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Olympia oysters in British Columbia (Credit: Erin Herder)
For many species, rising global temperatures will strain their ability to survive. However, a hotter climate might not be the end for one threatened species of oyster, according to a recent study.
The Olympia oyster is the only species of oyster native to the West Coast of North America. It was a staple in Native American diets in precolonial America, and became a major economic resource during industrialization. But its numbers took a hit in the early 20th century, thanks to pollution and overfishing.
Monty Graham beside SERC’s Charles McC. Mathias Lab, during his first week as director. (Credit: Kristen Goodhue)
Monty Graham has spent most of his life guided by two passions: the ocean and time. As a child in Danville, Kentucky—over 400 miles from the nearest coast—he remembers going out with his mother to search for crinoids and other marine fossils, from Kentucky’s deep past as a former ocean. He devoted his career to studying jellyfish, one of the oldest groups of animals on Earth.
But for Graham, the future holds just as strong a pull as the past. He studied jellyfish blooms in part because they’re harbingers of larger changes in the ocean. And in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill wreaked havoc on communities on land and at sea, he led multi-organizational efforts to understand its larger ripples on marine life.
New Study Offers First Look at Diet and Ecology of River Otters in Chesapeake Bay
by Kristen Goodhue
North American river otters have terrible hygiene when it comes to their food. They eat, play and defecate in the same place. But their unhealthy habits make them ideal for detecting future health threats in the environment, according to scientists. In a new study published Aug. 13, Smithsonian scientists analyzed the otters’ diets and “latrine” habitats in the Chesapeake Bay for the first time. They discovered river otters often eat food riddled with parasites—and that may not be a bad thing for the larger ecosystem.
This is the second 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.(Read the first In Memoriam to SERC’s former executive officer, Bob Gallagher, here.)
Paul Fofonoff (left) gives an outdoor to lesson with Marine Invasions Lab director Greg Ruiz. (Credit: SERC)
Over 500 aquatic species have entered the U.S. from abroad—and Paul Fofonoff could name almost all of them. He could also name nearly every tree, flower, animal or shrub on one of his hikes or paddling trips. During his three decades at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), he earned a reputation as a walking encyclopedia for wildlife.
Fofonoff devoted his career to marine biology. He worked as a staff scientist for SERC’s Marine Invasions Research Lab for 30 years, before his unexpected death in May 2024. But unlike many marine scientists, Fofonoff knew almost as much about life on land as life in the ocean.
Floating microplastics collected in the Southern Ocean. (Credit: Zhao Shiye)
As plastic pollution spreads to every corner of the world, concerns are rising about microplastics, smaller pieces of plastic even more difficult to see and track. Scientists estimate that microplastics (particles smaller than 5 millimeters) make up 92% of the plastic particles on the ocean surface. But what about below the surface?
Until recently, understanding microplastics below the ocean surface has been a glaring gap in marine pollution research. Most sampling happens at the ocean surface. However, complex ocean currents mean that a surface-level sample doesn’t necessarily represent the ocean as a whole.
In a new study coauthored by the Smithsonian, an international team compiled data from deep-water samples around the world to start filling in the blanks. Here are four things we know better now about microplastics underwater.
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.(Read the second In Memoriam to SERC marine biologist Paul Fofonoff here.)
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.
