Welcome to Terra+, OSU’s research e-newsletter.
In this issue, you’ll get a glimpse of the vast, underwater world of drifting marine animals called zooplankton. These life forms — mostly tiny, transparent and gelatinous — are the focus of study in our Plankton Lab here at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center (which, by the way, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year). These immeasurable floating populations are astoundingly diverse. Their role in ocean ecosystems is vital. Without them, the marine food web would collapse.
We’d like to introduce you, also, to Oregon State’s exciting new Marine Studies Initiative. Our university — a longtime leader in oceanography, fisheries management, marine mammal studies and dozens of related fields — is investing in Oregonians’ shared future with an innovative education-and-research model that partners students and faculty with leaders in local government, business and resource agencies to address pressing issues facing our oceans. Please take a few minutes to visit our website at http://marinestudies.oregonstate.edu/.
Finally, we’ve recently expanded our email list. If you didn’t receive the first two issues of Terra+, we invite you to take a look! The Fall 2014 issue of Terra+ leads off with another marine sciences story, this one about seabird research and Oregon’s network of marine reserves. The Winter 2015 issue of Terra+ introduces readers to the state-of-the-art Collaborative Life Sciences Building on Portland’s South Waterfront. We think you’ll be amazed.
Robert Cowen, Director, Hatfield Marine Science Center