“We\u2019re essentially bringing the ocean into a laboratory where scientists are able to address local, regional and global issues.\u00a0The facilities and equipment can emulate nearly any marine condition on the planet except for vastness and depth.” \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ed Baker, seawater facility manager<\/p>\n
What do you need to know about marine life?<\/p>\n The impact ocean acidification has on lobsters? Can marine ecosystems and wild fish populations be better preserved with fishmeal replacement in aquaculture fish feeds? How and why do harmful phytoplankton blooms occur?<\/p>\n What are nutrient levels, driven by sewage and fertilizer run-off, doing to Narragansett Bay? Can squid shut down their oxygen consumption and control their metabolism?<\/p>\n Responses to these and myriad other questions are sought and found within the low-slung buildings and specialty laboratories that sit bayside on the University of Rhode Island Narragansett Bay Campus.<\/p>\n Together, they form the Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR Marine Science Research Facility (MSRF), valued and supported by both the URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) and College of Environment and Life Sciences (CELS).<\/p>\n \u201cThink of how much biomass is in the ocean,\u201d says Lucie Maranda, MSRF supervisor and marine research scientist at the GSO. \u201cHow healthy is this biomass? Is it affected by climate change, by pollution? And if so, how is it affected? We need to understand the resilience of marine populations, and how the environment responds to different conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n By measuring the response of the ocean and its inhabitants, says Maranda, we can learn and verify, for example, that pollution does matter; if we put contaminants in the water, we can see the cause and effect, that before we had species \u2018x,\u2019 and now we have species \u2018z.\u2019 We can compare a pristine environment with one that is polluted, and we can demonstrate that problems exist.<\/p>\n The pursuit of answers brings researchers from URI, the EPSCoR community and the state, to the literal end of South Ferry Road, where the asphalt meets Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The view alone is worth the drive, not to mention the incredible science that takes place in the buildings there.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is magic when cresting the hill at the South Ferry Church and seeing the condition of the Bay \u2014\u00a0angry and covered with white caps, foreboding with icy sea smoke or resting flat and glassy calm,\u201d reflects Ed Baker, seawater facility manager. \u201cI look for it each morning.\u201d<\/p>\n The flowing seawater wet lab space, environmental chambers, and array of analytical equipment combine to provide unique opportunities for marine scientists and students. With the R\/V Endeavor<\/em> and other research vessels able to dock at the GSO pier, scientists can collect organisms at sea and bring them to the MSRF where marine conditions are mimicked or slightly changed for experiments.<\/p>\n Samples from the experiments then can be analyzed with a host of specialized equipment such as microscopes, a flow cytometer, and a nutrient analyzer. Samples also can be processed conveniently for later DNA sequencing. The aim is to offer one-stop-shopping to all types of scientists.<\/p>\n Maranda doesn\u2019t have to look far or wide to sum up the importance of having these capabilities close at hand. She cites a long-term GSO study that began in the 1950s, taking weekly water quality samples to determine bay conditions and phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance related to such indicators as temperature, salinity and a host of nutrients. Nutrient measurements once conducted by hand are done today with the MSRF nutrient analyzer, generating more data faster.<\/p>\n \u201cThis long-term study allowed us to document an increase in the bay\u2019s water temperature,\u201d Maranda says. \u201cIt is how we found out there are changes to nutrients in the bay. If we had not done the analysis, we would not know.\u201d<\/p>\n Baker oversees the activity that takes place throughout the four-building complex and hurricane-hardened pumphouse. Along with 7,000 square feet of wet lab space, there also are seawater intake pipes, eel grass mesocosms, a large laminar flow tank, specialized respirometer tanks, pathology and transgenics labs, filters, heaters, chillers, alarms, and back-up generators.<\/p>\n With RI NSF EPSCoR funding and support, the seawater facility has seen major renovations and updates to accommodate what Baker describes as a remarkable diversity of research \u2014\u00a0benthic soil chemistry, macro algae ecology and invasive species, marine degradation of newly developed plastics, functional morphology of sharks, effects of neuropeptides on lobster behavior, sea star disease, tunicate development, effects of ocean acidification, effect of rising sea level on marsh grass survival, and novel anti-fouling surfaces, among many other enterprises and the periodic verification that sea-going instruments work properly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re essentially bringing the ocean into a laboratory where scientists are able to address local, regional and global issues,\u201d he says. \u201cThe facilities and equipment can emulate nearly any marine condition on the planet except for vastness and depth.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, one researcher is attempting to establish an ice cap in an environmental chamber to better understand the dynamics of microbial communities residing under the vast polar ice caps.<\/p>\n The MSRF also has been the springboard for the expanding oyster aquaculture industry here in Rhode Island and along the eastern seaboard.\u00a0Investigation into oyster growth and their pathogens continues today.<\/p>\n Baker says the MSRF has a long history of providing for scientists and students studying bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, finfish, and sharks. From sea squirts to seaweed \u2014\u00a0essentially all manners of sea life \u2014 the MSRF has been a conduit for graduate students and scientific papers for decades, a great asset to the university and the state of Rhode Island.<\/p>\n The MSRF makes equipment available for use both in the labs and out in the field or off the shores of Rhode Island. The facility also accommodates visiting scientists and has undertaken contract science, and at times conducts replicate scientific studies and hosts research activities sponsored by other universities.<\/p>\n And, the MSRF draws in the next generation with an outreach program, hosting groups of young people through their school, organization or camp, to expose them to marine science education and careers.<\/p>\n Biologist Rebeka Rand Merson, associate professor, Rhode Island College (RIC), says the MSRF is an indispensible asset. Recently awarded a Rhode Island Science & Technology Advisory Council (STAC) collaborative grant, Merson focuses on evolution, development, and effects of environmental stress in cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates, and rays) with specific aims to determine sensitivity of these animals to chemical pollutants present in Narragansett Bay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe anticipate that our results will contribute significantly to our understanding of current stressors and emerging issues related to climate change,\u201d Merson explains, noting that the research animals she studies are too big and sensitive to maintain at RIC and they require flowing seawater to survive and reproduce.<\/p>\n The MSRF offers world-class physical facilities, she says, and Baker is highly knowledgeable about the operations of the facility: \u201cMost importantly, he has expertise in maintaining healthy environments for marine organisms, including the group of animals I work with. His advice on day-to-day care of the animals and considerations for planning upcoming experiments is invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"IMG_7186\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/IMG_7186.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBay campus\u00a0marine facility boosts research capacity<\/h1>\n
\u2018Sea squirts to seaweed\u2019<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Education, research & training<\/h3>\n