FSML: Improvements to the Capacity of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

The Kewalo Marine Laboratory (KML) is one of only three marine research facilities in the state of Hawaii, which uses modern molecular techniques along with other laboratory and field-based research to understand basic principles of marine biodiversity, resilience and ecosystem responses. Faculty, postdoctoral associates, undergraduate and graduate students and visitors are all involved in research of fundamental importance and applied value for academic, environmental, biomedical and conservation science. Research at the Kewalo Marine Laboratory uses marine organisms to study a variety of biological phenomena and processes that range from molecules to ecosystems. The common thread in all KML research programs is the important use of molecular techniques that require specific instrumentation to detect, quantify, and manipulate small quantities of rare and precious biomaterials from organisms maintained in a high quality flow through sea water system. New and upgraded equipment and instrumentation will help KML users keep pace with ever-evolving molecular techniques and associated research opportunities through access to new multi-user instruments and an upgraded flowing seawater system and will enhance and expand research and training capabilities at KML. The instruments will allow students and trainees to employ cutting edge technologies to address fundamental problems in cellular, developmental, evolutionary, and environmental biology of the unique Hawaiian marine biodiversity. The improvements will also support training programs for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island students who are highly under-represented in the STEM disciplines. Marine laboratories provide unprecedented access to a diversity of organisms and associated research opportunities unavailable at most research universities. At the Kewalo Marine Laboratory, uniquely situated adjacent to living coral reefs near downtown Honolulu, researchers and their trainees use modern cellular and molecular approaches to investigate a wide variety of basic biological phenomena using a full range of marine organisms, including molluscs, annelids, flatworms, reef corals and marine microbes. The new instruments and seawater facilities will not only facilitate research by the resident researchers of KML (and their diverse undergraduate, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows), but will bolster the active Visiting Scientist program. Improvements will be used to support both research and training efforts, allowing a diverse group of students to gain a better understanding of key biological processes that will help in the preservation of unique local and regional marine ecosystems. Additional details on the facility, and associated research and training programs can be found on the KML website: http://www.kewalo.hawaii.edu/index.php