Marine lab opens to all
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore, officially launched the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML) on 28 November. The Laboratory, set up in 2002 to support marine biology and aquaculture research, has long been part of the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) at NUS. It was designated as a national marine laboratory under NRF’s National Research Infrastructure scheme in early 2016, and now supports marine research for the country.
“As a low-lying island, global warming and the rise in sea levels and temperatures can pose huge challenges to our marine ecosystems and to our city. The environmental health of our waters will affect our water supply, which is partly from desalination. It will also impact aquaculture which provides a local food source. Therefore, it is important for Singapore to build up a good understanding of tropical marine science and our marine environment,” said Mr Teo. He added that by making the Laboratory accessible to all researchers, upgrading its facilities and conducting outreach activities to enhance public understanding of marine science, research institutions can develop new knowledge and marine-related services.
SJINML lies in the Singapore Straits off the southern tip of Singapore. Surrounded by rich biodiversity in the form of natural rocky shores, coral reefs and mangroves supporting different flora and fauna, it presents an excellent site for studying tropical organisms and ecosystems.
The research centre, which is headed by NUS marine biologist Dr Serena Teo, boasts high quality facilities. These include an open-circulating seawater aquarium system, more than 100 fibreglass tanks, as well as laboratories supporting biodiversity, environment, water quality, ecology, aquaculture and biotechnology research, for translating studies into real-world applications.
Mr Teo and Asst Prof Huang with a coral species
At the launch, Mr Teo also announced seven new research projects awarded by NRF under the Marine Science Research and Development Programme (MSRDP). The Programme, managed by NUS, will receive $25 million in funding over the next five years to strengthen Singapore’s long-term marine science research capabilities. Of the seven selected from a total of 30 white papers received, the following four are NUS-led multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional projects — a study on the adaptation and resilience of coral reefs to environmental change in Singapore by Assistant Professor Huang Danwei, NUS Biological Sciences; ecologically engineering Singapore’s seawalls to enhance biodiversity by Assistant Professor Peter Todd, NUS Biological Sciences; establishing cultured stocks of tropical model marine organisms for experimental marine science by Dr Teo; and developing a cross-discipline user-focused data management platform for data collected under MSRDP by Dr Sin Tsai Min, TMSI.
“Singapore is an island nation surrounded by the sea and a good part of our future will depend on it in one way or another. It is imperative to have a strong marine science anchor to ensure we are ready for the many challenges to come. The seven selected programmes have gone through a very rigorous screening by local and international scientists and are an excellent kick-off for this important programme,” remarked Professor Peter Ng, MSRDP Programme Director.
See press release and media coverage.
Dr Lynette Loke from NUS Biological Sciences explaining her project on engineering seawalls, done together with Asst Prof Todd, to Mr Teo
