Reports of the Museums and Research Institutes 



39 



has a potentially wide application in forest survey, experi- 

 mentation, and management. 



SERC's studies of forest ecology also extend to understory 

 plants. One such plant, is Arisaema, commonly known in the 

 United States as Jack-in-the-pulpit, a genus of woodland 

 herbs common to the forests of both eastern North America 

 and Japan. Each species is dioecious (with separate male and 

 female plants), but individual plants experience sex changes 

 during its growth process. Their vase-like flowers are used 

 extensively by many species of insects, including herbivores, 

 predators, parasites, fungivores, and detritivores. Recent 

 studies by Dr. Ilka Feller have revealed similar patterns of 

 sex-biased herbivory and community structure in North 

 America and Japan. This study helps to understand how nat- 

 ural communities of organisms are organized and what 

 factors control plant-animal interactions. 



Another plant ecology study at SERC focused on orchids. 

 Orchids are the most diverse family of flowering plants on 

 Earth, and many species, particularly species of terrestrial 

 habitats such as forests, bogs, and fens, have become endan- 

 gered because of human activities. Development of 

 restoration plans for threatened and endangered terrestrial 

 orchids requires an understanding of the ecological relation- 

 ships that exist between the orchids and the mycorrhizal 

 fungi that they host. Particularly important is an under- 

 standing of the relationships between mycorrhiza and orchid 

 seeds and seedlings, life history stages, which are difficult to 

 study in nature. SERC scientists had previously developed a 

 technique to study the germination of orchid seeds in na- 

 ture. More recently they have used isolation techniques to 

 develop a large collection of orchid mycorrhiza for use in lab- 

 oratory and field experiments. Dr. Dennis Whigham of 

 SERC and collaborators from Denmark, Oregon State Uni- 

 versity, and York University in the United Kingdom have 

 recently used molecular, morphological, and physiological 

 techniques to determine that most of the terrestrial orchids 

 that they are studying host several different mycorrhiza. 

 Seeds of several of the orchid species being studied germi- 

 nate without orchid mycorrhiza, but they germinate faster 

 when mycorrhiza are present. Seeds of other orchids will not 

 germinate at all unless they are exposed to very specific or- 

 chid mycorrhiza. Perhaps most importantly, SERC 

 researchers have demonstrated that orchid seedlings need to 

 become infected with mycorrhiza very soon after germina- 

 tion in order for them to survive and grow. They are also 

 finding that the spatial distribution of orchid mycorrhiza in 

 nature is highly variable at very small scales. These results 

 suggest that restoration plans, to be successful, will require a 

 much greater understanding of the habitat requirements of 

 orchid mycorrhiza. The SERC research to date has revealed 

 for the first time the high level of complexity that exists be- 

 tween terrestrial orchids, their mycorrhiza, and the 

 environments where both occur. 



SERC's Invasion Biology Program, directed by Dr. Gre- 

 gory Ruiz, continues to be the nation's leading center for 

 research and analysis of biological invasions in coastal marine 

 ecosystems. Currently, the transport of ballast water in com- 

 mercial ships is the most important mechanism of species 



introduction in the coastal zone, because it moves large 

 numbers of planktonic larvae and micro-organisms from port 

 to port across oceans. SERC is the home of the National Bal- 

 last Water Information Clearinghouse, which is developing a 

 database of ballast water released by all ships arriving from 

 foreign ports to all U.S. ports. The database will be used to 

 determine patterns of ballast water delivery and compared to 

 biological invasions in U.S. coastal waters. During the past 

 year, SERC scientists completed an analysis of the history of 

 biological invasions of Chesapeake Bay, providing the most 

 detailed summary of introduced species for any region in the 

 world. SERC experiments aboard oil tankers headed for Port 

 Valdez, Alaska, tested ways to rid ballast water of potentially 

 invasive species transported on ships. 



This year there was a big success story for SERC exemplify- 

 ing public-private partnership. Major corporate support was 

 received from the Mills Corporation for SERC's outreach ac- 

 tivities. Donations from the Mills Corporation supported 

 SERC's first traveling school exhibition, "Tales of the Blue 

 Crab." The exhibition illustrates the ecology of the blue crab 

 and is directly tied to national science curriculum standards. 

 The innovative exhibition was dedicated at a gala ceremony 

 and reception held at the Institutions Arts and Industries 

 Building in Washington. Smithsonian Provost Dennis O'Con- 

 nor, SERC Director Ross Simons, and Victoria Jenkins of the 

 Mills Corporation, corporate underwriter of the exhibition, 

 addressed specially invited guests, who included members of 

 the U.S. Congress and their staffs and Smithsonian benefac- 

 tors. The exhibition will begin traveling to schools 

 throughout the mid- Atlantic region in the fall of 1999. 



The Mills Corporation also provided support for SERC's 

 public lecture series "An Ecological History of the Chesa- 

 peake Bay." This well-attended lecture series featured both 

 SERC's Pi's and guest speakers who provided attendees a 

 wealth of knowledge regarding the complex interrelation of 

 cultural and scientific history on one of America's most im- 

 portant and cherished waterways. 



Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 



Ira Rubinoff, Director 



During FY 1999, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Insti- 

 tute (STRI) hosted more than 500 visiting scientists and 

 students who joined the STRI scientific staff of 33 in their 

 efforts to enrich our knowledge about tropical environmenrs, 

 biologically the richest on our planet. 



Sevetal STRI staff scientists, visiting researchers, and stu- 

 dents initiated research programs at STRI's Bocas del Toro 

 field station in Isla Colon on the Caribbean coast of Panama 

 that was opened in FY 1998. STRI staff scientists Nancy 

 Knowlton and Hector Guzman are conducting research on 

 corals, Penelope Barnes is studying sea grasses and mollusks, 

 and Candy Feller and Catherine Lovelock from the Smith- 

 sonian Environmental Research Center are studying 

 mangroves. Anthony Coates and Jeremy Jackson, STRI 



