Tk^T&rme 7Tgc&#oZo<y(/ ^ocfeff/ VOLUME 3i NUMBER 4 WINTER 203O/O1 THE INTERNATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIETY DEVOTED TO OCEAN AND MARINE ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND POLICY Scientific & Technical Diving PAPER Smithsonian Institution Underwater Research Michael A. Lang THIS SMITHSONIAN MARINE sional training. A series of these activities are Smithsonian Institution aimed at promoting awareness and conserva- Office of the Under SCIENCE NETWORK tion of marine environments, and communicat- Secretary for Science Scientific diving is an integral research tool ing the Smithsonian's research findings to the HW#fon, DC that has been successfully used at the general public. By integrating research with edu- inson H. Hines Smithsonian Institution for over 30 years. In cation, the Smithsonian produces tomorrow's Smithsonian Environmental addition to the National Museum of Natural discoverers while pursuing today's discoveries. Research Center History in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian The public is engaged with interactive exliibits, Fdgewater, MD operates a unique network of coastal labora- symposia, popular books, lectures, and films tories and long-term research sites on the east, about the marine environment. The Smithson- coast of North and Central America that ian Marine Science Network contributes to the extends along the western Atlantic Ocean, and public interest by disseminating novel environ- that bridges the Panamanian isthmus from the mental information around the globe. Its Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Scientific research helps build a solid foundation for diving activities support Smithsonian research informed decisions about environmental in marine habitats throughout this network. policy, natural resource management, and There are four main unifying disciplinary conservation. themes to Smithsonian marine research: Sys- tematics (description of patterns of biodiver- sity in the sea; Evolutionary Biology (determi- SMITHSONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL nation of the patterns and mechanisms of the RESEARCH CENTER- origin, maintenance and loss of species, and the CHESAPEAKE BAY phytogeny of marine organisms; Ecology (dis- covery of the mechanisms that structure and The Smithsonian Environmental Research process matter, energy and biodiversity at vary- Center (SERC) advances stewardship of ing scales of ecological organization in the sea; the biosphere through interdisciplinary research and, Geology (determination of the biogeo- and education. SERC, with a resident staff of chemical processes in the formation of ocean over 100 scientists, technicians, fellows and stu- features.) dents, has experienced significant growth in the Biogeography is a key research ele- last few years. SERC laboratories, educational ment linking systematics, ecology and evolution- facilities and main field sites are located 25 ary biology. Mechanisms of biogeographic isola- miles east of Washington B.C., on the western tion are central elements in evolutionary the- shore of Chesapeake Bay. The SERC campus ory, population dynamics, conservation biology, includes a growing complex of offices, labora- and patterns of biodiversity. Biogeographic pat- tories, maintenance shops, a library, housing terns are crucial data in the determination of and facilities for public programs. A dock, fleet introduced and native species. Site-specific, of research vessels, dive locker, wet laboratory, long-term measurements of environmental vari- aquarium room and large fish-weir support estu- ables allow for analysis of change over multiple arine research. time scales, which is necessary to detect pat- SERC's greatest resource is its main terns in typically noisy ecological data. The research site on the Rhode River subestuary, Smithsonian Marine Science Network is which includes over 2,600 acres of land and 16 uniquely positioned to monitor long-term miles of undeveloped shoreline of the Chesa- change at its component sites. It has an exten- peake Bay. For 35 years, SERC's long-term stud- sive array of programs involving scientific div- ies have focused on the interactions among eco- ing that address many of thejnost pressing envi- systems in complex landscapes, tidal marshes ronmental issues in marine ecosystems, includ- and estuaries. With the Rhode River site as its ing: biological invasions, eutrophication, hub, SERC research radiates to sites around the harmful species and parasites, plankton blooms world to address effects of global change, land- and red tides, linkages among coastal ecosys- scape ecology, coastal ecosystems, and popula- tems, global warming including sea-level rise, tion and community ecology. Much of SERC's El Nino/La Nina, UV radiation impacts, habitat comparative research extends to the other sites destruction, fisheries impacts, ecology of key of the Smithsonian Marine Science Network. habitats (estuaries, coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, wetlands) and biodiversity inventories. Global Change The Smithsonian's marine education A major component of SERC's research programs consist of public outreach and profes- investigates the environmental consequences 50 . Af75Jn%r%a( . VoZ. 34, JVo. 4 Figure 1 ^Smithsonian Environmental Research Center on the Chesapeake Bay (courtesy of SERC). 1%^ ys- Boundary of Rhode River Watershed lfttetLab! y ,:^' 'Pi ^ ^ fi' ■ Rhode ■/'•■ River of human-induced global change. In addition to experiments using chambers to test the effects the "greenhouse effect" of global warming and of C02 increase on marsh plants at the Rhode rising sea level, increased atmospheric carbon River site and on scrub oak communities at dioxide concentrations (due to burning of fossil Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Studies of fuels) markedly affect the rates of photosynthe- harmful ultraviolet solar radiation examine its sis and carbon storage in plant communities. effects on phytoplankton and maeroalgae in the SERC has the world's longest running field Chesapeake Bay and in polar seas, where UV M75 Jow?-?W . Vo' 34, TVo. 4 ' .?7 radiation is intensified due to the formation of the only species with a sustained commercial "ozone holes". Damage has been documented catch. Fundamental aspects of blue crab behav- in the light-capturing ability of plants and marine ior remain shrouded by the turbid waters in algae that support Earth's food web. SERC which they live. To record movement and research on biogeochcmical cycles show how behavior of blue crabs in their natural environ- carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicate cycles ment, ongoing SERC research uses diving and are being altered by human activities related to innovative biotelemetry devices (limes et al, agriculture, forests and wetlands in the 1995; Wolcott and Hines, 1996) that transmit coastal zone. information about crab movement, feeding, fighting, and mating. Ecological Indicators at the Land-Sea Interface Marine Biological Invasions Productivity in coastal waters and estu- Invading non-native species introduced aries is enriched by nutrient runoff from the land. by human activities have disrupted ecosystems More than 70 percent of the world's people live around the world, causing major ecological in coastal zones. This concentrates develop- changes and enormous economic impacts. SERC ment and water pollution around bays and estu- is the national center for the study of alien inva- aries where the sea's richest fisheries are sive species in coastal ecosystems. Presently, declining at alarming rates. By relating nutrient ballast water in commercial ships is the major discharge from the watershed to phytoplankton vector for marine species introductions. Each growth in the estuary, SERC has gained new day ocean-going vessels transport millions of insights into the coupling of land and sea. SERC's gallons of ballast water containing live plank- watershed research in Chesapeake Bay shows ton. When ballast water is discharged, organisms that excessive nutrient runoff from agricultural are released into new environments where, crops and livestock stimulates overproduction lacking natural predators or other controls, they of dinoflagellates and other planktonic algae, may become established and wreak ecological which block light from reaching aquatic plants havoc. SERC's Invasions Biology Program uses and deplete oxygen. Excess nutrients can cause plankton nets to search for creatures stowing algal blooms that are sometimes poisonous to away in ballast tanks of ships arriving in Prince fish and humans. Other plankton studies alter William Sound Alaska and the Chesapeake Bay, the traditional portrayal of bottom-up control of among other sites. The SERC Invasions Biology marine food chain production. Studies of plank- Program uses scuba and other sampling meth- tonic protistans show that single-celled parasites ods to analyze broad patterns of marine inva- may infect larger single-celled hosts. Epidemic sions and their ecological interactions. outbreaks of these parasites can cause plankton blooms to collapse, effectively short-circuiting SMITHSONIAN MARINE STATION the food chain. SERC has developed new instruments AT FORT PIERCE to measure the quantity and spectral quality of Florida, a state of extensive coastlines and light penetration into coastal waters. These radi- subtropical waters, draws numerous ometers monitor changes in underwater light marine scientists each year to study its diverse in response to plankton, particles and chemicals and abundant marine life and coastal environ- in the water column, and SERC research shows ments. The Smithsonian Marine Station at Port