Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche
Encyclopedia
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 plankton
ic animals collected in Villefranche Bay, including ascidians
, sea urchin
s and jellyfish
.
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 embryo
s 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
.
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 slave
s (mainly Turkish prisoners) who manned the war boats built in the adjacent drydock.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
in the Côte d'Azur
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, France and sponsored by the Universities of Paris (Université Pierre et Marie Curie), Nice Sophia Antipolis
University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis is a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and is organized in 8 faculties, 2 autonomous institutes and an engineering school....
and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....
. It is organized in three departments studying Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
and Ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
/Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. The first laboratory was established in 1882 by Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol was a Swiss zoologist and the father of modern cytology.After studying medicine and zoology with Ernst Haeckel at the University of Jena where he was a pupil of François Jules Pictet de la Rive and Edouard Claparède , he accompanied Haeckel on a prolonged scientific journey around...
with the encouragement of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and continues to work to this day with embryonic and plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
ic animals collected in Villefranche Bay, including ascidians
Ascidiacea
Ascidiacea is a class in the Tunicata subphylum of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of the polysaccharide tunicin, as compared to other tunicates which are less rigid.Ascidians are found all over the world, usually in shallow...
, sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s and jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
.
History
In 1809 Charles Alexandre LesueurCharles Alexandre Lesueur
Charles Alexandre Lesueur was a French naturalist, artist and explorer.Pictured here is the oil portrait by Charles Willson Peale of Charles-Alexandre Lesueur...
and François Péron
François Péron
François Auguste Péron was a French naturalist and explorer. He is credited with the first use of the term anthropology.-Explorations:...
discovered the exceptional diversity of zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
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
Karl Vogt
Carl Christoph Vogt was a German scientist who emigrated to Switzerland. Vogt published a number of notable works on zoology, geology and physiology...
visited Villefranche and studied the fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
found in the bay.
In 1882, encouraged by Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, the discoverer of fertilization Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol was a Swiss zoologist and the father of modern cytology.After studying medicine and zoology with Ernst Haeckel at the University of Jena where he was a pupil of François Jules Pictet de la Rive and Edouard Claparède , he accompanied Haeckel on a prolonged scientific journey around...
, established a laboratory in Villefranche. The Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
then established a zoological station in the building, and Russian, French, and American experimental biologists including Aleksei Alekseevich Korotnev
Aleksei Alekseevich Korotnev
Aleksei Alekseevich Korotnev was a Russian zoologistKorotnev graduated from Moscow University in 1876 and gained his doctorate there in 1881. In 1887 he became a professor at the University of Kiev. In 1885 and in 1890-91 he he made extensive zoological collections in the Indian Ocean and Pacific...
, Karl Vogt
Karl Vogt
Carl Christoph Vogt was a German scientist who emigrated to Switzerland. Vogt published a number of notable works on zoology, geology and physiology...
, Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol
Hermann Fol was a Swiss zoologist and the father of modern cytology.After studying medicine and zoology with Ernst Haeckel at the University of Jena where he was a pupil of François Jules Pictet de la Rive and Edouard Claparède , he accompanied Haeckel on a prolonged scientific journey around...
, Jules Henri Barrois
Jules Henri Barrois
Jules Henri Barrois was a French zoologist and head of the marine zoological laboratory at Villefranche-sur-Mer from the early 1880s. He was the brother of Charles Barrois, geologist and palaeontologist, and student of Alfred Mathieu Giard at Université de Lille....
, Élie Metchnikoff and Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
started to work on embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s and the planktonic fauna collected in the bay. To this day the bay of Villefranche remains an exceptional natural receptacle for plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
. Since the 1920s the observatory has belonged to the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Building
The marine station is situated in historical buildings constructed in 1769 as part of the military harbourHarbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
which had Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
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 slave
Galley slave
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley. The expression has two distinct meanings: it can refer either to a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar , or to a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to his duty of rowing.-Antiquity:Contrary to the popular image of the...
s (mainly Turkish prisoners) who manned the war boats built in the adjacent drydock.
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 degreeMaster's degreeA master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
level. - Research: the two main laboratories undertake research in cell biologyCell biologyCell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
and the biological, biochemical, physical and chemical properties of the pelagic zonePelagic zoneAny water in a sea or lake that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means "open sea". The pelagic zone can be thought of in terms of an imaginary cylinder or water column that goes...
. - 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 FerratCap FerratCap Ferrat is situated in Alpes-Maritimes département, in southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.Saint Hospitius lived here as a recluse during the sixth century...
. It also participates in the development of new observion techniques (gliders and floats) and the development of new marine programs.