George W. Kidder III, Ph.D.
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Senior Investigator
Marine Conservation and Environmental Science
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Plant Physiology,1961
A.B., Amherst College, Biology, 1956
My lab is engaged principally in two research projects:
1. Restoration of eelgrass beds in upper Frenchman Bay – In collaboration with the Community Environmental Health Laboratory at MDIBL, we are conducting research into optimal methods for re-establishing eelgrass in the intertidal zone of Frenchman Bay, transplanting eelgrass into a protected area with volunteer labor, and educating the public about this important nursery habitat for critical species of fish and crustacea. Activities include monitoring of restored and un-restored sites by underwater videography, determining current patterns with GPS/telemetry-equipped drift buoys as an aid to efficient seeding, and public education and advocacy for eelgrass and bay conservation in general via the media, Myers Aquarium at MDIBL, and public presentations.
2. Determination of oxygen uptake in single embryos of the killifish - Killifish embryos are often incubated in moist air above the mean high tide mark, hatching when flooded by spring tides. Oxygen uptake is used as an index of metabolic activity, which rises with incubation until about 10 days, falling thereafter until hatching, which is signaled by a burst of activity. These studies are correlated with single embryo studies of water permeability being conducted by Dr. Robert Preston of MDIBL and Illinois State University.
Osmoregulation In Fundulus heteroclitus
When estuarine Killifish live in fresh water, they absorb water by osmosis and must use metabolic energy to return this water to the stream. The same fish in sea water lose water by osmosis and must "pump" water into their bodies. When fish are in water with the same osmotic concentration as their body fluids, they are freed from this expenditure of energy, which should give it a selective advantage. Studies using a combination of laboratory and field techniques are underway to determine whether Killifish prefer iso-osmotic water, to measure the amount of metabolic energy actually required for water movement under various conditions, and to identify and quantitate the changes in transport proteins which are responsible for the change from fresh water to salt water acclimation.