Research

Research Laboratories

The Animal-Plant Interaction Lab studies how environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, and excess nutrients impact how animals interact with plants, specifically in Mangrove and Saltmarsh Ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Ilka Feller

Animal-Plant Interaction
SERC's Environmental Archaeology Laboratory measures the different environmental stresses created by socially differentiated households from 3000 B.C.-A.D. 1950.

Principal Investigator: Jim Gibb

Archaeology
The Biogeochemistry Lab studies element cycling to better understand how ecosystems respond to global changes, such as sea-level rise, nitrogen pollution, invasive species and elevated CO₂.

Principal Investigator: Patrick Megonigal

Biogeochemistry
The Coastal Disease Ecology Lab combines genomics, community ecology, invasion ecology, parasitology, and epidemiology to study parasites and infectious diseases in coastal ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Katrina Lohan

Coastal Disease Ecology
We use spatial analysis and modeling to investigate nutrient discharges from watersheds, the role of wetlands in nutrient transport, the effects of watershed characteristics on aquatic health, and carbon storage in coastal wetlands.

Principal Investigator: Donald Weller

Ecological Modeling
Our research integrates life history strategies, population dynamics, resource/habitat utilization, and regulation of community structure for the conservation and management of invertebrates and fish in coastal ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Anson Hines

Fish and Invertebrate Ecology
The Fisheries Conservation Lab investigates the ecology, management, and conservation of marine and estuarine fisheries.

Principal Investigator: Matthew Ogburn

Fisheries Conservation
THE FOREST ECOLOGY LABORATORY studies the structure, growth and function of forest ecosystems, particularly the canopy portion of deciduous forests.

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey Parker

Forest Ecology
The Global Change Ecology Lab combines biogeochemistry and microbial ecology to better understand how wetlands and other ecosystems respond to global climate change.

Principal Investigator: Genevieve Noyce

Global Change Ecology
The Marine and Estuarine Ecology Lab studies interactions among species and the ways that individual animals, communities and ecosystems respond to changes in the environment.

Principal Investigator: Denise Breitburg

Marine and Estuarine Ecology
We study the diversity of marine life: evolutionary origins, ecological dynamics, and functional significance for human lives and economies.

Principal Investigator: Emmett Duffy, Martin Thiel

Marine Biodiversity (MarineGEO)
The Marine Conservation Lab focuses on mangroves, a group of plants that inhabit tropical and sub-tropical coastlines and provide a number of critical functions and services, such as climate change mitigation/adaptation and habitat for terrestrial/marine life.

Principal Investigator: Steven Canty

Marine Conservation
We study patterns, processes, and consequences of marine invasions on a global scale.

Principal Investigator: Gregory Ruiz, Amy Freestone

Marine Invasions Research
The Microbial Ecology Lab seeks to understand microbial methylation: the process by which microbes transform mercury into methylmercury in the environment.

Principal Investigator: Cynthia Gilmour

Microbial Ecology
The Nutrient Lab studies the flows of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems, the consequences of human-induced nutrient enrichment, and ways of removing excess nutrients from circulation in the environment.

Principal Investigator: Thomas Jordan

Nutrient Cycles
Our lab is focused on understanding the effects and interactions of the chemical, physical, and biological drivers of coastal acidification.

Principal Investigator: Whitman Miller

Ocean Acidification
The Photobiology and Solar Radiation laboratory at SERC focuses on solar Ultraviolet Radiation and its effects in ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Patrick Neale

Photobiology and Solar Radiation
The Plant and Molecular Ecology Lab applies DNA-based techniques to understand how plants and fungi interact and are affected by anthropogenic changes in the environment.

Principal Investigator: Melissa McCormick

Plant and Molecular Ecology
We are interested in plants and interactions between plants and other organisms, including animals, fungi and bacteria. We work at scales ranging from molecular to landscape and we spread our efforts about equally between wetlands and terrestrial ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Dennis Whigham

Plant Ecology
The Quantitative Ecology Lab focuses on the ecological mechanisms that structure forest communities and determine the fine- and large-scale spatial and temporal dynamics of forests.

Principal Investigator: Sean McMahon

Quantitative Ecology
We focus on explaining the responses of animals to environmental change and identifying opportunities for maintaining biodiversity in working landscapes.

Principal Investigator: Justin Nowakowski

Spatial Ecology and Conservation
Technology In Ecology designs and supports technological innovation, serving ecological research, experimental design, and data infrastructure.

Principal Investigator: Roy Rich

Technology in Ecology
We study biological invasions, biodiversity-ecosystem function, and the consequences of global change for species’ distributions and interactions.

Principal Investigator: John Parker

Terrestrial Ecology
Our research addresses the interface between biogeochemistry, hydrology, and social processes in aquatic ecosystems.

Principal Investigator: Rebecca Hale

Watershed Science

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Understanding Ecosystems for a Sustainable Future

Research Laboratories

Animal-Plant Interaction

Archaeology

Biogeochemistry

Coastal Disease Ecology

Ecological Modeling

Fish and Invertebrate Ecology

Fisheries Conservation

Forest Ecology

Global Change Ecology

Marine and Estuarine Ecology

Marine Biodiversity (MarineGEO)

Marine Conservation

Marine Invasions Research

Microbial Ecology

Nutrient Cycles

Ocean Acidification

Photobiology and Solar Radiation

Plant and Molecular Ecology

Plant Ecology

Quantitative Ecology

Spatial Ecology and Conservation

Technology in Ecology

Terrestrial Ecology

Watershed Science