[12] On June 5, 2017, the Marine Laboratory participated in a green-illumination protest with other buildings at Duke in support of the Paris Climate Accords along with similar actions at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, and MIT.

[13] Since its inception in 1938, the campus has expanded significantly to include wet and dry laboratories[14] as well as a fleet of research ships.

Duke University shares Piver's Island with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whichhas a 60,000 square foot marine laboratory.

[34] Recently, the laboratory's research about the effect of plastic on sea coral has gained national media coverage.

[35] Other notable research includes the interaction of light pollution and marine life[36] and studies of whale migration patterns.