Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration and Immersion Presents are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing oceanographic exploration and marine life education, conservation and research.

Animal Research

Mystic Aquarium has its own Research Department whose primary emphasis is on aquatic animal health and conservation of the marine environment. Mystic Aquarium is uniquely positioned as a leader in aquatic animal research given its: 1) longstanding history of conducting high quality research 2) its unique aquatic animal collection available for carrying out controlled research studies with opportunistic sampling from stranded animals 3) its scientific and veterinary expertise and 4) the most recent capability of conducting in-house research with a new research laboratory on site.

1) Longstanding History of Conducting High Quality Research

Mystic Aquarium has a long history of conducting high quality research. Much of this research has contributed to the advancement of husbandry techniques for animals in an aquarium setting as well as improvements in aquatic animal medicine. It was the vision of Mr. Kelvin Smith, a philanthropist and founder of Mystic Aquarium, that the aquarium would become a leader in aquatic animal research. Mystic Aquarium’s early researchers included William Kelley and Richard Segedi, whose pioneering efforts led to the formulation of artificial seawater used by public aquariums, home hobbyists, and marine facilities worldwide. The formulation was further perfected in the late seventies by Mystic Aquarium scientists Stephen Spotte and Carol Bower. More recent research includes outstanding contributions from Dr. David St. Aubin through his investigations into understanding and monitoring the health of beluga whale populations and other marine mammals in the Arctic . To learn more about the Aquarium’s past and current research projects go to “Research Projects-Current research projects, Past research projects.”

2) Unique Animal Collection (collection, stranded, wild)

Mystic Aquarium has a diverse animal collection comprised of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, sharks, rays, birds, and marine mammals, including the endangered Steller sea lion. Access to these animals allows researchers to investigate the biology and physiology of these species under controlled conditions and with the knowledge of the medical and life history of the animals. Our animal husbandry department has extensive expertise in caring for these animals. By training certain behaviors, blood, urine, fecal, and saliva samples for research projects can easily be collected with little or no stress posed to the animal. Each animal’s diet is closely monitored and can be adjusted to accommodate certain research experiments. In addition, Mystic Aquarium rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals and sea turtles and has established collaborations with the entire Northeast Stranding Network. Stranded marine mammals allow for the unique opportunity to study wild animals with compromised health. These opportunities allow us to for monitor them throughout rehabilitation, with studies focusing on a better understanding of why these animals strand. In addition to stranded and collection animals, scientists at Mystic Aquarium have access to wild animals through funded research investigations and/or collaborations with other scientists and institutions.

3) Scientific and Veterinary Expertise

Our scientists and veterinarians work as a team with our animal husbandry staff to conduct aquatic animal health-related research. To learn more about Mystic Aquarium’s Research Team click on “Meet our Department”.

4) Research Laboratory on-site

The success of any program not only relies on scientific expertise, but on the facilities to support the research. Mystic Aquarium now has a research laboratory enabling sample analysis and experiments to be carried out on site. To learn more about our research and veterinary laboratories click on “The Research and Veterinary Laboratories”.

Mystic Aquarium’s research, focused on aquatic animal health is facilitated by an integrative research program which is described below:

An Integrative Program in Aquatic Animal Health. Our integrative research program is based on 4 focal areas of research: 1) Neuroimmunology, 2) Animal Nutrition, 3) Veterinary Science and 4) Infectious Disease. The program facilitates and offers educational opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, veterinary and postdoctoral students as well as volunteers and visiting scientists. The Research Department works closely with our husbandry, education, and exhibit staff to integrate research into our public and educational programming. External collaborations and partnerships with Universities e.g. UCONN, industry e.g. Pfizer, and other marine institutes e.g. Alaska Sea Life Center , contribute to the success of the research program. The research carried out impacts state, the northeast region, as well as national and global marine issues. Figure 1 illustrates Mystic Aquarium’s integrative research program. The four focus areas are described in more detail below.

1) Neuroimmunology

Neuroimmunology is the study of the nervous (brain, spinal cord, peripheral and autonomic nerves) and immune systems (the major defense system for protection against invading bacteria, viruses, parasites, that may lead to illness and disease), how these two systems communicate with each other, and how “stress” and environmental influences as “perceived” by the nervous system may affect the immune system and ultimately health. Neuroimmunology contributes to an understanding of the marine mammal immune system, how it compares with the human immune system and those of other animals and what factors affect it. Through an understanding of Neuroimmunology we hope to use therapeutic or behavioral modification to mitigate stress responses in captive and/or stranded animals, come up with ways to enhance the immune response in compromised animals, and determine how stressors such as loud sound, environmental pollutants, changes in environmental conditions, chase and encirclement with fishing nets, impact marine mammals worldwide. Lastly, unique findings related to these two systems in marine mammals will contribute to both human and veterinary medicine.

2) Animal Nutrition

In both captivity and the wild, nutritionally-associated diseases can cause the demise of an individual, and potentially the depletion of a population. Nutritional status information is a key component in understanding the health of an individual and a population's fitness. Although many nutritional studies originate in response to a medical issue, such as iron storage disease, or a husbandry issue, such as salt supplementation for aquatic species maintained in freshwater exhibits, there are inherent advantages to a proactive approach. Determination of baseline concentrations of important nutrients and maintenance of adequate diets and supplements for captive animals with limited dietary choices is extremely important for their continued success in zoos and aquariums.

3) Veterinary Science

Although many milestones have been achieved in aquatic animal medicine there is still a dearth of diagnostic modalities specifically applicable to aquatic animal diagnosis and preventative medicine. Through advanced technologies in molecular biology and microbiology better methodologies will be explored for improved diagnostics, prognostics, therapeutics, and preventative strategies for aquatic animal health and advancement of clinical medicine.

4) Infectious Disease

Our knowledge of infectious diseases in aquatic animals is increasing exponentially. An increased long term effort will be required to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis, etiology, prevalence and zoonotic potential of diseases of marine species. This understanding is critical not only for the health and conservation of these species but also poses significant implications for human health as well.

The goals of the Research Department over the next few years are to build up the research projects, scientific expertise, educational opportunities and collaborations in each research focus area. A Research and Education Center will be constructed to foster the Aquarium’s mission of Research and Education. For more information on Research Projects, Scientific Expertise, Educational Opportunities, Collaborative Research Projects, and the Research and Education Center , click on the related links.