ISMER Station Aquicole

Located a few kilometers east of downtown Rimouski on the shore of the St. Lawrence estuary, the ISMER aquaculture station is a “marine station” -type satellite laboratory equipped with a high-performance seawater pumping capability, making it possible to carry out various cutting-edge research work in aquaculture, marine biology and ecotoxicology throughout the year.

Meeting the requirements of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, the aquaculture station is a research tool of prime importance for UQAR-ISMER researchers working in disciplines where access to seawater is essential. The many projects that take place there, the number of researchers and students involved, as well as the national and international collaborations associated with them, demonstrate the importance of these facilities for the mission of ISMER. 

Basins
The station is equipped for the breeding of freshwater fish, saltwater, bivalve and crustaceans of all ontogenic stages with specific tanks for each stage and species. The use of small units in complete recirculation makes it possible to work on non-native species and on thermal stresses. The station is also equipped for the production of microalgae, a hydrodynamic channel to work on the effect of the current, and an acoustic basin to work on the effect of anthropogenic sounds.

The aquaculture station is also equipped with benthocosms and a new mesocosm system allowing the study of the benthic ecosystem. Benthocosms (45 x 45 x 42 cm in height) are pieces of the benthic ecosystem of the intertidal zone down to unmodified depths of 400 m taken from a natural environment and brought back to the laboratory where they are kept in a controlled environment (temperature , salinity, organic matter, etc.). Each of the parameters can be the subject of a study making it possible to observe the benthic system (simulation of hypoxia, addition of contaminants, increase in temperature, change in the amount of organic matter, etc.). In addition, the use of benthocosms promotes multidisciplinary studies (ecology, geochemistry, chemistry, etc.) and allows a better understanding of the functioning of the ecosystem.

The aquaculture station has all the infrastructure necessary for the pursuit of aquaculture work and the production of the various life stages of the invertebrates and fish under study.

The station offers various research services such as a supply of sea water, fresh water and compressed air for maintaining marine and freshwater organisms in tanks, an instrumentation laboratory including basic equipment (microscope, nitrogen generator liquid, particle counter, scales, etc.), a radio-ecology laboratory, experimental rooms, two tank rooms, a greenhouse in natural light, temperature-controlled rooms as well as related services (warehouse, workshop , meeting room, etc.).

On request

nathalie_morin@uqar.ca