In December 1989 Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod donated a major Cretaceous fossil collection (primarily fish fossils) to the University of Guelph (UoG). This donation provided the impetus to establish the Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology and the founding of the Institute was in June 1990. The Institute initially consisted of seven Core Members (CMs); this group has increased to 22 members and they are from CBS (College of Biological Science), OAC (Ontario Agricultural College) and OVC (Ontario Veterinary College). The Director of the Institute is nominated and elected by CMs, and the same procedure is used to elect new members. The research expertise and interests of CMs (and their graduate students) are very diverse, and they include disorder and disease, endocrinology, ecology, embryology, ethology, evolution, genetics, physiology, and management of fish species ranging from agnathans to scombrids, cichlids, salmonines, coregonines, cyprinids, cyprinodontids, and coelacanths.

The Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology operates from its new building on Christie Lane on the UoG campus. Within this building are two well-equiped research laboratories, and offices for administration, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting scientists and editorial space. Our ribbon cutting on 20 October 1995, in conjunction with the opening of the Hagan Aqualab, was performed by Dr. and Mrs. Herbert R. Axelrod, Dr. Stephen Bowen who represented the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and Alysa Vito and Eric Snowball representing school children from the Guelph area. The ceremony was hosted by President Mordechai Rozanski and it was attended by both our federal and provincial members of parliament, Brenda Chamberlain and Brenda Elliot respectively, and a number of other area dignitaries.

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EDUCATION

We continue to serve a broad educational function through displays and presentation of fossil and living fishes as well as talks to the public and students at all levels. Part of the Institute's fish collection includes the adult coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) specimen on which the model in our lobby is based.  This female was captured on 24 June 1989 near Hahaya, Grand Comoro and donated to the Axelrod Institute by Dr. H.R. Axelrod.  A replica of our adult coelacanth has been added to the new public galleries of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the International Sport Fishing Hall of Fame in Florida.

The Institute in cooperation with the Guelph Museums held a “…very successful …” exhibition of a small part of our fossil collection during the March-break in 2006. “In total 2,750 people visited the museum while the exhibit was up. There were 13 ‘fossil’ school programs with a total 363 children visiting the museum … Since the interest was so high, the educators are going to put together a school kit that can be borrowed by schools and groups” (Beverly Dietrich, Curator, Guelph Museums, April 10, 2006). There is interest to develop this into an annual event.