Biodiversity & Conservation

Study: Chesapeake Grasses Stage Record-Breaking Comeback

Chesapeake Bay has seen the largest underwater grass recovery ever recorded, thanks to a three-decade nutrient pollution diet. (Photo: J. J. Orth/VIMS)
Study: Docks Offer Surprising Refuge for Endangered Fish

The endangered Isthmian goby is found in just one spot in the world, at the locks of the Panama Canal, until biologists found one circling a dock nearly 200 miles away.
The North American Orchid Conservation Center

North America has more than 200 native orchids, and over half are threatened or endangered somewhere. Headquartered at SERC, a network of U.S. and Canadian scientists is working to save them.
BiodiversiTree: The 100-Year Forest Experiment

At BiodiversiTree, SERC scientists and volunteers planted nearly 20,000 trees on former cropland and are watching them grow, in a project designed to last a century.
Marine Global Earth Observatories

Based out of SERC's campus on Chesapeake Bay, the MarineGEO network is taking the pulse of marine life and coastal ecosystems around the world.
Forest Global Earth Observatories

With roughly 6 million trees in 24 countries, the Smithsonian's ForestGEO network tracks how forests around the world respond to climate change. (Photo: Smithsonian Institution)

Affiliated Labs

The word “conservation” can evoke many powerful images. For some, it involves protecting forests and national parks. Some picture rescuing endangered species from extinction, and others envision harvesting food, energy, or water in a way that conserves them for future generations. Conservation at its core encompasses all these aspects and several others.

For many ecologists, conserving biodiversity is a critical part of their mission. Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life—on a planet, in a watershed, or in a single stream. It’s often used to describe how many different species live in a certain area. But biodiversity can just as easily refer to diversity within a single species or diversity among entire ecosystems.

How much does biodiversity matter, to the Earth and to us? Are ecosystems with more diversity better able to resist climate change or invasive species? Are they better at cleansing our water of pollution, shielding our homes from storms, or providing food? Today much of the research suggests the answer is yes: Biodiversity has the power to make the world healthier, stronger, and richer. But diversity’s impacts on many types of ecosystems remain unexplored. Ecologists at SERC seek to not only conserve biodiversity, but understand it.

SERC research takes a holistic view of conservation. Some projects focus on a single species or family, like blue crabs or orchids. But others explore conserving entire ecosystems, which can shelter hundreds or thousands of species. All of them look closely at the human connection, searching for more ways humanity and nature can coexist sustainably.