Ecosystems

For years, humans have searched the earth's ecosystems for new beneficial compounds, chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients. We've scoured the remote rainforests, the icy tundras and even deep volcanic caverns. However, we've just begun to search under the sea.

Marine resources have a relatively untapped potential for commercially important compounds. And at the Caribbean Marine Research Center, we're actively supporting this rapidly growing field. We have several projects focused on field and laboratory research in the discovery and development of these compounds.

We conduct our research in a new analytical laboratory on Lee Stocking Island. This lab was funded by the National Science Foundation, completed in 2003, and has greatly increased our capacity to support such projects.

These projects have focused on exploring the potential of unique Caribbean environments such as deep sea carbonate shelves and blue holes, and associated organisms such as sponges, tunicates, and microorganisms. Our research activities include the identification of bioactive compounds, the determination of mechanisms of action and natural functions of novel compounds, and the uses of marine biotechnology in medical and industrial applications (Gochfeld and Hamann 2001, Slattery et al. In Review).

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