Floating Laboratory for Study of Aquatic Organisms 



and Their Environment 



By 



GEORGE R. SNYDER, THEODORE H. BLAHM, and ROBERT J. McCONNELL, 



Fishery Biologists 



National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Laboratory, 

 Seattle, Washington 98102 



ABSTRACT 



The National Marine Fisheries Service has built a floating laboratory to study envi- 

 ronmental problems in the Columbia River. The barge that supports the laboratory was 

 obtained from the U.S. Navy. Installation of a complex electrical and water supply system 

 plus biological research equipment aboard the barge have made it possible to conduct 

 research near sites where problems are expected to occur. 



INTRODUCTION 



Man's steady encroachment is rapidly chang- 

 ing the environment of major rivers and estu- 

 aries. The problem is becoming particularly 

 acute in the Pacific Northwest. Large runs of 

 fish rely on these waterways for migration, re- 

 production, and feeding. The survival of eco- 

 nomically important species depends, in no 

 small part, on the constant and continuing ac- 

 tivities of many research and management 

 agencies. 



Environmental research is being broadened 

 from that of investigating problems after they 

 occur to that of predicting what will happen in 

 the future. Possible effects of certain changes 

 on living creatures are determined; we hope 

 that detrimental effects can then be averted and 

 beneficial results obtained. 



Ample background knowledge is essential to 

 predict and to prevent problems, particularly 

 of the aquatic environment. Such studies will 



yield results with the greatest degree of re- 

 liability when they are conducted on organisms 

 collected at a proposed site for water use. The 

 organisms are then bioassayed in water pumped 

 from the same environment. 



The NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Ser- 

 vice) has now entered into predictive research. 

 In so doing, NMFS has recognized the need for 

 facilities that will enable the biologists to study 

 aquatic organisms in their own environment. 



A large floating platform was needed to 

 house a self-contained testing facility. Such a 

 facility could be moved to various geographical 

 areas for critical "on-site" examination of the 

 effects of environmental variables on the 

 aquatic organisms. 



This paper describes such a facility. The 

 NMFS is now investigating the effects of envi- 

 ronmental changes (primarily water temper- 

 ature) on the fish in the lower Columbia River 

 and estuary. 



