Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Understanding Ecosystems for a Sustainable Future

Visitors: Our campus is open for hiking, biking and paddling Monday through Saturday, 8:30am-4:30pm, with closures only on Sundays and federal holidays. All visitors should do a self-health check before arriving and bring a face covering if you wish to use the indoor restrooms. We also advise bringing a filled water bottle, as our Reed Education Center is temporarily out of potable water while we replace the water tanks. See our COVID-19 Visitor Guide for where to park, updated maps and hours, and other safety info.

Staff Profile

Sarah Donelan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Labs

Marine Invasions Research

DonelanS@si.edu

Expert Areas

benthic communities

hypoxia

invertebrates

marine ecology

marine invasive species

oysters

Biography

I’m an evolutionary ecologist interested in the effects of environmental variation on organism growth, reproduction, and behavior. My work in the Invasions lab focuses on the potential for reproduction and spawning to facilitate non-native species introductions, using hull fouling marine invertebrates as study systems. I'm also very interested in the legacy of environmental stress on organism performance – how organisms’ past experiences, either direct or indirect, affect their responses to their environment. To that end, I've studied carryover effects of early life experiences with hypoxia and warming in oysters and transgenerational and early life effects of predation risk on prey on rocky intertidal shores.

Ph.D. Northeastern University

B.A. Wesleyan University

Link to Google Scholar

Link to my website