Page 3 - Pharmacy History 23 July 2004

Business in great waters
By Barry Bryant OAM, MSc, PhC, FPS, MAIBiol, JP (C.Dec)
‘They that... do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep.’
Psalms 107:23, 24.
Since my earliest days, I have always held an intense respect for and a keen interest in the sea
and its natural inhabitants. Perhaps this was the result of nebulous family folk-memories due to a Cornish ancestry (although preferably not associated with the notorious Cornish wreckers)!
With the ever-increasing use of the sea for leisure, and living as I did on the coast of Queensland towards the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, the opportunities for human misadventure seemed to be increasing, with a concomitant need for increased knowledge of marine hazards. Correspondence with some of the elder statesmen of marine studies in the 1960s, notably
Dr Jack Barnes from Cairns, of
box jellyfish fame, Dr Bob Endean, University of Queensland (marine toxicology) and Dr Joe Baker, Director of the Australian Institute
of Marine Science, provided not
only mental stimuli but also a
fuller appreciation of the inherent challenge of identification, extraction, characterisation and application of drugs from the sea.
The natural history, biology and environment of the sea have been the subjects of many books but curiously little pertaining to my local area existed. Acknowledging my scientific inadequacies, I undertook tertiary studies in Invertebrate Zoology at our local university college before attempting a research thesis for Fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society. This study endeavoured to relate the biology of some harmful marine organisms to human morbidity.
Mine was only the third such award in Queensland, the previous two recipients having done it the hard way by university study. At least my
Barry Bryant
way, I had enjoyed a lovely day at the beach while I pursued material for the thesis!
This award produced an unusual sequel, as I must be one of very
few graduates told to go forth and develop their own academic dress. Such a dearth of Fellows until that time meant that academic gowns had not been given much priority so this was to me, a delightful and novel assignment.
From this broad view, came the realisation that research in a relatively little-explored field of marine invertebrate stingers, namely hydroids, was not only needed,
but could be pursued with the limited facilities available in a non- metropolitan area. Hydroids are ubiquitous, being found from the tropics to polar regions, intertidally as well as in deep water, as fouling organisms on vessels, North Sea
oil rigs and other artificial marine structures, while a number of species are found in fresh water such as lakes, rivers and indeed village ponds. Their stinging capabilities in general have been acknowledged in a number of popular and scientific publications.
Australian research had been
most active in the 1880s with an occasional spasm of activity in
the first decade or so of the 20th century. The emphasis was limited to taxonomy when the early naturalists and zoologists were endeavouring
to characterise and classify the biota (i.e. the combined flora and fauna) of our Great South Land. Little had been published since that time, so an uncluttered field of endeavour was available for research.
In 1986 I was able to use my Fellowship qualification together with further specialist studies in biogeography and invertebrate zoology as a base from which
to proceed to a Master’s Degree
by research and thesis from the University of NSW. Research was carried out on the biology and environment of some local Central Queensland stinging marine species of hydroids. This was achieved by utilising laboratory facilities and
a co-supervisor at the recently established University of Central Queensland.
The primary emphasis was on identification of local hydroids which were acknowledged stingers
of significance in human injury. Environmental conditions were also investigated in an effort to determine any relevant ambient factors such
as water temperature which might lead to seasonal variations in stinging intensity. Interdigital finger webs belonging to the researcher (me!) made useful test sites for assessing variations in stinging ability.
The stinging apparatus of hydroids
is similar to that of corals, the Portuguese man-o-war or blue
bottle familiar on all our beaches especially after heavy weather, as well as to that of the deadly box jellyfish, whose lethality in tropical Indo-
volume 2 ■ no 24 ■ November 2004
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 3