Staff members at the Aquarium conduct and participate in ongoing research as a part of their commitment to education, the preservation of animals on exhibit and in the wild, and global conservation.
Animal Research
Shark biology and reproductive physiology are examples of areas of research that have resulted from daily record keeping, routine husbandry, medical studies, and laboratory analyses. In fact, many projects occur naturally as we care for the living collection:
- findings on the health of neo-tropical frogs
- the effects of behavioral enrichment on captive seals
- the effects of parasite organisms on their hosts.
Conservation Research
The Aquarium’s commitment to conservation, especially to the preservation of endangered wild species and their habitats, often results in collaborative efforts between Aquarium staff and volunteers and members of other conservation-minded organizations.
In recent years, the Aquarium:
- worked with Johns Hopkins University to develop a coral cell line for the research of coral diseases
- collaborated with Sea World, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine what types of pathogens have been exposed to manatees and the long-term effects of that exposure to the population.
Collaborations within the scientific community benefit animals and their environments. In addition, Aquarium staff and the scientific community benefit from the exchange of information and continuing education and development.
