Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Field Trip
September 21, 2024 - SERC, Edgewater, MD
Figure 2: River otters sometimes come here at night
Figure 1: A pretty view of the natural landscape
The mission of SERC is to both conduct environmental research, and to educate the population about the environmental, and the results of their research. For example, SERC has several chambers where they can artificially modify the atmospheric conditions within the chambers, and observe how the different plant species react to different climate conditions. For example, if they wanted to see how increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere effects the plant species, they could increase the concentration of CO2 in one or more of the chambers. In addition to this, the researchers at SERC also collects otter poop. They would then place this in an autoclave to remove the undesired material, and what would remain would be what the otters ate but did not digest. Using this method, they can study their local otter’s diets.
Both of these examples have global implications, as the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increases, experiments with higher levels of CO2 in the chambers could help predict what our own future will have to deal with. Studying the material that otters do not digest can help researchers better understand what types of food that the otters have access to. This in turn can give them a quantifiable way to study the population sizes of species that otters eat, and whether overfishing, algal blooms, or something else may be harming those populations.
There were several habitats that were examined during the trip to SERC. One of these habitats was a wetland, which is home to birds, fish, and even river otters. In Figure 2 is where SERC had cameras set up so at night when the river otters would come out, they would be recorded. Over time, humans have unfortunately polluted these natural environments, such as when rain runoff carries chemicals and fertilizer into these bodies of water. They have also brought invasive species to the area, which grow and eventually either kill off the natural inhabitants, or block sunlight from reaching the water. Another habitat that was observed was the forests that SERC has on its property. In addition to the pollution and clear-cutting that humans regularly partake in, humans also have studied the forests and wildlife at SERC. For instance, they have two 2000 square meter plots that they would sometimes flood to mimic a big storm event to study how the environment would respond.
SERC tries to educate the community about its mission and the results of the research that it conducts. For example, they allow for school field trips to come and they then teach the children about what they do. They also allow for students or volunteers to go into the restricted section of the dock to pull up oyster shell habitats to examine them to see what kind of wildlife is living in them. This was done during the field trip, and several species were found, including a species of crab and a species of eel. SERC also allows for the community to come over and to walk through and enjoy the natural environment. In their visitor center, they even have several tanks where different fish, turtles, and other species live.
The methods of outreach that SERC uses are effective. As they are a publicly funded institution, the simple fact that they have the funds to be able to conduct this research on such a large scale speaks volumes to this. As they also regularly use volunteer help such as with the oyster clam habitats, it shows that their outreach is effective enough to have volunteers that are willing to come out and help them in this task. SERC completes important environmental research and it was very interesting and informative to tour their grounds with some of their staff.