Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche

The Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche (Villefranche-sur-Mer Marine Station) is a group of laboratories located in Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Côte d'Azur, France and sponsored by the Universities of Paris (Université Pierre et Marie Curie), Nice Sophia Antipolis and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. It is organized in three departments studying Biology, Oceanography and Ecology/Geology. The first laboratory was established in 1882 by Hermann Fol with the encouragement of Charles Darwin and continues to work to this day with embryonic and planktonic animals collected in Villefranche Bay, including ascidians, sea urchins and jellyfish.^[1]

History

In 1809 Charles Alexandre Lesueur and François Péron discovered the exceptional diversity of zooplankton in the bays of Villefranche and Cap de Nice and published an illustrated account of their studies entitled "Etude des Invertébrés pélagiques du Cap de Nice et de la Baie de Villefranche"

In the 1850s, the zoologist Karl Vogt visited Villefranche and studied the fauna found in the bay.

In 1882, encouraged by Darwin, the discoverer of fertilization Hermann Fol, established a laboratory in Villefranche. The Russian Academy of Sciences then established a zoological station in the building, and Russian, French, and American experimental biologists including Aleksei Alekseevich Korotnev, Karl Vogt, Hermann Fol, Jules Henri Barrois, Élie Metchnikoff and Louis Agassiz started to work on embryos and the planktonic fauna collected in the bay. To this day the bay of Villefranche remains an exceptional natural receptacle for plankton. Since the 1920s the observatory has belonged to the University of Paris.^[1]

Building

The marine station is situated in historical buildings constructed in 1769 as part of the military harbour of the Kingdom of Sardinia which had Turin as its capital. The main building (bâtiment des galeriens) where the laboratories are now located was first used as a hospital and prison for galley slaves (mainly Turkish prisoners) who manned the war boats built in the adjacent drydock.^[1]

Mission

• Education: a teaching team composed of faculty members of Université Pierre et Marie Curie oversees many courses in oceanography and geology for French and foreign students enrolled primarily at master's degree level.
• Research: the two main laboratories undertake research in cell biology and the biological, biochemical, physical and chemical properties of the pelagic zone.
• Observation: the laboratory conducts systematic and regular observations for the benefit of the scientific community in the coastal environment in the bay and offshore, 28 miles from Cap Ferrat. It also participates in the development of new observion techniques (gliders and floats) and the development of new marine programs.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Official site