Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

 

Sanctuaries in Chesapeake Shelter Higher Oyster Populations and More Marine Life—Including Parasites—Than Nearby Harvest Areas

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U.S. Rolls Out First National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy

 

Strategy Calls for Evidence-Based Protections, Stronger Information Pipeline and Greater Attention to Local and Indigenous Knowledge

Roughly 2 million species live in the world’s ocean. But scientists have only described a mere 10% of them. With extinctions on the rise and biodiversity threatened worldwide, many species are in danger of vanishing before researchers can identify them or fully grasp the benefits they provide.

 

 

 

 

 

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Why do some bacteria make mercury even more toxic?

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) scientists are working to understand why some bacteria convert mercury in the environment to its most toxic form, methylmercury. Humans and animals regularly consume methylmercury because it is concentrated in the tissues of organisms as it moves up the food chain. Understanding more about the bacteria that produce this powerful neurotoxin, through a process known as mercury methylation, may provide clues to mitigating its risks.