On-Site Facility Resources
The NRCC can support a wide range of work activities for visiting clients including wet and/or dry laboratory oriented experimentation, aquarium set-ups for filming, videography and photography and boat based or boat supported logistics. For more information or to set up a visit, contact John Forsythe (john.forsythe@utmb.edu or call 409-772-3662)
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Visiting Scientist Support |
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Support for Film Production Teams |
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Vessel Supported Operations |
Visiting Scientist Support
| Introduction |
| Facilities |
| Research Vessels |
| Housing |
For current cost information, please refer to the "On-Site Facility Charges" page.
Introduction
The NRCC has always welcomed Visiting Scientists who wish to work with cephalopods in its laboratories for periods of time ranging from a few days to several years.
Three local squid species are available- Lolliguncula brevis, Loligo plei and Loligo pealei. The squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana and the cuttlefishes Sepia officinalis and Sepia pharaonis are cultured year-round. Wild-caught chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, are maintained year-round or as needed. Thus, all sizes and developmental stages of cephalopods are available. Cells, tissues and organ systems can be prepared in our laboratories. Archived squid and octopus samples of known age are also available.
Facilities
Our facilities comprise four buildings, all within easy walking distance. They contain wet and dry laboratories, aquaria and office space. Systems of recirculating sea water are used throughout the NRCC and are monitored by a computer automated control system, providing stable environmental conditions. Dry laboratories have standard equipment, e.g., balances, microscopes, microtomes, a nutritional/biochemistry laboratory, a neuroethology laboratory, analog and digital video and SLR camera equipment, etc. Electron microscope facilities are available at the Marine Biomedical Institute. There is also an extensive Cephalopod Library (more than 4,000 reprints) computer cross-referenced by author, species and subject.
The NRCC has a network computer system offering visiting scientist access to e-mail, Internet and shared biomedical illustration resources. Our multimedia laboratory allows users to input, manipulate and analyze images from multiple sources.
The ground floor of Ewing Hall, part of our Harborside facility, was completely renovated and remodeled in 1996 to house state-of-the-art mariculture tank systems. The facility operates five large cephalopod production systems having a total volume of more than 300,000 L. Smaller systems are used to hold wild collected squid and nautilus. The functions of all filtration and environmental management subsystems have been computer automated, using a distributed process control system.
League Hall wet laboratories (5,000 ft2) have recently been converted into research scale aquaria systems that are available for a wide variety of behavioral and physiological research projects. These systems range in size from 100L aquaria to a 12-tank (1.7m dia.) 4,000L system. Also included is a Y-maze chamber for behavioral research, several tank systems (500L to 2,000L) complete with video monitor equipment and a respirometer.
A final wet laboratory (Hixon Dockhouse) has 5,000 ft2 of flexible research space, allowing temporary research systems to be set up.
Housing
Visitors may stay in our newly rennovated bedrooms (each contaning two beds) and are encouraged to take advantage of all the university facilities, including a nearby swimming pool and recreation center. Galveston beaches are within walking distance. Many other types of accomodations are available in Galveston, which is a tourist center. University discount rates can be obtained for local hotels and restaurants.
Meals are not provided, but a kitchen is available and there are university cafeterias and local grocery stores withing walking distance. In addition, there are many excellent restaurants in the Galveston area. Laundry facilities are also available on site.
Vessels available by prior arrangement include The R/V Marie Hall, a 65-ft trawler, as well as 17-ft and 11-ft Boston Whaler workboats. The Marie Hall is staffed with a full-time captain and mate. The vessels are all available for charter by the hour, the day and longer.
On-site Facility Charges:
The following laboratory fees include experimental animals (up to two large adult animals per day, except Nautilus), an individual 200 sq.ft. private laboratory area, and use of all common laboratories and housing in League Hall. Set-up and operation of aquaria systems for experiments can be arranged for an additional fee. Housing is in dormitory style rooms, two beds to a room, with a separate bath and shower. No meals are provided; however, a kitchen is available for cooking. Within walking distance is a university cafeteria with food vendors, as well as several local restaurants.
Facility Use Charges (include animals, laboratory space and housing)
Cost for one or two days: $250.00
Cost for one week: $800.00
Cost for one month: $3,000.00
Support for Film Production Teams
BBC/National Geographic Explorer
“Incredible
Suckers” BBC/Nature
“The
Ultimate Guide to Octopus”, Discovery Channel
“Alien
in the Abyss”, Discovery Channel
“The
Nature of Color” CBC series
What
do all these acclaimed natural history productions have in common? They were all
filmed in part at the National Resource Center for Cephalopods in Galveston,
Texas!
The National Resource Center for Cephalopods (NRCC) has a 20 year history of working with natural history film production teams in making squids, octopuses, cuttlefishes and other cephalopods available for filming purposes. Additionally, due to the extraordinarily high water quality requirements of cephalopods, our crystal clear recirculating seawater systems are highly adaptable to a wide range of other marine species, both vertebrate and invertebrate. We can maintain virtually any species of fish or small shark as well as crustaceans, molluscs and living soft and hard corals.
We have a number of filming tanks available from small aquaria (100-800 liters) to a 2000 l circular tank with 1m square glass window. Custom built glass filming tanks can be fabricated in Galveston. A 7m diameter by 2m deep circular tank system, with filming windows, is also large enough to accomodate scuba divers if needed for in-water filming. The NRCC also operates a 20m research trawler suitable for multiple-day offshore operations.
The NRCC is located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical
Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, Texas, USA. The NRCC is a scientific program
supporting the mission of the UTMB Marine Biomedical Institute's Marine
Resources and Aquatic Technology Program. We are located only 50 miles south of Houston with
access to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Houston, being the fourth
largest city in the U.S., offers excellent access to technical support and
logistics including a facility company for hiring film-lights and rig equipment.
There are direct flight connections to most major cities in Europe and
Asia via Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The NRCC offers dormitory-style
housing for visiting film teams or a large hotel/motel complex is only 100m from
the main facilities. Dozens of other hotel/motels and restaurants are nearby as
Galveston supports a major tourist industry.
Fees are negotiable based on specific needs but generally follow the day, week or monthly Facility Use Fee's for Visiting Scientists listed above. These fee’s include the use of any cephalopod species normally supplied by our facility. Costs for bringing in other species would be additional and can be discussed on a case by case basis.
We would be happy to speak with you about utilizing our facilities for
current or future projects. For further information contact John
Forsythe
The Marine Biomedical Institute maintains and operates one research vessel and two small boats to conduct fieldwork and diving operations both locally along the Texas coast and northern Gulf of Mexico. The R/V Marie Hall, a 65-foot steel stern trawler equipped with modern navigational and collection equipment is used for a wide range of field studies. The R/V Marie Hall has berths for the crew of two plus 5-6 scientists. The ship is used primarily over the continental shelf to collect live squids either with several types of trawl nets, or by dipnetting in conjuction with night-light-attraction methods. The vessel is also capable of transporting the live marine animals back to shore in several types of shipboard containers. Many of the food organisms, such as crabs, shrimps and fishes, that are needed in the squid and cuttlefish mariculture programs are also collected. An on-board compressor allows support of off-shore diving operations.
The Marine Resources and Aquatic Technology Program now supports full underwater photography and videography capabilities. The two small boats are 11-foot and 15-foot fiberglass Boston Whalers equipped with outboard engines. They are used primarily in bays and nearshore waters to collect small food organisms, such as copepods and benthic mysids, for the squid and cuttlefish mariculture program and Aplysia for the in-house Neuroscience Program. These vessels may be chartered for research or educational activities. Please contact John Forsythe for charter rates and scheduling questions.