Diamela De Veer (left) and Ocean Travelers II intern Ninoshka Lopez collect a piece of litter with corals on it. (Credit: Ninoshka Lopez)
Many marine organisms, like barnacles, bryozoans and algae, spend their lives on other living creatures floating in the sea. But today, some of them are finding new homes to colonize: plastic pollution. Ocean Travelers is a participatory science project, where volunteers and scientists track marine organisms living on litter that washes ashore. Run by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), the project hopes to determine whether invasive species are spreading via litter in the ocean.
Marine biologists Martin Thiel, Jim Carlton and Greg Ruiz started the first Ocean Travelers at SERC in 2022. They wanted to understand what organisms were living on plastic in the ocean, and how far they were spreading. It was born of a collaboration between different programs around the world, including the Smithsonian-led MarineGEO that monitors the world’s coastal ecosystems and Científicos de la Basura, based out of Chile. Ocean Travelers I was a huge success, recruiting volunteers, local teachers and their students to collect samples on the beach with professional scientists.
Lacuna snails, a group of snails more common on eelgrass infected with seagrass wasting disease (Credit: Carmen Ritter)
Seagrass meadows play a vital role in protecting the health and integrity of coastal communities around the world. However, some coastal seagrass meadows can be prone to collapse due to seagrass wasting disease. A study in the journal Ecology looked at the disease in meadows of eelgrass (Zostera marina) along the Pacific Coast of North America. It revealed that a key driver may be one of the grasses’ closest animal companions.
A woman unwinds her fishing net beside a mangrove shoreline. (Credit: Patricia from East End, Roatán, Honduras. Photo courtesy of Sara Bonilla Anariba)
Worldwide, an estimated 600 million people at least partially depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. This makes marine conservation important not only to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems, but to ensure these communities have sustainable food and income. However, when creating marine protection plans, local women are often left out of the conversation, causing valuable information to go unheard.
Jaehyun Lee collects a porewater sample in the SMARTX experiment, at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland. (Credit: SERC)
Rising temperatures could tip the scale in an underground battle that has raged for millennia. In the soils of Earth’s wetlands, microbes are fighting to both produce and consume the powerful greenhouse gas methane. But if the Earth gets too hot, a key way wetlands clamp down on methane could be at risk, according to a Smithsonian study published April 23.
Methane is responsible for roughly 19% of global warming, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. And while wetlands are champions at removing carbon dioxide (CO2)—the more abundant greenhouse gas—they are also the world’s largest natural source of methane. As nations set targets to bring down methane emitted from human activity, it is crucial to understand how much methane wetlands emit naturally—and how much more they could emit in the future.
Bob Gallagher (left) with former SERC safety officer Liza Hamill at a SERC holiday party in 2018. (Credit: Tami Huber)
by Kristen Goodhue
This is the first of two In Memoriam tributes, honoring two long-time staff members who passed away while still employed at our center over the last decade. As the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center enters its 60th year, we recognize that many of our achievements would not have been possible without their hard work and passion.
The invisible handprints of Bob Gallagher cover more than half the buildings at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. They’re also present in the center’s most popular volunteer program, and some buildings that have yet to be constructed. From 2004 until his death in 2020, Gallagher served as the center’s executive officer. And the campus as it is today would not exist without his efforts.
A drone image of the BiodiversiTREE plots at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, surrounded by the larger, older forest. (Credit: Mickey Pullen)
Forests play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Worldwide, roughly 10 million hectares of forest are lost to deforestation each year. Forest restorations—efforts to regrow forests—offset around half of that. But how do we make sure that these efforts are as efficient as possible? One answer is in planting a wide variety of tree species.
An American oystercatcher stands on the beach of the Elqui River in Chile. There is plastic netting tangled around one of its legs and it has lost the bottom part of the leg. (Credit: Pedro Valencia)
Plastic pollution in our ocean is growing daily. Scientists estimate 12 million U.S. tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and it makes up 80% of all marine debris.
How can we hope to keep track of this vast amount of plastic, or detect any useful patterns to help get it under control? One way is to collect plastic samples using animals. Marine animals ingest plastic that has broken off from plastic trash and ends up in the ocean. Scientists can then measure how much of this plastic has accumulated in the bodies of these animals. Scientists have used this method for decades.
“Sampling microplastics can be challenging and expensive,” said Martin Thiel, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Thiel co-authored an article in Environmental Science Advances reviewing how scientists around the world use animals to study ocean plastic. Using animals, he said, allows scientists to more efficiently collect data. “It can tell us not only how many plastics are in the environment, but how the organisms are affected by this type of pollution.”
Here are some of the most popular animals scientists use for plastic pollution research.
by Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director of Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Originally published in The Conversation
Flames of the Simi Valley Fire in October 2003 ravage a mountainside in Southern California. (Credit: Senior Master Sgt. Dennis W. Goff, U.S. Air Force)
Using seawater to fight fires can sound like a simple solution – the Pacific Ocean has a seemingly endless supply of water. In emergencies like Southern California is facing, it’s often the only quick solution, though the operation can be risky amid ocean swells.
Posted in California, Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather | Comments Off on Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort Tags: ecology
The year 2024 is set to go down as the hottest year on record since the mid-1800s (so far), shattering severaladditional records in its wake. Even for solutions-minded scientists like the ones we’re lucky to work with, there’s no denying it was a rough year for planet Earth. But that doesn’t erase the many bright moments and crucial steps forward that also marked the year.
At the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), scientists have been finding new ways to sustain the Earth for the past six decades. This year the center will reach its 60th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we’ve rounded up our six favorite stories from 2024, from the groundbreaking and inspiring to the quirky and fun:
Carl Dunnock (left) with his detector dog, Encore, and Carl Messick with his detector dog, Grand. (Credit: USDA)
Dogs, with their ability to sniff out unseen objects, have become key players for many teams, from search and rescue missions to hunting. But lately, they’ve received a new welcome—onto the team of plant conservation. This summer, orchid scientist Melissa McCormick embarked on a search for the endangered orchid Isotria medeoloides, commonly known as the “small whorled pogonia.” Accompanied by two Labradors and their handlers, McCormick set out to survey Fort Walker, Virginia, for any sign of the elusive orchid.
