Grant: Major Resources Support Program - Infrastructure

From humble beginnings as a simple ""field station"" in 1972, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC) - operated by a consortium of 5 Alberta and BC universities - has matured into a national treasure as a research and training facility in the coastal and marine sciences. BMSC provides essential, increasingly world-class support of field and laboratory research to scientists from across Canada (e.g., co-applicants and users come from 5 provinces). It attracts established and distinguished researchers (5 Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, 4 Canada Research Chairs, a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Scholar and Fellow, and Pew International and Steacie Fellows) as well as bright, young researchers (2 co-applicants are newly appointed faculty). As a measure of its broad appeal, in the last year, BMSC has supported research by international users from 11 countries, and many private sector (2 aquaculture companies and 3 consulting companies), and government users (Pacific Geosciences Centre, Parks Canada, Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans, BC Ministry of Environment, Canadian Navy). BMSC is also an active collaborator in the world-leading NEPTUNE ocean-science project. Recent investments in infrastructure have added significant new research capacity to BMSC (new research labs in the Rix Centre for Ocean Discoveries, a Fluid Dynamics Laboratory with a unique 12 m flume and sophisticated flow-visualization system, a cutting-edge confocal microscope, a Remotely Operated Vehicle and dive tender for exploring deep water habitats) that supports a wide array of behavioral, ecological, physiological and developmental studies. Consequently, research productivity is growing dramatically, from 37 refereed publications per year (1995-2004) to 47, 51 and 60 per year respectively in the last three years. However, BMSC requires increased funding for technical and professional staff, and to cover increased operating expenses, to a) make the most of this enhanced research capacity, b) maintain aging infrastructure in a state of suitable research readiness, and c) sustain the growing productivity and international prestige of what is, undeniably, a major Canadian research resource.