The Gatty Marine Laboratory is a marine research institutions that focuses on the Laboratory deals with the behaviour, ecology, physiology, population biology and functional genomics of marine organisms. Located in the coastal town of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, it is a part of the University of St Andrews and home to the NERC-sponsored Sea Mammal Research Unit.
The Gatty Marine Laboratory was opened in 1896. The first director, Professor William Carmichael McIntosh FRS, conducted pioneering work on the taxonomy of annelids and the early life histories of marine fish over more than 50 years.
Since 1987, the "Gatty" (as it is informally known) has been a component Research Institute of the School of Biology (although the name and composition of the School has changed several times). The laboratory built up strong research groupings in fish biology and marine ecology and by the early 1990s received the highest number of research grants in marine biology of any UK department. In 1997, a major £4.3 million extension to the building was financed by the University Court. The new building provided a modern lecture theatre and teaching laboratory, and research laboratories for immunological and muscle research. The major part of the new build was occupied by the Natural Environment Research Council sponsored Sea Mammal Research Unit which transferred from Cambridge in 1996. Today SMRU has over 60 staff and receives annual funding of £2.9 million from NERC, UK and foreign governments and the EU. Location on the Gatty site gave SMRU access to local seal populations and world class experimental facilities including a 40 m pool for investigating diving and foraging behaviour.
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