| The "Aquarium" Laboratory, of the Università Politecnica delle Marche, is a unique infrastructure at National level. With a total water volume of more than 25.000 L contained in fiberglass and glass aquaria for approximately 200 mesocosms, the Laboratory is subdivided in 3 main areas for: A) temperate, Mediterranean species; B) tropical species; C) polar and deep-sea species. The laboratory also a phyto and zooplancton culture area (microalgae, rotifers, Artemia, copepods), a modern Zebrafish system as experimental model for medical and biological studies, and a reptile area. The tanks are equipped with modern recirculating, filtration and light systems to reduce power/hydric consumption and the overall Laboratory has been designed to monitor and maintain the major environmental parameters, thus allowing different applications and typologies of experiments in controlled conditions: among these, the recovery and maintenance of vulnerable species, studies on the life and reproductive cycle of both invertebrates and vertebrates, feeding trials, the impact of multiple stressors (pollutants, biological active molecules) mimicking scenarios of climate changes. This Laboratory represents an excellence infrastructure for the study of aquatic organisms. (click on the images to enlarge) |
