Dr. Robert Whitlatch is Head of the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut. He proposes construction of a controlled-condition seawater system at the University's Avery Point campus at Groton. This seawater system will support experimental studies of marine and estuarine organisms under controlled manipulations of water filtration, temperature, and salinity. The proposed seawater system for experimental research will be a unique facility on Long Island Sound, and will attract research scientists from a broad region. Studies of recruitment and population growth will take on added dimensions as a result of access to the proposed facility. These studies will address a range of topics from basic marine biology and physiology, to the effects of society on marine habitats, to the impact and control of fouling organisms on human-built structures.
