Marine Science Network

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Smithsonian Institution Office of the Under
Secretary for Science
MARINE SCIENCE NETWORK
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Smithsonian Marine Science Network

• The Smithsonian Marine Science Network is a
  unique array of laboratories and research vessels
  that spans the latitudinal gradient of the
  western Atlantic and crosses the isthmus of
  Panama.

Smithsonian research stations www.si.edu/marinesci
ence
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MSN Mission

• The Smithsonian Marine Science Network is
  dedicated to understanding the rich biodiversity
  and complex ecosystem dynamics that sustain
  coastal processes and productivity. We study
  evolutionary, ecological, and environmental
  change in the oceans coastal zones.

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To increase scientific knowledge of marine
coastal environments and to improve societys
appreciation of the oceans effect on our lives
MSN Vision

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Importance

• Ocean productivity is concentrated in the
  coastal zone where nutrients run off the land and
  well up from the deep. The coastal environments
  include the Earth's most biologically productive
  ecosystems estuaries, wetlands, mangroves, sea
  grasses, coral and oyster reefs.
• They are of immense economic and environmental
  importance and comprise 95 of the oceans'
  fisheries. Our coastal communities are the most
  densely populated and fastest growing areas in
  the U.S.

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MSN Goals

• To ensure the Networks integrated support of
  Discovering and Understanding Lifes Diversity,
  a core scientific mission of the Smithsonian
  Science Strategic Plan.
• To ensure that the whole of the integrated
  Network is larger than the sum of its parts
  leading to enhanced productivity through
• collaborative and comparative research
  facilitated by increased inter-unit coordination
  and access
• marine infrastructure development and support

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MSN Goals (cont.)

• professional training and outreach
• effective allocation of funding and,
• transparent development, buy-in, participation,
  and support from scientists, program managers,
  Unit Directors, Under Secretary and Secretary.

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NATURE 24 June 04
Ocean Planet (1995)
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MSN Milestones

• 1998 Formalization of a pan-institutional
  Marine Science Network
• initiated at a workshop at SERC (50 SI
  participants)
• 1999 2 follow-up MSN organizational meetings
  (10 participants)
• 1999 Dedication of new Carrie Bow Cay Marine
  Field Station
• 1999 Dedication of new SMS at Fort Pierce
  facility
• 2000 MSN concept and infrastructure
  allocations approved by
• Under Secretary and Director of Scientific
  Programs
• 2001 Lang, M. and A. Hines. Smithsonian marine
  research. J.
• Marine Techn. Soc. 34 (4) 50-60
• 2001 Launch of the MSN website
  www.si.edu/marinescience
• 2001-2004 Annual MSN Calls for Proposals for
  Infrastructure and
• Research Awards and Fellowships
• 2003 Dedication of Bocas del Toro Marine
  Laboratory

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Clavelina picta
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Marine Research Expertise

• Systematics
• Evolutionary Biology
• Ecology
• Geology
• Paleontology

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Marine Scientist Employees (53)

• STRI Bermingham, Capson, Christy, Collin,
  DCroz, Fortunato, Guzman, Jackson, Knowlton,
  Lessios, Robertson, Torchin.
• SERC Breitburg, Coats, Feller, Gallegos, Hines,
  Jordan, Osman, Neale, Ruiz, Whigham.
• NMNH Botany Adey, Faust, Littler, Norris.
  Zoology Baldwin, Cairns, Fauchald, Ferrari,
  Harasewych, Hope, Johnson, Kornicker, Lemaitre,
  Mead, Norenburg, Pawson, Ruetzler, Springer,
  Tyler. Mineral Sciences Fiske. Paleobiology
  Buzas, Huber, Macintyre, Stanley. Entomology
  Mathis. SMS Paul, Tunberg.
• NZP Frazier, Hagedorn, Oftedal, Ralls.

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MSN Use by SI Scientists(FY00-04)
Note NMNH - 9 of 27 employees did not use MSN
facilities NZP - 1 of 4 employees used SMSFP once
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Marine Science Resources

• Long-term field research and site stability
• SERC 39-yr research on coastal zone
• SMS 30-yr research Florida ecosystems
• CCRE 32-yr marine research
• STRI 40-yr marine research
• Location
• spans the latitudinal gradient of the western
  Atlantic and across the isthmus of Panama.

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Marine Collections and Publications

• Peer-reviewed publications 6,000
• Field guides and identification keys
• Marine invertebrate, algal, fish and geological
  collections
• Smithsonian Contributions to Marine Science,
  Zoology, and Botany
• Atoll Research Bulletin
• Databases

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MSN Assets

• Facility access to important ecosystems
• Chesapeake Bay
• Indian River Lagoon and Gulf Stream
• Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
• Isthmus of Panama Caribbean/Pacific
• Research vessels
• Near-shore coastal oceanographic research vessels
  and workboats
• Scientific Diving Program
• www.si.edu/dive

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MSN Funding

• Federal appropriations, and
• Johnson and Hunterdon Oceanographic Research
  Endowments
• provide core support for staff salaries,
  facilities, collections, long-term environmental
  monitoring and operating funds.
• This support is used to leverage significant
  extramural funding from NSF, NIH, NOAA, DOD, EPA,
  USCG, USFW, State and regional governments, and
  private foundations.

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MSN Competitive Award Programs

• MSN Postdoctoral Fellowships (40,000) 2-year
  appointment, main criteria are research
  excellence and use of two primary MSN research
  sites for comparative work.
• Marine Workshops and Colloquia (15,000) e.g.,
  Bocas del Toro Taxonomy (2) Historical records
  analysis for coral reef management Twin Cays
  Mangrove Symposium Marine Genetics.
• Marine Research Awards Pilot projects (10,000)
  serve as seed funding to develop proposals for
  external funding Large research projects
  (50,000) using at least two MSN sites.
• Marine ROF (3,000) travel funds for marine
  research opportunity or for presentation of
  research results at symposia.

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Marine Postdoctoral Fellowships

• SERC Xuemei Bai
• CCRE Amy Erickson
• SMS Scott Santagata, Anja Schulze
• Angela Capper, Sandra Duran
• Mark Clementz
• MSN Cristina Diaz, David Kline
• Luiz Rocha, Steven Vollmer

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MSN Awards

• Marine PostDoc Fellowships 5 (03) 6 (04)
• Marine Workshops/Colloquia 2 (03) 3 (04)
• MSN Major Research Awards 2 (04)
• MSN Pilot projects 11 (03) 6 (04)
• CCRE SMSFP awards 52 (03) 55 (04)
• Marine ROF 13 (03) 11 (04)

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MSN Infrastructure Support

• SMSFP relocation, lab and pier construction, and
  seawater system
• Bocas del Toro marine laboratory completion
• Carrie Bow Cay rebuild and program support
• SERC 4 laboratory and marine tech support staff
• NMNH Zoology Curator of Fishes
• STRI Bocas del Toro Head Scientist and 3 support
  staff
• SMSFP Head Scientist and 6 support staff
• STRI and SERC research vessels retrofits

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Outreach

• STAR (Student Training in Aquatic Research)
• Galapagos 3D IMAX film
• Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook
• Marine Algae of the Caribbean
• Shorefishes of the Eastern Tropical Pacific

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Education and Outreach

• NZP Marine Invertebrate Exhibit
• SERC Philip D. Reed Education Center
• NMNH Ocean Hall Exhibit (FY08)
• SMSFP Marine Ecosystems Exhibit
• CCRE Belize Teachers Mangrove Workshops
• STRI Culebra Marine Exhibition Center
• STRI/OTS and Princeton Tropical Marine Ecology
  Courses

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MSN Future

• 1. RESEARCH PRIORITIES
• a. Crucial marine ecosystems
• Sustain leadership in mangrove, estuarine and
  plankton research
• Enhance leadership in coral reef research and,
• Focus research expertise on deep reefs in Belize
  and Florida.
• b. Marine invasive species
• Enhance latitudinal comparisons of invasions
  and,
• Test effects of altered marine food web structure
  on invasions, using Marine Protected Areas, MSN
  inventories, and standardized experiments.

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MSN Future (cont.)

• c. Ecological linkages among systems
• Determine mechanisms of land-sea interactions
  and,
• Determine controls on population structure and
  dynamics of key species.
• d. Biodiversity of the sea
• Complete species inventories for MSN sites
  (Encyclopedia of Life and marine barcoding)
• Speciation and evolution and,
• Assess biogeographic patterns including species
  range expansions and declines as a function of
  habitat fragmentation and global change.

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MSN Future (cont.)

• 2. FACILITATE RECRUITMENT of marine research
  scientists to ensure critical mass and fill gaps
  in MSN expertise
• Coral paleo-ecologist
• Key marine groups systematists
• Zooplankton ecologist and,
• Marine microbiologist.
• 3. FUND-RAISING PRIORITIES
• Facilitate Unit development efforts for SMS,
  CCRE, SERC, and STRI and,
• Encourage grant and contract awards.

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MSN Future (cont.)

• 4. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PRIORITIES
• Increase visibility and research results in
  popular media
• Promote distance learning
• Increase number of fellowships and,
• Enhance links and participation of MSN in
  professional not-for-profit organizations,
  scientific societies and government agencies.

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MSN Future (cont.)

• 5. IT INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS
• Distributed data systems that permit
• access to MSN long-term environmental and
  biological datasets and,
• enhanced acquisition of spatially explicit data
• Automated and standardized long-term
  environmental data collection and,
• Interactive video communication among MSN sites
  to promote scientific exchange and educational
  outreach.

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MSN Steering Committee

• Biff Bermingham (STRI Deputy Director)
• Tuck Hines (SERC Assistant Director)
• Michael Lang (Ofc. Under Secretary for Science)
• Valerie Paul (NMNH-SMSFP Director)
• Klaus Ruetzler (NMNH-CCRE Director)
• Phil Taylor (NSF Biol. Oceanography Director)