SERCBay Barcoding

Bay Barcoding

A team led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO), and including participants from Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), University of Maryland (UMD), Old Dominion University (ODU) George Mason University (GMU), and several other institutions conducted a large initiative to document the biodiversity of the Chesapeake Bay on...

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Tracking River Herring

Two types of river herring, alewife and blueback herring, used to be abundant in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay . These days, however, herring are threatened by habitat loss, overfishing, and dams that block the route to their spawning locations. Teams from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the Horn Point Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental...

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2018 REU Programs

The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports summer research opportunities for undergraduates across the country. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are programs with cohorts of 10-15 students designed to give students the opportunity to pursue independent research projects outside of their university. The students work closely with a mentor on a specific research project and are...

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SERC Phone App

Smithsonian marine biologists have launched Invader ID, an online citizen science project calling on people to help identify invasive species. The project started on the San Francisco Bay, where the majority of species identified by researchers are invasive. Up to this point, the team has used plastic tiles hanging from docks to see what organisms are there. Researchers pull the tiles up three...

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Lost Mitten Crabs

Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) are stumped by missing crabs. Back in 2006, a crabber caught a Chinese mitten crab, and shortly after scientist confirmed its identity, reports from all over, including as far north as the Hudson River, found hundreds of the crabs. SERC even set up a hotline to report the sightings as scientists braced for an invasion. They...

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SERC Open House

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is hosting a free open-house for families on Saturday, May 19th. The event will focus on Chesapeake Bay stewardship, and hands-on activities in the water and on land. Some of the activities include a boat cruise, hay ride, archaeological dig, visits from animals like goats and birds of prey, phytoplankton views through a microscope, face painting,...

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