Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Anson H. Hines, Director
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is the world’s leading research center for environmental studies of the coastal zone. These fragile regions at the land-water interface are the stage of the 21st century’s biggest environmental challenges, and their health is critical for the survival of both our oceans and our terrestrial environments. For almost 50 years, SERC has been addressing the need to understand the linkages between ecosystems in the coastal zone through critical research, professional training for young scientists, and environmental education.
A diverse and growing staff of 19 research staff composed of senior scientists, research scientists, and emeritus scientists, as well as an interdisciplinary team of more than 180 researchers, technicians, and students conduct long-term descriptive and experimental research addressing such issues as global change, the effects of nutrients and chemicals passing through our landscapes, maintenance of productive fisheries, changes to our environment from biological invaders, and protection of fragile wetlands and woodlands. Our accomplishments range from running some of the longest continuous ecological studies, to creating new technology that expands the horizons of science.
The research center, 25 miles from the Nation’s Capital, lies along the western shores of the Chesapeake Bay and serves as a hub for studies that extend around the globe. SERC’s main campus encompasses 2,650 acres of land along the Rhode River, a subestuary of the Bay, and includes forest, cropland, pasture, freshwater wetlands, tidal marshes, and estuary. Much of our research focuses on this subestuary and its 12-square-mile watershed as a representative model system for the enormous (64,000-square-mile) Chesapeake drainage basin. As a highly visible and fragile ecosystem on the doorstep of the nation’s capital, the Chesapeake Bay is indicative of the complex environmental issues facing the world.
Like the Chesapeake watershed, the Rhode River site has been impacted by human activities such as agriculture, forestry, and extensive commercial fishing, with an influx of diffuse pollutants in the tributaries and estuarine basin. The Re-search Center serves as a natural laboratory and a focal point for long-term monitoring programs and research projects.
Expanding outward from the main campus, SERC researchers conduct studies at field sites around the world—from Australia to Belize and Antarctica to Alaska. Visiting scientists come from across the globe to study at our central facility which has become one of the world’s premier training facilities for the next generation of environmental scientists—900 interns and 500 post doctoral, pre-doctoral and graduate student fellows from around the world have conducted research at SERC. On average 40 interns and 20 fellows participate in SERC’s professional training program annually.
SERC is the headquarters for the National Ballast Water Clearinghouse and a leader in the field of invasive species research. SERC houses the world’s longest data record on the increase in ultraviolet (UVB) solar radiation impacting the Earth, and developed the standardized tool for measuring UVB radiation. Our Scientists conduct groundbreaking research on human health issues such as mercury contamination in water and PCB’s found in wild-caught fish.
Facilities
SERC’s programs are supported by an advanced 6,500 m2 laboratory facility, including: a branch library networked with the main Smithsonian library; two research vessels and fleet of small boats for estuarine research; and an array of modern instruments for analytical chemistry. Computer facilities include ERDAS, NT server, and DOS Windows computers sharing data and peripherals over an Ethernet network with full time Internet connection. Software site license provides access to all modules of ESRI ArcGIS Geographic Information System software and Leica’s Geosystems ERDAS Imagine Professional suite for Image Analysis and Remote Sensing. Available programming languages include the Absoft FORTRAN and C compliers and Microsoft’s Visual Studio.net (which includes Microsofts’ VisualBasic, C+, C#, and J# languages). Supported statistical and graphics software tools include the Statistical Analysis System (SAS), S-plus, DataDesk, Amos 5, Sig-maPlot, and Adobe Illustrator. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) systems are available for collecting geographic coordinates in the field, and we have a Calcomp digitizing tablet for digitizing paper maps.
In addition, SERC’s ecological field research is supported by a wet laboratory with flowing estuarine water for maintaining live aquatic animals; culturing facilities for planktonic and other aquatic organisms; an instrumented 50-meter-tall tower for access to the canopy-atmosphere interface of a mature deciduous hardwood forest; a laboratory for control of CO2 in experimental chambers in several plant communities; a laboratory equipped with a tunable infrared laser spectrophotometer for measuring trace gasses emitted from forests and agricultural fields; an Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for measuring trace metals and tracing metal stable isotope markers in samples; and a green house, lath house, and experimental garden for terrestrial plant experiments. SERC’s Public Education Program is supported by a 900 m2 building on the Chesapeake shoreline for orientation and teaching of children, teachers, and other visitors. SERC provides limited dormitory and short-term residential housing for students and visiting scientists.
Informing Policy and Professional Training
For improved stewardship of the biosphere, SERC’s research provides data, publications and expert consultation in support of conservation, environmental policy, and management of natural resources. SERC’s research findings are communicated to other scientists through publications, conferences, workshops, and through extensive networks of research sites in the U.S. and in other countries.
Connected to an international network of collaborators, SERC trains future generations of scientists to address ecological questions through well established undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral programs that attract participants from around the world. These include an ongoing internship program for currently enrolled undergraduate and beginning graduate students, and a fellowship program at the graduate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral levels. Visiting scientists from many coun-tries conduct collaborative research at SERC, fostering international cooperation in solving global environmental problems. Decision makers often consult SERC for advice in managing natural resources, and news media seek expert comment from SERC scientists on environmental issues.
Education and Public Programs
SERC’s Education Department teaches K-12 students, teachers, and the general public about research conducted at SERC, historical land use, and the natural components of various ecosystems surrounding the Rhode River subestuary and Chesapeake Bay.
Through collaborations with other organizations, SERC’s message of estuarine ecology reaches a national and international audience. SERC has conducted more than 100 video conferences annually to reach schools in 50 states and four countries, and in recent years our electronic field trips attracted more than 81 million participants. From the regional community, nearly 20,000 people visit SERC annually, including 5,000 students (kindergarten through college), 7,000 program participants of all ages and 7,000 drop-in visitors joining in our hands-on science education programs and self-guided activities. Our education department also runs teacher-training workshops and educational programs for adults that are open to the general public including an evening lecture series and guided canoe tours of the estuary.
RESEARCH STAFF
BREITBURG, Denise, Marine Ecologist. B.A. (1975) Arizona State University; M.A. (1982), Ph.D. (1984) University of California, Santa Barbara. Research specialties: marine and estuarine ecology, hypoxia, fish behavior and ecology, gelatinous zooplankton.
DRAKE, Bert G., Emeritus Plant Physiologist. B.A. (1961) University of Maine; M.S. (1967) Colorado State University; Ph.D. (1970) Utah State University. Research specialties: Effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change on plant and ecosystems processes.
FELLER, Ilka C., Plant - Animal Ecologist. B.A. (1969) University of North Carolina; Ph.D. (1993) Georgetown University. Research specialties: Animal-plant interactions; canopy arthropods; wood-boring insects; mangrove; insects and elephant herbivory on Acacia forests in Kenya.
GALLEGOS, Charles L., Phytoplankton Ecologist. B.A. (1973) Duke University; Ph.D. (1979) University of Virginia. Research specialties: Photosynthesis, primary production, and population dynamics of estuarine phytoplankton; optical properties of turbid waters; effects of nutrient enrichment on structure of microbial food webs; factors governing timing and magnitude of phytoplankton blooms.
GILMORE, Cynthia, Microbial Ecologist. B.A. (1980) Cornell; Ph.D. (1985) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Trace metal biogeochemistry, particularly mercury: mechanisms and control of microbial mercury methylation from the cellular to ecosystem level; microbial ecology of estuarine, lacustrine and wetland systems; sulfate-reducing bacteria and sulfur biogeochemistry.
JORDAN, Thomas E., Chemical Ecologist. B.S. (1974) Bucknell University; Ph.D. (1980) Boston University. Research specialties: Flows of nitrogen and phosphorus through watersheds, wetlands and estuaries; denitrification.
McCORMICK, Melissa, Ecologist. B.S. (1992) Trinity University; Ph.D. (1999) Michigan State University. Research specialties: mycorrhizae; plant-fungus interactions; orchid-fungus interactions; molecular analysis of soil fungal communities.
MEGONIGAL, J. Patrick, Deputy Director, Biogeochemist. B.S.(1982), M.S.(1986) Old Dominion University; Ph.D.(1996) Duke University. Research specialties: Wetland Ecology, Microbial Ecology, Soil Ecology, Biogeochemistry, Climate Change Impacts.
McMAHON, Sean, Forest Ecologist. B.A. (1992) University of Texas Austin; M.A. (1993) University College of Dublin; M.S. (2006), Ph.D. (2006) University of Tennessee Knoxville. Research specialties: forest ecology; global change; community ecology of forest trees.
MILLER, Whitman A., Ecologist. B.A. (1984) Earlham College; M.A. (1995), D. Env. (2000) University of California, Los Angeles. Research specialties: invasive marine species, ocean acidification, marine invertebrate ecology.
NEALE, Patrick J., Photobiologist. B.A. (1976) State University of New York, Purchase; M.A. (1981) Columbia University; Ph.D. (1985) University of California, Davis. Research specialties: Effects of UV radiation on phytoplankton and other aquatic organisms; chlorophyll fluorescence as an indicator of plant biomass and photosynthetic rates; spectral measurement of solar UVB; UV in the aquatic environment.
OFTEDAL, Olav T., Emeritus Nutritional Ecologist. A.B. (1971) Harvard University; Ph.D. (1981) Cornell University. Research specialties: nutritional ecology of terrestrial and marine animals; interactions of plants and herbivores; evolution of amniote reproduction; nutritional requirements of reptiles and mammals; marine mammals; mammalian milks and lactation strategies.
OSMAN, Richard, Marine Ecologist. A.B. (1970) Brown University; Ph.D. (1975) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Population and community ecology of marine invertebrates; larval settlement and recruitment processes; invasive species ecology; effects of physical, chemical and biological stresses on marine and estuarine ecosystems.
PARKER, Geoffrey G., Forest Ecologist. B.Sc. (1976) McGill University; M.S. (1981) University of Virginia; Ph.D. (1985) University of Georgia. Research specialties: Energy, water and carbon balance of forests; the forest canopy; atmosphere-canopy interactions; spatial variability, pattern, and scale; community ecology of forest trees.
PARKER, John D., Animal-Plant Ecologist. B.S. (1993) University of Virginia; M.S. (1998) College of William & Mary/VIMS; Ph.D. (2005) Georgia Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Community ecology, consumer-prey interactions, and invasive species.
RUIZ, Gregory M., Marine Ecologist. B.A. (1980) University of California, Santa Barbara; Ph.D. (1987) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Population and community ecology of marine and estuarine ecosystems; animal behavior; larval recruitment of marine invertebrates; ecological parasitology; life history evolution; predator-prey interactions; invasion biology and transfer.
WELLER, Donald E., Quantitative Ecologist. B.A. (1974) Wabash College; Ph.D. (1985) University of Tennessee. Research specialties: landscape ecology; ecosystem ecology; ecological modeling; modeling nutrient cycling within ecosystems and nutrient transport among ecosystems; regional biogeochemistry; wetland and stream assessment; aquatic ecosystem health; land-sea interactions.
WHIGHAM, Dennis F., Plant Ecologist. B.A. (1966) Wabash College; Ph.D. (1971) University of North Carolina. Research specialties: Ecology in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems; orchid-mycorrhizal interactions; role of disturbance in forests; ecological life history and population ecology of woodland and wetland species, ecology of invasive, landscape ecology.
AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF
BLAKESLEE, April, Research Associate, Invasive Species. B.A. (1998) Boston University, M.A. (2001) Boston University, Ph.D. (2007) University of New Hampshire. Research specialties: My research specialities include population genetics of invasive species and parasites; marine ecology of free-living invertebrates and parasites; conservation biology.
BOOMER, Kathleen B., Research Associate, Landscape Modeling. Ph.D. (2006) Cornell University. Research specialties: Watershed hydrology and modeling, wetlands, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology.
CANNING-CLODE, João, Research Associate, Invasive Species. M.S. (2005) University of Madeira, Portugal; Ph.D. (2008) Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany. Research specialties: Invasion Ecology; Marine Ecology; Biogeography; Community and Spatial Ecology; Biofouling; Climate Change.
CARNEY, Karen, Research Associate, Biogeochemistry. B.A. (1993) Kalamazoo College; Ph.D. (2004) Stanford University. Research specialties: the impacts of land use, species diversity, invasive species, elevated CO2, and climate change on ecosystem structure and function.
FREESTONE, Amy L., Research Associate, Marine Ecology. B.S. (2000) Rutgers University; Ph.D. (2005) University of California, Davis. Research specialties: Ecological drivers of diversity patterns in marine invertebrate and terrestrial plant systems; community and spatial ecology; latitudinal gradients; species invasions; conservation ecology.
HAVELOCK, Glenn M., Research Associate, Paleoecology. B.Sc. (1999) University of Derby; M.Sc. (2001) University of Reading; Ph.D. (2009) University of Exeter. Research specialties: Holocene paleoclimate and sea-level reconstruction; paleoecology; estuarine and fluvial geomorphology and paleohydrology; sedimentology; biogeochemistry (stable isotopes); alluvial geoarchaeology; Quaternary landscape/geomorphic evolution.
HUNGATE, Bruce, Director, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society. B.S. (1990), B.A. (1990) Stanford University; Ph.D. (1995) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Ecology of Global Environmental Change.
JOHNSON, Eric G., Research Associate, Fisheries Ecology. B.A. (1994) DePauw University; M.Sc. (1996) Florida Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (2004) North Carolina State University. Research specialties: Fisheries ecology, quantitative population and metapopulation dynamics, marine and estuarine ecology.
KARLSON, Ronald H., Research Associate, Marine Ecology. B.A. (1969) Pomona College; M.A. (1972), Ph.D. (1975) Duke University. Research specialties: marine benthic ecology; coral and fouling community ecology; local and regional variation in community structure.
KNEE, Karen, Assistant professor of environmental science. B.S. (2002) Brown University; Ph.D. (2010) Stanford University. Research Specialites: Land use change, human impacts on wate quality, echohydrology, submarine groundwater discharge, pollution fate and transport.
LAANBROEK, Hendrikus J., Research Associate, Wetland Ecology. M.Sc. (1975), Ph.D. (1978) State University of Groningen. Research specialties: Microbial Ecology, with special emphasis on the role of microbial diversity on geochemical cycles.
RICHMOND, Courtney E., Research Associate, Marine Ecology. B.A. (1991) Swarthmore College; Ph.D. (1998) University of South Carolina. Research specialties: Marine ecology, the effects of environmental stressors on population dynamics, life history consequences of environmental conditions, ecological modeling.
RIEDEL, Gehardt, Emeritus Biogeochemist. B.S. (1974), A.B. (1974) Humboldt State University; M.S. (1978), Ph.D. (1983) Oregon State University. Research specialties: Trace metal and nutrient geochemistry and biogeochemistry.
RODRIGUEZ, Wilfrid, Ph.D. (2003) University of Rhode Island. Research specialties: Remote Sensing, geographical information systems, landscape ecology.
ROSE, Kevin C., Research Associate and AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. B.S. (2004), B.A. (2005) Lehigh University; Ph.D. (2011) Miami University, Ohio. Research specialties: Optical characterization of aquatic ecosystems, biogeochemistry, carbon cycling aquatic ecology.
SUTTON-GRIER, Ariana, Environmental Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. B.S. (2000), B.A. (2000) Oregon State University; Ph.D. (2008) Duke University. Research specialties: wetland restoration and biogeochemistry, carbon and iron cycling, plant traits and ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, blue carbon, and environmental markets.
SYTSMA, Mark, Research Associate, Invasive Species. B.S. (1978) Iowa State University; M.S. (1983) University of Washington; Ph.D. (1992) University of California,Davis. Research specialties: Limonology and the biology and management of aquatic invasive species.
SZLAVECZ, Katalin, Research Associate, Soil Ecology. Ph.D. Eotvos University, Budapest. Research specialties: Soil community ecology; the interaction of soil animals and microorganisms; the role of soil organisms in carbon and nitrogen cycling; ecology of invasive soil invertebrates.
TZORTZIOU, Maria, Research Scientist, Remote Sensing and Plankton Ecology. B.S. (1997), M.Sc. (1999) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; M.Sc.(2001), Ph.D. (2004) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Remote sensing retrieval of biogeochemical variables in coastal regions; Land-ocean exchanges of carbon and nutrients and effects on coastal water quality, photochemistry and biogeochemical processes; Underwater radiative transfer modelling; Effects of air-pollution on water quality (e.g. nitrogen deposition) and coastal ecosystem processes.
WHITLACH, Robert, Research Associate, Marine Ecology. B.S. (1970) University of Utah; M.S. (1972) University of the Pacific; Ph.D (1976) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Marine benthic population and community ecology; ecology of invasive species; shellfish biology.