Scientists seeking to study ocean life around the world – or even the seawater itself – are often faced with deciding between the expense of conducting their studies at sea or the complexities of trying to replicate ocean conditions in a laboratory. But thanks to the Marine Science Research Facility at the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus – and a high-tech and high-powered pumping system — the ocean continuously travels right through campus, making such studies convenient and inexpensive.
“We have one of the most versatile seawater facilities in the country,” proclaimed Ed Baker, who manages the facility. “We can manipulate the water to be whatever temperature, salinity or filtration researchers may want. We can chill the water, heat the water, filter out the plankton and other particulates in the water, or leave it unfiltered. We can emulate nearly any marine condition on the planet.”
With 7,000 feet of indoor wet lab space and almost unlimited outdoor space adjacent to the Bay, it is the largest facility of its kind in New England.
Baker said that the facility helps scientists bridge the gap between fieldwork and lab work. “We see the facility as a flexible platform for students and researchers. That flexibility allows us to accommodate a remarkably diverse spectrum of research,” he said.
Scattered throughout the Graduate School of Oceanography’s Aquarium Building – one of several buildings linked to the seawater system — are tanks of various sizes containing sharks, rays, cichlids, snails, algae, sea squirts and assorted other marine organisms. Overhead is a maze of brightly colored coded pipes carrying filtered, heated, chilled and ambient seawater to the tanks. And every day, students and researchers come to feed and care for the marine life or conduct experiments with them.
URI’s shark researchers, for instance, use the laminar flow tank, which Baker describes as “like a wind tunnel with water,” to study the biomechanics of swimming and feeding behavior in bamboo sharks, while aquaculture researchers test alternative feeds for assorted marine fish species. Scientists who recently returned from Antarctica maintain krill and other organisms in polar conditions, while those studying the affect of climate change on invertebrates can keep their samples at whatever temperature Narragansett Bay is on any given day.
“In the marine environment, temperature is fundamentally important, so we have environmental chambers that can control temperature in a very narrow range,” said Danielle Duquette, the assistant manager of the facility. “One degree can be a huge deal; it might mean an entire fish population moves north. Temperature affects metabolism, physiology, reproduction and survival.”
The facility is not just for use by URI scientists and students, however. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council uses it to study invasive species; Brown University researchers use it to study algae blooms as a proxy for historical temperatures in the bay; scientists at the New Bedford School for Marine Sciences and Technology are conducting a study of how feeding ration affects isotopes in the shells of scallops; and a Rhode Island College professor is studying the effects of toxins on skate development.
In addition to the ongoing scientific studies, the facility also hosts numerous visits by school groups throughout the year. These visits can include hands-on science activities, including collecting and testing water samples and examining microscopic organisms through microscopes. Those interested in scheduling a tour should contact Baker at 401-874-6112 or ebaker@gso.uri.edu or Duquette atdduquette@mail.uri.edu.
For more information, see the related press release.
Pictured above
Danielle Duquette and Ed Baker at the University of Rhode Island’s Marine Science Research Facility. (Photo by Michael Salerno)