Gadsden State Community College in Alabama is welcoming a new researcher to the Aquaculture Department.

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Gadsden State Community College in Alabama is welcoming a new researcher to the Aquaculture Department. Andrew Gannon, associate professor of biology at Birmingham-Southern College, was granted a six month sabbatical to conduct research at Gadsden State. The sabbatical began in late August. His research is on the general physiology of freshwater shrimp. The main focus is on the calcium budget of the shrimp--how and where calcium is gained or lost. Sabbaticals give professors the opportunity to pursue and refine research interests that often lie dormant because of heavy teaching loads. Gannon said he chose to spend his research sabbatical at Gadsden State because of the large amount of freshwater shrimp at the aquaculture facility. Gannon said that the calcium budget is important to study because it determines the hardness of the shrimp's shell. Hugh Hammer, aquaculture instructor, said he believes that Gannon's research will benefit the department. Both professors said the relationship between the colleges is one on which professors from both colleges would like to build. The aquaculture department at Gadsden State is one of four aquaculture facilities in the Southeast, and is the only fishery at a two-year college in the state of Alabama. Gannon's work has been published in the Journal of Crustacean Biology, and also belongs to The Crustacean Society and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.