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- The University of New Hampshire's Jackson Estuarine Laboratory (JEL) is located
five miles from the Durham campus on the shores of Great Bay Estuary at Adams
Point. Resident Faculty members conduct Research that covers a wide range of
fields and is supported by a variety of private, state and federal agencies.
Students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists are also active in JEL
research. The laboratory provides diverse Education opportunities for graduate
and undergraduate students to learn research and analytical skills, and also
hosts seminars, lectures and field trips for UNH classes.
The research being conducted by resident faculty is directed at basic and
applied scientific questions, many of which are critical to the State and
region. JEL faculty also teach courses at UNH. The Laboratory features
well-equipped Facilities for conducting research in aquaculture, benthic
ecology, botany, geology, microbiology, and water quality.
Sources of support for research at JEL include National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NH Coastal Program, NH Sea Grant, Cooperative Institute for
Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, Coastal Ocean Program, National
Estuarine Research Reserve Program, National Marine Fisheries Service), US
Environmental Protection Agency, NH Dept. of Environmental Services, NH Fish
and Game Dept., NH Dept. of Transportation (Port Authority), US Navy, US
Geological Survey, US Dept. of Agriculture, National Science Foundation,
National Institutes of Health, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Internal UNH sources of funding, which include the Hubbard Foundation, Center
for Marine Biology, Center for International Education, and the Office of
Sustainability Programs, also support research at the Laboratory.
Specific topics of research include:
" Aquaculture of bivalve molluscs and seaweed
" Biodegradation of oil and other toxic organic pollutants
" Biology, behavior and physiology of lobsters
" Bottom habitat mapping and characterization
" Coastal processes and beach erosion
" Community ecology and landscape interactions of dynamic coastal wetlands
" Ecology of faunal benthos, bivalve molluscs and marine and estuarine fish
" Ecology and physiology of bacterial pathogens of humans, finfish and
shellfish
" Ecology, ecophysiology and systematics of seaweeds and of seagrasses
" Enhancement of wetland functions through community-based programs
" Environmental technologies
" Estuarine water quality monitoring
" Microbial cycling and community responses to mercury in marine environments
" Modeling of seagrass habitat change
" Monitoring, restoration and analysis of seagrass habitats and impacted,
created and restored wetlands
" Physiology of plants in stressful environments (flooding, salinity,
disease)
" Pollution source and pathogen identification using ribotyping, gene probes
and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
" Restoration of shellfish habitats
" Sea level impacts on coastal environments
" Sedimentary process in estuaries and continental shelves
" Stormwater impacts and treatment technologies
[Source: Maine Sea Grant, "http://marine.unh.edu/jel/home.htm"]
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