Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory

Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory

Founded in the late 19th century, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) belongs to the first generation of European marine laboratories. It is now located at Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory near Oban, in the West Highlands of Scotland, on the Firth of Lorne, one of the largest fjord / sea loch systems in Scotland.

The Firth is 100 km long with a maximum depth of over 100 m and features gradients from oceanic to almost freshwater conditions. Also, the laboratory is within a few hours cruising time from the Hebridean Islands and the NW European continental shelf. SAMS also has access to the largest artificial reef in Europe, made of concrete blocks sunk at 20 m depth.

The site and its surroundings have significant potential for field sampling / experiments. Together with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for marine microbiology, molecular biology, analytical & marine chemistry / geochemistry, marine zoology and botany, they make the SAMS Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory a premier location for coastal marine research. Altogether, this facility is unique by its proximity to such a diversity of marine and coastal environments, combined with the availability of 2 different research vessels and the UK's National Facility for Scientific Diving.

Installations to which access is offered

  • Laboratories: laboratories with all basic research equipments, generic consumables and technical support from staff.

General lab space

Marine Chemical / Analytical Laboratory

Molecular Biology and Microbiology Laboratories

Advanced Microscopy laboratory incl. confocal

Physical oceanographic measurements

Aquarium facility (regular)

Cold-water corals research facility

Controlled-temperature / climate rooms

  • R/V Calanus: 19.5 research vessel including support of ship crew
  • R/V Seol Mara: 10.4 m research vessel including support of ship crew
  • CCAP strains: provision of algal and protistan strains from the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), the largest protistan culture collection in Europe. 10 strains are the minimum batch size to be handled within the ASSEMBLE framework; shipment costs are not included but will be charged to the user. Please consult Guidelines and Conditions before applying. Catalogue of strains at http://www.ccap.ac.uk

Application form here.

Contact

The Scottish Association for Marine Science
Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory
Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA
Scotland, United Kingdom
Phone   +44-1631-559000
Fax       +44-1631-559001

Web site: http://www.sams.ac.uk

Contact person: Frithjof Küpper (fck@sams.ac.uk)