The Smithsonian Institution has announced the appointment of Anson “Tuck” Hines as the director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
SERC is a global leader for research focused on connections between ecosystems in the coastal zone. As director, Hines will oversee a diverse staff of 17 senior scientists and an interdisciplinary team of more than 180 researchers, technicians and students who conduct long-term descriptive and experimental research on global change, landscape ecology, ecosystems in coastal regions, and population and community ecology.
“Dr. Hines brings the greatest depth of experience to the SERC director position,” said Smithsonian Under Secretary for Science David Evans. “He is highly regarded both inside and outside the Smithsonian for his excellence as an environmental researcher on a diverse array of programs.”
For the past 26 years, Hines has served as a marine ecologist and principal investigator of SERC’s Fish and Invertebrate Ecology Laboratory and concurrently as the assistant director for the past 17 years. He is a co-principle investigator in the SERC Invasions Biology Program, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive research program on invasive species in marine ecosystems. As assistant director, Hines has advanced SERC’s land conservation program, which encompasses nearly 3,000 acres of the Rhode River watershed and shoreline.
His studies include:
- effects of thermal discharges of coastal power plants
- sea otters and kelp forest ecology
- long-term ecological change in Chesapeake Bay
- marine food web dynamics
- predator-prey interactions
- impacts of fisheries, aquaculture and fishery restoration
- crustacean life histories
- biological invasions of coastal ecosystems
An expert on blue crabs, he serves as a member of the Bi-State Blue Crab Technical Advisory Committee for Chesapeake Bay.
Hines has published more than 100 articles in technical journals and books and is the recipient of more than 95 research grant and contract awards. He is adjunct professor at four major institutions (University of Maryland College Park, University of North Carolina State University, College of William and Mary, Maryland Biotechnology Institute).