Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory

History

The laboratory has its origins in Gulf Specimen Marine Company, which was founded by writer and naturalist Jack Rudloe in 1963 as a marine specimen company primarily supplying scientists. John Steinbeck was an important mentor to the company. The present location in Panacea, Florida, was purchased in 1964. In 1971 Rudloe married marine biologist Anne Eidemiller; Anne Rudloe founded the Panacea Institute of Marine Science' in 1980. In 1980 this became a registered non-profit as Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc., with Jack and Anne Rudloe as cofounders.

In 2010 Jack and Anne's son Cypress Rudloe took over as general manager. In 2012, Richard Gordon joined as emeritus scientist. In December 2014 the aquarium suffered a major setback when the aging ozonator donated to GSML two decades before by Valdosta State University stopped working. The Aquarium launched a social media campaign and by March 2015 had raised over $70,000 to purchase the new equipment and to rebuild and upgrade the associated water purification system. The new water purification system, donated at cost by Xylem Inc. came on line June, 2015. Hurricane Hermine made landfall near the laboratory September 2, 2016 causing damage to the lab itself as well as severe damage to the famous dock that was subject of the book The Living Dock, by Jack Rudloe. The dock was rebuilt after a third social media campaign.

Activities

In addition to providing specimens for other scientists, GSML publishes both peer-reviewed scientific works and popular articles, and is involved in environmental activism, particularly in regards to coastal wetlands preservation. GSML also rescues and rehabilitates marine organisms, especially sea turtles. In 1990 the Gulf Specimen Marine Aquarium opened to the public; it has over 20,000 visitors annually. Norman Griggs DVM of Shepherd Spring Animal Hospital is the GSML veterinarian. He provides sea turtle care pro bono and in 2015 allowed GSML to expand the hospital facilities to include a sea turtle tank.

Wetland preservation

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab has worked to preserve coastal wetlands and in particular was directly involved in the preservation of 35,000 acres of wetlands in the Florida Panhandle and the Florida Big Bend region through government lobbying, appearances at public meetings, television and radio appearances, and popular articles and books about marine wetlands.

Jellyfish industry

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory was involved in early efforts to establish the now successful jellyfish export industry on the East Coast of the US.

Sea turtle rescue

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory staff began tagging sea turtles under the guidance of Archie Carr and were the third sea turtle rescue organization in Florida. GSML is one of 23 state-permitted captive sea turtle facilities and the northernmost in Florida. In addition to short-term rescue such as cold stunning and fish hook removal the lab provides long-term rehabilitation. The lab lacks specialized laser treatment surgical equipment for sea turtles and must transfer them from the Panhandle region to facilities such as Clearwater Marine Aquarium if they require laser treatment for fibropapillomatosis. However Dr. Griggs have been successful in complex surgical procedures such as reconstructive surgery on partial amputations. Their best known sea turtle was "Allie", a 250 lb (113 kg), 50-year-old female loggerhead sea turtle rescued by a local commercial fisherman at Alligator Point, Florida, on May 15, 2012. Allie required 14 months of care before she was returned to the wild on June 22, 2013. Thousands of people followed her recovery online and 1500 people came to see her released at Bald Point State Park. In 2015 GSML joined the Responsible Pier Initiative [1] as a partner with The Loggerhead Marinelife Centre. This resulted in a 600% increase in the number of Kemp's Ridleys they rescued (from an average of 1-3/year to 17 in 2015) and they started a second social media campaign to expand their turtle rehabilitation facilities. In March 2016 GSML opened a "turtle hospital" in a renovated kitchen to give Dr. Griggs and GSML staff a suitable place to treat the turtles at the lab and decrease transport stress on animals.

Education

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab staff and volunteers use experiential learning approaches to teach marine science and environmental awareness. GSML has several "touch tanks" of various sizes where visitors are encouraged to handle marine organisms "to overcome fear and increase curiosity and thereby learning" as well as guided marsh walks and visits to the GSML dock. The laboratory is visited by an average of 12,000 children in 400 school groups each year. In 2011 GSML added the Sea Mobile, a mobile version of the touch tank display, to provide the experience to groups unable to travel to the aquarium. GSML also provides internship opportunities to community college and university and students.

Contributions to research

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory provides marine specimens to scientists worldwide, including some that were the first specimen known to science, such as Chiropsella rudloei. GSML provided organisms sent to space by NASA. In addition GSML has supported direct research; for example, the laboratory assisted with an update to the 1957 Winston Menzel Annotated Check-list of the Marine Fauna and Flora of the region and provides the National Geographic Society-supported "PhotoArk" project with an ongoing source of specimens. In 1968 GSML provided the first specimens of the bryozoan Bugula neritina used by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop the bryostatin family of drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, Alzheimer’s disease and strokes. Authors associated with GSML and its predecessor the Panacea Institute of Marine Science have published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles on horseshoe crabs, electric rays, mysid shrimp, sea turtles, and algae fuel.

Awards