Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Date opened
  
1971

Website
  
www.disl.org


Location
  
Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

Headquarters
  
Dauphin Island, Alabama, United States

Similar
  
The Estuarium, Fort Gaines, Indian Mound Park, Fort Morgan, Audubon Bird Sanctuary

See alabama dauphin island sea lab


The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) is Alabama's primary marine education and research center. DISL is the home site of the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium and was founded by an act of the Alabama State Legislature in 1971. It also has a public aquarium specializing in estuarine organisms, the George F. Crozier Estuarium.

Contents

The facilities are located on the East end of Dauphin Island, and occupy grounds formerly owned by the US Air Force for the 693rd Radar Squadron. It is located across the street from historic Fort Gaines.

Estuarium

The George F. Crozier Estuarium is part of the Discovery Hall educational program at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. It includes a 10,000 square foot Exhibit Hall and a Living Marsh Boardwalk.The Exhibit Hall features four exhibits highlighting aquatic life that could be found in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Mobile Bay, the Barrier Islands and the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

  • The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta exhibit recreates Alabama's largest wetland, the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta and features multi-species displays featuring the American alligator, turtles and gar.
  • The Mobile Bay exhibit features a replica of the legs of the Middle Bay Lighthouse and houses native species found in the brackish water of Mobile Bay, including stone crabs, horseshoe crabs, blue crabs, oysters, spadefish, and flounder.
  • The Barrier Islands exhibit features saltwater species commonly found on and around Alabama's barrier islands, including shrimp, blue crabs and hermit crabs.
  • The Northern Gulf of Mexico exhibit includes displays of the different marine communities of Northern Gulf of Mexico and features octopus, lobsters, eels, seahorses, red snapper, sharks and jellyfish.
  • Rays of the Bay is the latest exhibit added to the Estuarium. Opened in March 2013, the 6,400 US gallons (24,000 l) touch tank houses six sets of four species of rays and skates indigenous to the Northern Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. The species include the Southern stingray, Cownose ray and Atlantic stingray.

    • Research

    It was announced in August 2014 that the Dauphin Island Sea Lab will open a new 2,300 square feet (210 m2) research facility in mid-2015 dedicated to studying dolphin, manatee and whale strandings on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network (AMMSN) will take residence in the new facility.

    References

    Dauphin Island Sea Lab Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA