The current official goal of the Marine Laboratory is to study marine environmental systems and conservation utilizing the resources of the facility's proximity to the ocean.[3] It is a member of the National Association of Marine Laboratories[2] and the Marine Sciences Education Consortium.[4]
History
The main campus of Duke University is not in close proximity to the ocean, but with the Marine Laboratory campus, the university is able to conduct hands-on oceanographic studies.
The site for the laboratory was selected in the early 1930s, with the first building completed by 1938.[5] The original intention of the facility was to be a summer training facility and research facility for the university.[6]
By 1963, the facility had reached national recognition for its resources. At the time 75% of students and 40% of researchers came from other universities than Duke.[7]
Sylvia Earle, a renowned oceanographer[8] and pioneer of Jacques Cousteau's AquaLung Scuba device, received her M.S. and Ph.D. from Duke in 1956 and 1966, and has a connection to the Marine Laboratory.[9]
R/V Shearwater (2020)[26] – 77-foot catamaran funded by an $11 million gift from the Grainger Family Descendants Fund. Designed and built for year-round operations and outfitted with state-of-the-art scientific support infrastructure, it increases the scope of the research possible at the facility by expanding the duration and capacity of sea voyages.
The research originating from the laboratory has often been published in scientific journals, such as Policy Studies Journal,[31]Ecology Letters,[32]Marine Turtle,[33] and Conservation Biology.[34]
Recently, the laboratory's research about the effect of plastic on sea coral has gained national media coverage.[35] Other notable research includes the interaction of light pollution and marine life[36] and studies of whale migration patterns.[37]
^Forward Jr; De Vries; Tankersley; Rittschof; Hettler; Burke; Welch; Hoss (2004-02-24). "Behaviour and sensory physiology of Atlantic menhaden larvae, Brevoortia tyrannus, during horizontal transport". Fisheries Oceanography. 8 (s2): 37–56. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2419.1999.00023.x. ISSN1054-6006.
^Mrosovsky, Nicholas et al. Marine Turtle Newsletter. Issue 130, November 2011. ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
^COX, T. M.; LEWISON, R. L.; ŽYDELIS, R.; CROWDER, L. B.; SAFINA, C.; READ, A. J. (2007-10-19). "Comparing Effectiveness of Experimental and Implemented Bycatch Reduction Measures: the Ideal and the Real". Conservation Biology. 21 (5): 1155–1164. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00772.x. ISSN0888-8892. PMID17883481. S2CID30588240.