Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Trip Date: Sept 28, 2024
The mission of SERC is to do research and find knowledge on coastal zones to help address environmental challenges, create a more sustainable place, and provide knowledge to create good policies for the government and businesses. SERC does research on the coastal areas of the Chesapeake Bay and studies things like invasive species, land use, global change, and water quality. They study their local coastal ecosystems and then use that information to address bigger problems that affect everyone. For example, one thing they study is the invasive species, phragmites. They see how phragmites affect Edgewater, Maryland's coastal ecosystem and use these implications to create knowledge on how invasive species in general is dangerous for all ecosystems. Another study they do is about otters! SERC studies how and where otters live throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and they use this knowledge to inform public health policies if swimming in the same region as otters are safe. They specifically study if otters have parasites and diseases that humans can get affected with.
One habitat we visited was Reefs, and specifically oysters. Oysters are important for the ecosystem and organisms inhabit them. Oysters also filter the water, making the water a healthier place for its inhabitants. Things that are decreasing the oyster population and effecting the ecosystem are overharvesting, disease, and habitat loss. This has cause many organisms to lose their homes and the water isn't as filtered. Another habitat we visited was the marshes. Marshes are important for water quality, organisms, and it absorbs carbon. Humans are effecting marshes through carbon emissions. Carbon causes the stems of marshes to become smaller, because there is excessive carbon compared to another vital nutrient, nitrogen. This imbalance causes stems to shrink, which can be good and bad. It can be good because this means marshes are more dense rather than tall which is good for hurricanes, but this can also mean less diversity in plants and wildlife.
SERC provides education programs like field trips for students k-12, programs where teachers can learn about SERC, and organized groups. I think this is an effective outreach strategy because they are informing and getting kids excited about the importance of the environment and of research. We need more kids to learn about these things because they are the future.