The Gatty Marine Laboratory is a science facility located in the coastal town of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It is part of the University of St Andrews and home to the Scottish Oceans Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute studying the marine environment, specifically the behaviour, ecology, physiology, population biology and functional genomics of marine organisms. The Gatty Marine Laboratory is known[ by whom? ] as the place where Richard G. Morris developed the Morris water navigation task in the early 1980s.
The laboratory was paid for by the zoologist Charles Henry Gatty (1836-1903) during his later life (1892), having no family to leave his fortune to. [1] He paid both for an original timber building (1892)and its permanent stone replacement (1896), which was designed by James Gillespie. [2]
Its first Director was William Carmichael McIntosh. The permanent building was officially opened on 3 October 1896 by Lord Reay, at which point the timber building was abandoned. The building was badly damaged by fire in 1913. [3]
The Gatty Marine Laboratory has been continuously occupied except for the period between 1931 and the end of World War II. The laboratory has its origins in the government-funded St Andrews Fisheries Laboratory, which was founded in 1884. [4] The first director, William Carmichael McIntosh, conducted pioneering work on the taxonomy of annelids and the early life histories of marine fish over more than 50 years. In 1945-46 the Gatty (as it is informally known) received an operating budget of £50 and was used as a field station by zoologists and botanists based in the Bute Medical Building in the town centre.
Until 1960 the Gatty was led by James Munro Dodd. From 1960 till 1969 the laboratory was under the Directorship of Adrian Horridge, succeeded from 1969 to 1985 by Michael Laverack. [5]
Since 1987, the "Gatty" has been a component Research Institute of the School of Biology (although the name and composition of the school has changed several times). The laboratory built up strong research groupings in fish biology and marine ecology and by the early 1990s received the highest number of research grants in marine biology of any UK department. In 1997, a major £4.3 million extension to the building was financed by the University Court. The new building provided a modern lecture theatre and teaching laboratory, and research laboratories for immunological and muscle research. The major part of the new build was occupied by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) sponsored Sea Mammal Research Unit, which transferred to the site from Cambridge in 1996. [6]
Edinburgh Napier University is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napier. The technical college was inaugurated as a university in 1992 by Lord Douglas-Hamilton, becoming Napier University. In 2009, the university was renamed Edinburgh Napier University.
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.
Margaret Gatty was an English children's author and writer on marine biology. In some writings she argues against Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. She became a popular writer of tales for young people, which she hoped would influence adult minds as well. Among her other books are Parables from Nature, Worlds not Realized, Proverbs Illustrated, and Aunt Judy's Tales. She edited Aunt Judy's Magazine, a family publication written by various family members.
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, England. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. The Centre was established to promote cooperation with institutions across the UK marine science community, to better address key issues including sea level change, the ocean's role is climate change, computer simulation of the ocean's behaviour, and the long term monitoring and future of the Arctic Circle.
Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell.
Graeme Ruxton is a zoologist known for his research into behavioural ecology and evolutionary ecology.
William Carmichael M'Intosh LLD was a Scottish physician and marine zoologist. He served as president of the Ray Society, as vice-president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1927–30), and was awarded the Neill Prize (1865-8).
Boarhills is a hamlet close to Kingsbarns in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. It is located off the A917 road, 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) from St Andrews and 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) from Crail, close to the mouth of Kenly Water with the North Sea.
Sir Ian Lamont Boyd, is a Scottish zoologist, environmental and polar scientist, former Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and is a professor of biology at the University of St Andrews. He is Chair of the UK Research Integrity Office and President of the Royal Society of Biology.
The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) is a marine science research organisation in Fife, Scotland. It provides the UK's main science capability in the field of marine mammal biology. It is located at the Gatty Marine Laboratory, part of the University of St Andrews. It was established in 1978, when the Natural Environment Research Council merged its Seals Research Division and Whale Research Unit.
John Douglas of Pinkerton was a Scottish architect who designed and reformed several country houses in the Scottish Lowlands. His work deserves to be noted for what the 2002 history of Scottish architecture remarks as an approach "of relentless surgery or concealment.". His most notable works are Killin and Ardeonaig Church, Stirlingshire (1744); Archerfield House, East Lothian (1745); Finlaystone House, Renfewshire (1746–47), Wardhouse (Gordonhall), Insch, Aberdeenshire (1757); and Campbeltown Town Hall, Argyll and Bute (1758–60). Several of these are listed buildings.
Prof James Munro Dodd FRS FRSE FZS (1915–1986) was a British marine biologist. He was Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University College of North Wales in Bangor. He was generally known as Jimmie Dodd. He specialised in Comparative Endocrinology within the field of zoology.
Charles Henry Gatty FRS FRSE FRAS FLS FGS FZS LLD was a British zoologist, meteorologist, landowner and philanthropist. He was the last Lord of the manor in Felbridge, East Grinstead. He funded the Gatty Marine Laboratory in St Andrews in Scotland, which is named in his memory.
Michael Stuart Laverack MIB FRSE was a British zoologist who was director of the Gatty Marine Laboratory from 1969 to 1985. He emigrated to Australia and was noted for his contributions to marine biology.
Arthur Thomas Masterman FRS FRSE was an English zoologist and author. He was an expert on the British fishing industry.
Kenneth Arthur Pyefinch, MA, FRSE (1911–1979) was a 20th-century British zoologist and freshwater biologist. As its first Officer in Charge, he led the development of the Brown Trout Research Laboratory in Pitlochry into its establishment as the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory with a national and international reputation for research.
Dr Henry Charles Williamson FRSE FRCVS (1871–1949) was a Scottish zoologist who pioneered marine biology.
Margaret Constance Helen Blackler (1902–1981) was a British phycologist, botanical collector and museum curator.
St Andrews Town Hall is a municipal structure in South Street, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which is the meeting place of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, is a Category B listed building.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) History of the Gatty Marine Laboratory