These field stations are major universitywide research facilities of Rutgers' Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences (IMCS). The stations are located in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (Pinelands) and at the mouth of Great Bay (Tuckerton Marine Field Station). These facilities represent unique field resources for faculty and graduate students from various campuses. Both facilities have strong ties with the Graduate School–Camden. The marine station, established by Dr. James B. Durand in 1971, is directed by Dr. Kenneth Able of the IMCS. The Pinelands research station is directed by Dr. John Dighton.

Research in coastal and environmental studies is the main thrust at these ecologically linked facilities. Studies at the marine station include near-shore circulation problems, the role of eel grass in detritus stocks and nutrient cycling, marsh biogeochemistry, population dynamics of the nekton (especially fishes), benthic invertebrate ecology, and plankton ecology. Research activities at the Pinelands station include soil and freshwater nutrient cycling, wetland ecology, ecosystem fragmentation, and the effects of pollutants and fire on ecosystem processes. The stations are used as research centers by faculty and students of a number of departments within and outside the university. Both stations are surrounded by unspoiled habitats under state and/or federal protection and offer excellent research opportunities on a year-round basis.