Sea Monkeys, also known as brine shrimp, will soon be served as dinner to numerous fish at the new research space being constructed in McLafferty Annex.

The annex was originally built to house books from Morris Library while it was undergoing renovations and is now being transformed into a collaborative research facility. 

Students do not have to go to the coast to get a marine biology degree, according to James Garvey, interim vice chancellor of research and director of the center for fisheries. 

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A wet lab, or laboratory that handles liquids, is being developed and will provide students and faculty the opportunity to work with more fish.

The changes, totaling $3 million, were approved by the Board of Trustees in 2012, Garvey said.

Brian Small, a professor of animal science, is involved with designing the new wet lab. He said the facility will allow researchers to have more control in a more sterile environment. 

“It’s also very environmentally friendly,” Small said. “Each system is recirculating, which means all the water is reused.”

Small said his goals with this project were primarily salt and freshwater capabilities, warm and cold water capabilities, and the implementation of a quarantine system for new fish coming into the lab.

The facility has many tanks, all of which are capable of holding fresh or saltwater fish.

This allows a greater variety of species, like zebrafish, to be included in research. Marine, or saltwater, species of fish will also be introduced for the first time.

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“It wasn’t until [the concept of] this facility became a reality that I was able to even create a project like this that is of my interest,” said Alexis Bergman, a first year graduate student from Quincy studying zoology.

Bergman is partnering with Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to conduct research on eggs collected from the Shedd Aquarium’s tanks every day as a result of daily fish spawning.

In the future, Bergman wants to help Shedd Aquarium raise their own fish. This, she said, would help take pressure off the wild species.

“It’s really an incredible way of conservation that these aquariums [like Shedd] are trying for,” Bergman said.

For now, she’s waiting on her first batch of eggs.

Anthony Porreca, a doctoral student in zoology from Homer Glen, is conducting research on pallid sturgeon, an endangered species found in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.  

Porreca said the new lab allows for more manipulations to research than before.

The old wet lab, located across the street from the McLafferty Annex, will also continue to remain in use.

“It’s just a different type of facility,” Small said about the old facility, “It’s set up for big experiments, a lot of big fish, high production experiments.”

Further development of the lab, also known as phase one and two, is still being discussed.

An 8,000-gallon fish aquarium, which may display marine species, is an addition still in the planning phase. Small said they are hoping to raise the funds through donors. He hopes to have phase one up and running in the next month so they can begin bringing in fish.

Garvey said the facility will be a tremendous resource SIU and the community is blessed to have it.

“[The wet lab] is certainly one of the best, if not the best, in the Midwest for aquatics,” Small said.

Anna Spoerre can be reached at [email protected] or @ASpoerre_DE