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Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Hog Island Oak Tree 5_Credit John Parker_med-res.jpg

American Icons: A Toast to The White Oak

From bourbon barrels to sea battles, white oaks are among the most significant trees in American history—and they need our help.

Yellow fish swim in front of coral reef

Too Many Coral Restorations Fail. Treating Them Like Experiments Could Help Them Succeed.

Scientists suggest a new framework for coral restoration that could help safeguard them in a warming world

Andre Rovai measures mangrove growth in forest

Meet the Scientist Uncovering How Mangroves Can Help the U.S. Military

Smithsonian ecologist Andre Rovai studies how mangroves fight sea level rise, protecting military installations on the coast.

Close-up of a bright green patch of seagrass under bright blue water

Eight Weird Facts About Seagrass (and Why It’s Essential)

Fact one: It's not seaweed.

Left: Black and white image of a young man sitting at a desk, examining bird bones and holding a bird skull. Right: A young woman in an orange safety vest bends over a stream, collecting a water sample in a bottle.

Six Ways the Smithsonian Shaped Environmental Science in 60 Years

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center turned 60 this year. We're celebrating with six of our favorite stories since 1965.

A young man and woman crouch on a wooden plank in a forest, with irrigation pipes across the ground. The man is pointing to a clear pipette in his hand.

Scientists Flooded a Forest to Catch a Ghost Forest in the Making. Here’s What They Found

Scientists sent hurricane-level floods into a Maryland forest to find out what extreme weather and sea-level rise mean for coastal woodlands

A woman wearing a straw sun hat stands on a dock with a forest behind her, holding out a plastic water bottle and smiling.

How Volunteers Helped Train Satellites to Health-Check the Chesapeake

Thousands of water samples. Hundreds of volunteers. Meet Chesapeake Water Watch, the big data project where volunteers are improving how satellites measure water quality in the Bay.

A brown river otter walks beside a white tree, with autumn leaves covering the ground.

River Otters Unfazed by Parasites, Poop While Eating

North American river otters eat, play and defecate in the same place. And their unhealthy habits make them ideal for detecting future health threats in the environment.

A woman in a red shirt stands on a wooden blue canoe beside a mangrove shoreline, unwinding a fishing net.

Local Women’s Voices Often Missing in Marine Protection

A new technique offers a way for managers to make sure they include the perspectives of local women when designing marine protected areas.

A swarm of yellow fish and silver fish with yellow tailfins swim around a coral reef

Adult Fish Aren't Truly 'Protected' in Many Marine Protected Areas

To replenish adult spawners, marine protected areas need strong enforcement and climate-friendly design

Pools of water flood a green marsh, under a misty sky

How Much Can Wetlands Fight Climate Change? A New Carbon Atlas Has The Answers.

The Coastal Carbon Atlas and Library map how wetlands store carbon around the world—and put open data to work for the environment.

Black monkey perches in a tree staring directly at camera

Eight Weird and Wondrous Discoveries From 2023

Life on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the true power of nature sanctuaries and more wild discoveries from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Underwater photo of a pink and gold coral reef in bright blue water, with small blue and yellow fish. A blurry reflection of the reef appears in the water at the top of the photo.

New Study Reveals Large Holes In America’s Ocean Protection. Here’s How We Can Fix Them.

Many governments are leaning on marine protected areas to fight biodiversity loss. But in America, ocean protections are uneven and often weak, leading scientists to call for new strategies.

Corals as far as the eye can see, with dark blue fishes swimming above

U.S. Needs to Diversify Marine Protected Areas to Reap Full Benefits

Almost all the marine protected areas in the U.S. sit in the central Pacific Ocean, while fragile ecosystems in other regions are being left out

Orange scalefin anthias fish swarm in front of a fire coral in the Red Sea's Ras Mohammed Marine Park, Egypt. (Credit: Alex Mustard, Ocean Image Bank).

Reef Robots. Predicting Marine Life Like Weather. Meet the Ocean of 2030.

Imagine a world where an indigenous fisher can get forecasts of local marine life from a smart phone, or a team of robots can offer real-time data on coral reef health. That's the vision of two Smithsonian projects highlighted by the United Nations for its Decade of Ocean Science.

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. (Credit: Keenan Adams, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

River Otters Take Party Pooping To A New Level

For river otters, pooping is a social event. And their droppings are providing a heap of information for biologists.

Lontra canadensis, the North American river otter. (Credit: Matthew Fryer)

The Secret Lives of River Otters (And Their Parasites)

If you live along the water but have never seen a river otter, it's probably because they're mostly nocturnal, and very shy. But these secretive creatures, and their parasites, hold lots of clues for scientists looking to understand disease.

Spathoglottis petri, one of Palau's native orchids. (Photo: Benjamin Crain/SERC)

The Secret Orchids of Palau

The island nation of Palau is home to nearly 100 different species of native orchids. More than 30 are found nowhere else on Earth. Smithsonian biologists journeyed to the islands to find secrets to conserving them.

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