Minors are available in oceanography and sustainable aquaculture and fisheries ecology. For more information, please visit

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2 VISION To become the international centre for research and education in cold ocean bioscience. INTRODUCTION The Department of Ocean Sciences is located at the Ocean Sciences Centre (OSC) in Logy Bay, N.L., approximately 15 kilometres from the St. John s campus. The OSC is a major facility for marine research on the North Atlantic coast, and is one of Canada s largest marine laboratories. By virtue of its location, the department provides Canadian and international scientists and students access to the flora and fauna of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. It is also uniquely situated for shore-based studies of the cold-ocean processes and sub-arctic, Arctic and deep-sea organisms. The strategic goals of the department are to carry out world-class research that focuses on organisms and processes in the cold ocean and to provide education and training opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Research areas include physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology; biological and chemical oceanography; behavioural and population ecology; and aquaculture and fisheries.

3 Undergraduate and Graduate Programs The Department of Ocean Sciences, located within metres of the North Atlantic, specializes in the study of biological and biochemical patterns and processes in cold-ocean environments and adaptations in resident organisms. Education and training is one of the department s principal mandates, and is achieved by providing a stimulating, research-intensive environment in which students can develop and thrive. The department interfaces biological oceanography and biogeochemistry with marine ecology, physiology, behaviour and aquaculture of cold-ocean organisms. At the organismal level, our graduate students study the physiological and behavioural responses to highly variable or extreme physical and chemical environments. Students gain greater specialization in their field of interest while performing cutting-edge thesis research. Our program also offers the unique opportunity to collaborate and work with a large, diverse group of dedicated marine scientists at Memorial University. Minors are available in oceanography and sustainable aquaculture and fisheries ecology. For more information, please visit M.Sc. and PhD programs are available in marine biology. For more information on specific programs and scholarships, visit

4 Facilities and Services AQUATIC FACILITIES for holding a variety of marine and freshwater flora and fauna for long periods at ambient and controlled water temperatures and for live food production to support fish and invertebrate culture. VESSELS, including a Boston Whaler and two zodiacs for collecting organisms. CERTIFIED SCIENTIFIC DIVERS provide researchers with live animals from coastal waters year-round and support research requiring underwater surveying, sampling or observations. 57 LABORATORIES of varying size, some housing flowing sea-water and others housing instruments for analytical chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, histology, molecular biology (genetics and genomics) and microscopy. COMMON-USE ROOMS for fish sampling, microscopy/image analysis, high-speed centrifugation, radioisotope analyses, histological preparation and histochemistry and molecular biology. ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION, including total organic carbon and carbon hydrogen nitrogen analyzers, a nutrient autoanalyzer, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatographs (GC), a GC/mass spectrometer, a Iatroscan system, high-speed centrifuges, beta- and gamma-scintillation counters, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction machines, a microarray scanner, a genetic analyzer, a fluorescence activated cell sorter, a resonance scanning confocal microscope, a scanning electron microscope with elemental analysis, cell culture incubators and biosafety cabinets and a histology suite, including a tissue processor, an embedding station, a cryostat, an automatic microtome and an automated stainer. COLD ROOMS for temperature-sensitive experiments. VEHICLES, including a five-ton vehicle which can be fitted with two 2,500-litre tanks for the transportation of live organisms, four 4x4 trucks available for field research and a shuttle van to provide transportation to and from campus.

5 COLD-OCEAN DEEP-SEA RESEARCH FACILITY The Cold-Ocean Deep-Sea Research Facility (CDRF) provides researchers with access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment for the study of freshwater and marine organisms, especially those from the cold waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. Located at Memorial University s Ocean Sciences Centre, the CDRF provides a local sea-water line for a continuous flow-through water supply to an AQC3-certified biocontainment facility. The facility is newly equipped with histology, microscopy and cell culture equipment. Together, these tools are used to study the biology and mitigation of disease in commercial fisheries species. Pressure vessels, the only of their kind in North America, are used for original research on deep-sea life and equipment. Featured Equipment and Services AQUATIC CONTAINMENT LABS for the study of viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic pathogens as well as invasive species, flow through of sea-water or freshwater and CFIA certification up to level AQC3. DEEP-SEA equipment, including two 19-litre vessels allowing pressurization of water to 3,000-metre depth with heating or chilling and flow-through seawater systems for pressurizing 100- or 50-millilitre volumes as well as microscopic viewing while under pressure. MULTI-TANK SYSTEMS are available and ideal for controlled experiments in nine- or 35-litre tanks. For more information on the CDRF, visit

6 Dr. Joe Brown Aquatic Research Building The Dr. Joe Brown Aquatic Research Building (JBARB) provides state-of-the-art facilities designed to support research, training, precommercial production and small-scale commercial trials for marine aquaculture. A critical component of the 1,400-square-metre facility is a sea-water system designed to deliver high-quality, temperaturecontrolled, flow-through water. Separate tanks and rooms are available for broodstock conditioning, paired mating, hatchery rearing, first feeding nursery operations, grow-out and physiological and genomic investigations on marine finfish. Live food production can deliver commercial quantities of rotifers and artemia daily. The JBARB carries out research in collaboration with Memorial University, government and industry partners. The aquaculture potential of various vertebrate and invertebrate species is being evaluated through the study of broodstock biology, physiology and genomics and the development of larval-rearing techniques. For more information on the JBARB, visit

7 For further information regarding the Department of Ocean Sciences: Ocean Sciences Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John s, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada A1C 5S7 Tel.: (709) Fax: (709) Ocean Sciences, Memorial oceansciencescentre

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