Long Marine Laboratory

The Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory is a research center located at the west edge of Santa Cruz, California. It is affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a field base for researchers of the Monterey Bay. Long Marine Lab focuses primarily on marine sciences, and is the oceanside research center for UCSC's Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS).Facilities at the lab include: The Center for Ocean Health, The Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), The Seabird/Raptor facility for the UCSC Predatory Bird Research Group, two large outdoor tanks for small marine mammals, four smaller pools with haulout areas for seals and sea lions, a three tank dolphinarium (acoustically engineered for the dolphin's sonar capabilities), and the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.HistoryIn many ways, the Monterey Bay presents an ideal place to study marine life for scientists and the general public alike. The development of an onshore marine laboratory had a high priority since the UCSC campus opened in 1965. The generous gift of land in 1972 by Mrs. Marion Stowell Younger and her late husband, Donald, made possible the development of the marine laboratory at the west edge of the city of Santa Cruz, less than a ten-minute drive from the UCSC campus. The 40acre site contains a relatively undisturbed wetlands, the Younger Lagoon Reserve, and flat terraces for the marine lab buildings. Long Marine Lab opened in late 1978, and supports the marine research of the Santa Cruz faculty and students and is essential to the development of marine program of international recognition, which UCSC now has.