Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Visitors: The days are getting longer, and so are our open hours! SERC will be open 8am-5:30pm through Nov. 1. After Nov. 1 we'll be open until 4:30pm, when the clocks change again and darkness comes sooner. We're open seven days a week including most federal holidays. For trail maps and other information to plan your visit, check out https://lnkd.in/ekeGvfZm ?? Mathias Lab at sunset, by Melissa McCormick

Plastic pollution continues to infiltrate our ocean—an estimated 12 million U.S. tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. ?? To make the daunting task of tracking all that plastic easier, scientists turn to animals when collecting plastic samples from the ocean. Here are three animals scientists use to better understand the plastic in our ocean. The northern fulmar (first photo) is a seabird that scavenges for meals in the open ocean, providing samples from hard-to-reach remote locations. The loggerhead sea turtle (second photo) lives in subtropical and temperate ocean regions all over the world, making it a widely available source to compare data in different locations. Bivalves (third photo) are filter-feeders, meaning they absorb microplastics from the water, giving information about a whole different type of plastic pollution. Read the full story on our Shorelines blog at https://lnkd.in/eb4vDdu7 ?? Northern fulmar by Dan Vickers ?? Loggerhead sea turtle by threewavespro, https://lnkd.in/erbkjQd ?? Blue mussels by Ollie Thomas, https://lnkd.in/erbkjQd (cropped for social media formatting)

Well, we’re feeling jealous…two of our MarineGEO biologists, Leah Harper and Emily Anderson, spent part of February sampling marine life in Brazil. The diving duo did Reef Life Survey censuses of fish and invertebrates off the coast of S?o Sebasti?o, to see how marine life varies based on habitat type and fishing pressure. They were joined by a team of researchers and students from Centro de Biologia Marinha da Universidade de S?o Paulo (CEBIMar). The team covered 21 sites in six days. Shown here are a few of the underwater species they encountered: smoothtail spiny lobster, hairy blenny and seaweed blenny! Other team members pictured: CEBIMar researcher Hudson Tercio Pinheiro, CEBIMar student Esteban Noguiera, and CEBIMar technicians Lúcia and Zé. Special thanks to the Paul Angell Family Foundation for funding this project! ?? Group photo by CEBIMar. Lobster and fish photos by Emily Anderson.

The ospreys are coming! Get ready for the arrival of these popular migratory birds, which return to the Chesapeake in March to build their nests. Next Tuesday, March 18, #osprey expert Greg Kearns will host our next evening science webinar. Kearns is a senior park naturalist at Patuxent River Park, who runs an osprey nest and banding program on the Patuxent River. He'll talk about the quirky biology of these birds, how they bounced back from massive declines in the 1950s and 1960s, and how #ospreys are doing today. Online only! Sign up on Zoom to join live or watch the recording at https://lnkd.in/eJX73YXk #OurSustainablePlanet

New opportunity in Southeast Asia: The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Conservation International are #hiring a blue carbon research scientist! Help collect #bluecarbon data from the region and make it more accessible, while joining a global community of carbon scientists. This is a 2-year position preferably based in Singapore, but open to other Conservational International locations in the Asia-Pacific region. Apply by March 14 at https://s.si.edu/4bC5ZV2 Photo: Scientists Loraé Simpson and Steve Canty take measurements in a red mangrove forest. (Credit: Hannah Morrissette, SERC)

Today is International Women’s Day, and we're highlighting a few of our scientists who have come from around the world to work here at SERC! From tracking invasive species to studying symbiotic relationships in orchids, our scientists are hard at work to better understand our environment. Swipe through to get to know them and a little about the work they do. @SmithsonianWomen #WomensHistoryMonth #SmithsonianWHM #SmithsonianWomensHistory Pictured: 1) Flávia Costa Areglado - Coastal Disease Ecology & Marine Invasions Research Labs 2) Paula Pappalardo - Coastal Disease Ecology & Marine Invasions Research Labs 3) Diamela De Veer - Marine Invasions Research Lab 4) Hyewoo Shin - Plant & Molecular Ecology Lab 5) Jenny Zollars - Marine Invasions Research Lab

Spring showers bring...salamanders? It's amphibian season! This spotted salamander appeared on the road at SERC on Wednesday night. Spotted salamanders are one of the first amphibians to head towards their breeding ponds once the ground thaws at the beginning of spring. This time of year, amphibians are migrating from their winter underground burrows to their spring breeding ponds. Especially after large rain events, salamanders and frogs are often on the move and may be on the roads. Please be on the lookout for critter friends and drive slowly! Cars are not the only threat to our amphibians—these populations are also very vulnerable to disease, which can accidentally be spread by humans. When our scientists go looking for these wetland friends, they are mindful about handling them. This includes disinfecting hands, shoes, and equipment before AND after visiting vernal pools. ?? Diamela De Veer

Thank you for joining us during National Invasive Species Awareness Week! We’re closing out the week with Natasha Gray Hitchcock, a biologist in our SERC Marine Invasions Research Laboratory, who tells us about the spaghetti bryozoan. These aquatic invertebrates have spread to every continent except Antarctica. They may be little, but they make their presence known in huge numbers, and often in piles resembling the pasta they’re named for! #NISAW ??? by Erin Minor. Video description: Natasha Hitchcock, a scientist with shoulder-length red hair, sits in a lab talking about bryozoans. Photos of various colorful bryozoans, including the spaghetti bryozoan, appear periodically on the screen as she speaks.

"Imagine the tiniest of stowaways. A crab scuttles across the floor of a ship traveling from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, or a sea squirt gets caught up in SCUBA gear that travels from Japan to the East Coast of the United States." Most non-native species in the U.S. arrive here by accident—carried inside or outside the hulls of giant commercial ships like this oil tanker in Alaska. As we close out National #InvasiveSpecies Awareness Week, meet the Marine Invasions Lab working to make ships safer, and some of the strange creatures they've encountered along the way. (Yes, there really is an animal called "rock vomit.") #NISAW Read the full story at https://lnkd.in/ejdd4n3K ?? Ship by the Smithsonian. Rock vomit by Ian Davidson

Welcome back to National Invasive Species Awareness Week! Kim Richie, head technician in our Fisheries Conservation Lab, has stopped by to teach us about blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. Blue catfish were deliberately introduced to regions of the Chesapeake Bay for sport but have now spread across the whole Bay. Many restaurants have started serving blue catfish in efforts to keep the population down. #NISAW ??? by Erin Minor. Video description: Kim Richie, a young scientist wearing a silver winter coat and glasses, sits at a picnic table outside talking about blue catfish. Photos of blue catfish and some of the animals they eat flash across the screen while she speaks.