An Imaging Center to support research across multiple scales at the Shannon Point Marine Center

香农角海洋中心的成像中心支持多尺度研究

• 批准号: 1418709
• 负责人: Brian Bingham
• 金额: $ 17.66万
• 依托单位: Western Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-15 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1418709&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Imaging; Center; support; research; across

The Shannon Point Marine Center (http://www.wwu.edu/spmc) is awarded support to create an on-site, state-of-the-art Imaging Center, meeting a pressing need to display, capture, and analyze high-quality digital images and video. With the addition of an Imaging Center to existing research capacity, scientists at SPMC will be better able to address questions from subcellular to organismal levels within an existing framework of field ecology, oceanography, experimental ecology, chemical/physiological ecology, and molecular biology. The center will allow researchers to take full advantage of existing SPMC resources while developing new research themes in, for example, seagrass ecology, invertebrate larval behavior, ocean acidification, and molecular ecology. The center will house three research-quality microscopes (epifluorescence, DIC-capable compound and stereo microscopes), associated cameras (monochrome, color and high-speed video), imaging software, and supporting computer equipment. This new equipment will support the increasing breadth and complexity of research activities of resident scientists and visiting researchers. It will also provide opportunities for training and research by a host of student researchers at SPMC, including undergraduates participating in NSF-supported REU Site and COSEE internships, and the Multicultural Initiative in the Marine Sciences: Undergraduate Participation (MIMSUP) program. SPMC also trains faculty from local community colleges to incorporate marine science into the curricula of introductory courses, impacting students who typically do not pursue degrees in marine science or science of any discipline. The Imaging Center will play an important role in training workshops for these groups and in outreach efforts to public audiences through the SPMC Public Education Experiential Learning program. Based on activity at SPMC during the past 5 years, we expect that the Imaging Center will annually benefit up to 13 full-time faculty and staff researchers, 20 undergraduate student and 15 graduate student researchers, and some proportion of the 150 students and 700+ visitors who, each year, spend time at SPMC taking courses, participating in workshops, attending lectures or taking tours.Founded in 1973, and located in Anacortes, Washington, SPMC has as its mandate 1) research on the marine habitats and living resources of the Puget Sound basin, 2) support of undergraduate marine science courses offered by Western Washington University and a number of other public institutions, 3) close articulation between research and instruction at the undergraduate and graduate student levels, 4) expanding the potential for research and training by promoting participation of visiting scientists and 5) assuring broader impact of research and training activities by actively promoting ocean literacy in the general population and by effectively translating research to a broader audience. To fulfill these goals, SPMC participates in a graduate program, an NSF-sponsored program for underrepresented minority students (Multicultural Initiative in the Marine Sciences: Undergraduate Participation) and other undergraduate programs nationwide (REU Site and COSEE programs). The participation by SPMC staff in the work of the Northwest Straits Commission and their local Marine Resource Committees has led to new initiatives to study proposed Marine Protected Areas. Research on other topics of local concern includes studies on the dynamics of macroalgal and microalgal blooms and the impacts of ocean acidification on phytoplankton and on larvae of commercial species. Access by students and visiting scientists to local study sites, including the Shannon Point beach and the nearby Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, enhances the value of SPMC as a location for research on long-term processes that results from the accumulation of data over time and from the stability provided by Shannon Point's supporting facilities.

香农角海洋中心（http：//www.wwu.edu/spmc）获得支持，以创建一个现场，国家的最先进的成像中心，满足迫切需要显示，捕捉和分析高品质的数字图像和视频。随着成像中心的增加，SPMC的科学家将能够更好地解决从亚细胞到有机体水平的问题，在现有的野外生态学，海洋学，实验生态学，化学/生理生态学和分子生物学的框架内。该中心将允许研究人员充分利用现有的SPMC资源，同时开发新的研究主题，例如海草生态学，无脊椎动物幼虫行为，海洋酸化和分子生态学。该中心将容纳三个研究质量的显微镜（落射荧光，DIC功能的复合和立体显微镜），相关的相机（单色，彩色和高速视频），成像软件和支持计算机设备。这一新设备将支持驻地科学家和访问研究人员日益广泛和复杂的研究活动。它还将为SPMC的许多学生研究人员提供培训和研究的机会，包括参加NSF支持的REU Site和COSEE实习的本科生，以及海洋科学多元文化倡议：本科生参与（MIMSUP）计划。SPMC还培训当地社区学院的教师将海洋科学纳入入门课程的课程，影响通常不攻读海洋科学或任何学科科学学位的学生。成像中心将在为这些群体举办的培训讲习班以及通过SPMC公共教育体验式学习计划向公众宣传方面发挥重要作用。根据SPMC过去5年的活动，我们预计成像中心每年将使多达13名全职教职员工研究人员，20名本科生和15名研究生研究人员以及150名学生和700多名游客中的一部分受益，他们每年都会花时间在SPMC上课程，参加研讨会，参加讲座或参加图尔斯。SPMC成立于1973年，位于华盛顿的阿纳科特斯，其任务是：1）研究普吉特湾盆地的海洋生境和生物资源，2）支持西华盛顿大学和一些其他公共机构提供的本科海洋科学课程，3）在本科生和研究生一级密切研究与教学之间的联系，4）通过促进访问科学家的参与来扩大研究和培训的潜力，5）通过积极促进普通民众的海洋知识和有效地将研究成果转化为更广泛的受众，确保研究和培训活动产生更广泛的影响。为了实现这些目标，SPMC参加了一个研究生课程，一个NSF赞助的计划，为代表性不足的少数民族学生（海洋科学多元文化倡议：本科生参与）和全国其他本科课程（REU网站和COSEE计划）。太平洋海洋保护委员会的工作人员参与西北海峡委员会及其地方海洋资源委员会的工作，导致对拟议的海洋保护区进行研究的新举措。对地方关注的其他专题的研究包括大型藻类和微型藻类大量繁殖的动态研究以及海洋酸化对浮游植物和商业物种幼虫的影响。学生和客座科学家可以进入当地的研究地点，包括香农角海滩和附近的帕迪利亚湾国家河口研究保护区，这增强了SPMC作为长期研究地点的价值。过程是随着时间的推移和香农角支持设施提供的稳定性而积累的数据。