Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory

Last updated

The Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory, on the south coast of Wellington, New Zealand Vucel 1.jpg
The Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory, on the south coast of Wellington, New Zealand

The Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory (VUCEL) is a research facility of the School of Biological Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington that supports research in coastal ecology and marine biology. [1] Located at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, in Island Bay on Wellington's south coast, approximately 8 km south of the university's main campus, the laboratory overlooks Cook Strait and the exposed rocky reef systems of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. [2]

Contents

VUCEL is known in Māori as Te Toka Tū Moana, which means "the surf-beaten rock that stands firm in the ocean". [3] The Māori name is both a description of the VUCEL building (with natural design elements that give it the appearance of rising from the rocks of the Wellington south coast), and it is representative of the strong connections between land and sea that are the focus much of VUCEL-supported research. [4]

VUCEL is a purpose-built research facility [5] designed by Pynenburg & Collins Architects Ltd with the internal laboratory spaces designed by Labworks Architecture Ltd, the research facility was completed in early 2009 and comprises an 816 m2 research space that includes 113 m2 of science laboratories, 168 m2 of wet laboratory facilities supplied with filtered and unfiltered flow-through seawater, and 161 m2 of oceanfront office space for up to 30 VUCEL research students, academics, and support staff. [6] VUCEL provides a staging area for field-based research programmes along the Wellington south coast and surrounding regions. [2] The lab maintains a small fleet of research vessels and vehicles, SCUBA diving facilities, research infrastructure, and instrumentation for field-based ecological research. VUCEL provides logistic support to research programmes in coastal ecology that are conducted in the Wellington region [7] and throughout New Zealand, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southern Ocean.

Victoria University first proposed a marine lab along the south coast of Wellington in the 1920s but it was not until the 1960s that a lab was established. [8] This predecessor to VUCEL, known as the Island Bay Marine Lab, occupied a building that was originally constructed as a shark liver oil processing plant by the Glaxo Company. This 1950s structure supported the marine biology programme of Victoria University until 2007, when it was demolished to make way for the new purpose-built coastal ecology laboratory.

See also

Related Research Articles

Victoria University of Wellington is a public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapiti Island</span> Island off the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand

Kapiti Island, sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located 5.6 km (3 mi) off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is now a predator-free sanctuary for endemic birds, including many endangered birds. The island is 10 km (6.2 mi) long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of 19.65 km2 (7.59 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waikanae</span> Town in Wellington Region, New Zealand

Waikanae is a town on the Kāpiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (wai) "of the grey mullet".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turakirae Head</span>

Turakirae Head is a promontory on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located at the western end of Palliser Bay, 20 kilometres southeast of Wellington, at the southern end of the Remutaka Range. The headland hosts a series of uplifted Holocene marine terraces and beach ridges that record uplift from past earthquakes. After each earthquake, a new terrace and beach ridge formed below the previous one at sea level. The most recent earthquake to uplift Turakirae Head was the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, which raised the shoreline up to 6.4 m. Turakirae Head is also home to a seal colony and southern bull kelp.

The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science is the University of Miami's academic and research institution for the study of oceanography, atmospheric, and earth sciences. The Rosenstiel School is located 8 miles (13 km) east from the University of Miami's main Coral Gables campus on Virginia Key in Miami, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island Bay</span> Suburb of Wellington City, New Zealand

Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research</span> New Zealand national research institute

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA, is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintains nationally and, in some cases, internationally important environmental monitoring networks, databases, and collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Raekaihau Point</span>

Te Raekaihau Point is a rugged coastal landform in Wellington, New Zealand, adjacent to Princess Bay, between Houghton Bay to the west and Lyall Bay to the east on the south coast. One meaning of the name is "the headland that eats the wind". Te Raekaihau Point proceeds from the Southern Headlands Reserve and remains an undeveloped interface with the Cook Strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Science Campus</span>

The Coastal Science Campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz consists of five main institutions: UC Santa Cruz's Long Marine Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz's Coastal Biology Building, the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, and the California Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonne Bay Marine Station</span> Research facility in Newfoundland, Canada

Bonne Bay Marine Station is a marine ecology research and teaching facility on Bonne Bay along Newfoundland's west coast. It offers services to students, researchers, educators and the general public. The station is within Gros Morne National Park, a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. The aquarium portion of the facility is open to visitors. Interactive aquariums tours are provided to walk-ins, as well as school and community groups. The tour offers exhibits the latest research while showcasing marine flora and fauna in the station's aquaria and touch tank. Officially opened on 6 Sept, 2002, the Bonne Bay Marine Station is operated by Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Gros Morne Co-operating Association. Funding was provided by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Institute of Marine Science</span> Marine research and education center in Virginia, US

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is one of the largest marine research and education centers in the United States. Founded in 1940, VIMS is unique among marine science institutions in its legal mandate to provide research, education, and advisory services to government, citizens, and industry. Funding for VIMS comes from the Commonwealth of Virginia, grants and contracts from federal and state agencies, and private giving. The School of Marine Science (SMS) at VIMS is the graduate school in marine science for the College of William & Mary. VIMS offers M.S., Ph.D., and professional M.A. degrees in marine science. The school has 52 faculty members, an enrollment of 80-100 students, and includes 4 academic departments. VIMS' main campus is located in Gloucester Point, Virginia.

The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, at Victoria University of Wellington (NZSM), is located in Wellington, New Zealand. NZSM provides a tertiary teaching faculty with programmes in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Studies, Composition and Sonic Arts. It also provides the only postgraduate degree course in Music therapy available in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steeple Rock</span>

Steeple Rock/Te Aroaro-o-Kupe is a large rock off Seatoun at the west of the entrance to Wellington Harbour, rising 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The rock plays a role in warning ships off the coast. It is the location of a marine light and an unbeaconed trig station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology</span> Ecology field station in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (PLE) is a year-round ecology field station of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences located in Linesville and South Shenango Township on the shores of Pymatuning Lake in Pennsylvania. The station contains research facilities and equipment, conducts undergraduate education and courses, and serves as center for conferences, symposia, and retreats. The Pyatuning Laboratory hosts researchers from the University of Pittsburgh as well as those from universities throughout the nation and world, which have included, among others, researchers form Duke University, the University of Virginia, the University of Georgia, the University of Miami. Likewise, course instructors at the lab come from the University of Pittsburgh, but also have included instructors from other institutions including Georgia Tech, the University of Connecticut, and the National Aviary. In addition, the University of Pittsburgh has instituted a collaborative program for study at the Pymatuning Lab with other area universities in which students that are enrolled through any of these institutions register, pay tuition, and receive credit at their home institutions. Schools participating in the collaborative program include Clarion University, Edinboro University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Slippery Rock University.


The Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung (ZMT) in Bremen is a German institute for research and developments for tropical and subtropical coastal areas and ecosystems.

The Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory (CMIL), formerly known as the Coastal Waters Laboratory, is an academic laboratory operated by the College of Sciences of San Diego State University (SDSU), in the Point Loma district of San Diego, California.

John Edward Morton was a biologist, scholar, theologian, and conservationist from New Zealand. Trained at Auckland University College and the University of London, he became the author of numerous books, papers, and newspaper columns. Morton researched New Zealand's ecology and marine life, and was a marine zoologist. He was also the presenter of the imported nature and science television programme, Our World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Marine Laboratory</span> Marine laboratory in New Zealand

The Leigh Marine Laboratory is the marine research facility for the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The laboratory is situated in north eastern New Zealand, 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Auckland city. The facility is perched on the cliffs overlooking the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve that covers 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of coastline from Cape Rodney to Okakari Point.

Robert Montgomery McDowall was one of New Zealand's most prominent freshwater ichthyologists.

References

  1. ↑ Marinebio.org "MarineBio Resource Directory"
  2. 1 2 Gardner J., ed. (2008) The Taputeranga Marine Reserve. First edition Publishers, Wellington New Zealand. 534p. ISBN   978-1-877479-62-5
  3. ↑ "Ko te Reo – Language: Whakatauki @ maori.org.nz"
  4. ↑ e.g., Phillips N.E. and J.S. Shima (2006) Differential effects of suspended sediments on larval survival and settlement of New Zealand urchins (Evechinus chloroticus) and abalone (Haliotis iris). Marine Ecology Progress Series 314:149-158
  5. ↑ "The Dominion Post" (7 November 2007)"Coastal Lab to meet demand." Fairfax Publishers, Wellington, New Zealand.
  6. ↑ Easton, Paul (13 March 2009). "$5.6m lab lets scientists see the sea". The Dominion Post . Wellington. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  7. ↑ New Zealand Department of Conservation "Taputeranga Marine Reserve monitoring"
  8. ↑ Putnam, G (1977) "A brief history of New Zealand marine biology." Tuatara 22:189-211.

41°20′52″S174°45′53″E / 41.3479°S 174.7648°E / -41.3479; 174.7648

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.