The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is a United States environmental research and educational facility operated by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. It is located on the Rhode and West Rivers near Edgewater in

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, Mar ...

, near the western shore of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. The center's focus of study is the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s of coastal zones, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

and nearby

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

History

In 1964, Robert Lee Forrest of Baltimore left a 365-acre dairy farm on the Rhode River to the Smithsonian Institution. The next year, the Chesapeake Center for Field Biology was established on the site of this former dairy farm. A $375,000 grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

was awarded and another $550,000 in other grants followed by the end of 1969. These funds were used to purchase another 568 additional acres adjoining the original parcel. In 1970, the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology was renamed to the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies (CBCES) and land acquisition continued. In 1974, Jim Lynch was hired as the first on-site staff scientist. Lynch had recently finished his Ph.D. from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

Site

The 2,600-acre site occupied by SERC contains coastal plain forests, land used for agriculture, wetlands and marshes, and brackish environments.

Research

SERC conducts research on topics that include terrestrial,

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, and

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

environmental research within the disciplines of

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discipli ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. The center trains interns and graduate students, including pre-doctoral and doctoral students. Annually, the center receives over 10,000 students, teachers, and families who come to visit. It gives advice, consultation, and testimony to local, state, federal, and international governmental agencies, natural resource managers, policy makers, and conservation organizations. The facility serves as a center of research and education on human impacts in land-sea interactions of the coastal zone. The center receives $20,000,000 in extramural grants and contracts funded from governmental agencies, foundations, and industry. SERC developed and maintains an extensive database of

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in marine and estuarine ecosystems. The database tracks details on over 500 invasive species throughout coastal North America. SERC coordinates with the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

, which has developed a similar database for freshwater invasions, and has worked with marine centers in other nations to study marine invasions.Gollasch, Stephan
"Databases on Aquatic Alien Species: North and Mediterranean Seas and Non-European Initiatives"
from Invasive Aquatic Species of Europe, Erkki Leppäkoski, Stephan Gollasch, Sergej Olenin eds. Springer Science. 2002. p.522.

Technical innovation

The center has been an innovator of biotelemetry to track behavior, habitat use, and movement of blue crabs ''(Callinectes sapidus)'', a marine predator and a valuable crustacean fishery in North America. They are the patent holder for the Spectral Radiometer, the national standard for monitoring

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

. The center has developed a model for testing estuarine water quality and watershed nutrient discharges.

References

External links

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
{{authority control Research institutes in Maryland Environmental research institutes Environmental Research Center 1964 establishments in Maryland