biology. This concept also relates back to Elizabeth Hanson’s idea in Animal Attractions that people want to see animals in an authentic environment; part of the reason people were drawn to Marine Studios was the novelty of seeing an authentic recreation of the ocean, rather than fish swimming alone in small tanks, as in traditional aquariums. As specimens were able to interact with eachother, much like in the ocean, the oceanarium was viewed as ideal conditions for scientists to observe and study their behavior.

In a draft written by W. F. Rolleston, then President of Marineland, for the 25^th anniversary booklet, he claimed the facilities were created to provide a commercial public attraction, an underwater photographic studio, and scientific research, in that order. While the text written in 1963 does not place research as their top priority, it is notable that the Rolleston viewed Marineland research as important enough to include in a tourist booklet. The brochure went on to outline the history of Marineland, but continued to focus mainly on the attraction’s scientific accomplishments and aquarium related innovations, such as the first duplication of the ocean floor. A large emphasis is given to Marineland as a pioneer in marine biology; Rolleston includes a long list of “Marineland firsts,” which he claims is only a portion of their accomplishments. Some of their most notable accomplishments included being the first facility to successfully care for porpoises in captivity long enough for them to be exhibited, being the first location of a successful live porpoise birth, and the first facility to successfully train a porpoise. Marineland was also noted for its extensive research regarding echolocation, being the first to discover the dietary regulations of porpoises and diagnosing diseases found in porpoises. In all capital letters, the booklet claimed that Marineland had more factual and accurate information based upon first hand observation of porpoise behavior than any other facility in the world—a feat of which Marineland was extremely proud and noted often.