The new one was inaugurated on 20 January in Portici (NA) Sea Turtle Research Center. The largest in the Mediterranean and among the most advanced in the world. Its function will be to study and monitor the life of the turtles. With an eye also to the control of the waters of the Gulf of Naples.
A record center
Made by Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, with the contribution of the Campania Region, the new research center immediately became one of the best in the sector. Inside, an outpatient clinic has been set up which includes an operating room, a room for x-rays and various laboratories to examine the data collected. There is also a department dedicated to the care and protection of eggs and smaller turtles. A facility that serves as a shelter, veterinary hospital and center for studying these marine reptiles and their world. But also on the monitoring of the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, thanks to special sensors applied directly on the released turtles. In this way, scientists will be able to monitor the quality of the Mediterranean, the levels of pollution and constantly monitor the life of each individual specimen. A complete center that collects the legacy of the previous one Turtle Point di Bagnoli (NA) closed in 2014.
Turtles not just for scientists
In addition to the various workshops, the structure offers exhibitions and educational tours open to all. A way to let anyone who wants to know the work of scholars and the vast world of sea turtles. But also an opportunity to create a link between the center itself and the territory through events, guided tours and modern multimedia rooms inside. All in line with the many projects that in recent years have been making Naples the capital of culture.
The Anton Dohrn Zoological Station
Inaugurated in 1874 by the naturalist Anton Dohrn, this research institution is among the most important and oldest in the world. His studies on biology, especially in the marine field, are of vital importance to the scientific landscape. Especially those related to the life of marine organisms and the evolution of their habitat.
The oldest aquarium in Italy is located in the headquarters in Chiaia, a district of Naples that directly overlooks the Gulf. Aquarium wanted by Dohrn himself to secure resources for the institute and stimulate interest in marine organisms in the public.
An obligatory stop for all biologists, the Zoological Station also boasts an archive and a library with almost 100 volumes. Articles, essays and researches by the most important scholars, as well as a collection of 180 contemporary scientific journals.
And after the closure of the Bagnoli center, the Zoological Station can return to expand with the new structure in Portici.
