20 



Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 2000 



For nearly 30 years, the National Zoological Park has 

 been a center of research in giant panda biology, behavior, 

 and conservation, making significant contributions to 

 knowledge of endangered species. After the deaths of the 

 Zoo's original giant panda pair — Ling-Ling in 1992 and 

 Hsing-Hsing in 1999 — the Zoo arranged for the long-term 

 loan of two pandas from the China Wildlife Conservation 

 Association. Tian Tian, a male born in 1997, and Mei Xiang, 

 a female born in 1998, arrived at the Zoo on December 6, 

 2000. 



In the next decade, the Zoo will collaborate with other 

 organizations, including the China Wildlife Conservation 

 Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the World 

 Wildlife Fund, and various zoos on an expanded program of 

 research and professional training. 



The Zoo's research led to success in the propagation of 

 othet disappearing species this year. Mandara, a 17-year-old 

 lowland gorilla, gave birth to her fourth offspring. Lowland 

 gorillas, native to the tropical forests of West and Central 

 Africa, are considered endangered. 



Through the Species Survival Plan, coordinated by the 

 American Zoo and Aquarium Association, zoos in the 

 United States are engaged in a collective effort to create a 

 self-sustaining zoo population of the world's largest ape. 



As Tropical Storm Floyd moved steadily toward the mid- 

 Atlantic states in fall 1999, staff at the Smithsonian 

 Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Mary- 

 land, geared up for a long-awaited research opportunity. By 

 measuring stream flows at the height of the storm, SERC 

 scientists continued their quest for solutions to a major envi- 

 ronmental problem. 



Since the early 1970s, they have studied the movement 

 of sediments and plant nutrients into the Chesapeake Bay, 

 using the Rhode River and its watershed as a model system. 

 The resulting accumulations threaten the ecosystem by 

 killing off sea grasses and depleting the oxygen supply. Sci- 

 entists think heavy storm flows might be a factor, but they 

 have not been able to test this hypothesis in recent yeats be- 

 cause of severe drought conditions. 



Floyd changed all that. Two SERC "stream teams" braved 

 heavy currents to find flow rates that were up to 100 times 

 higher than usual. The tesearchers' Floyd adventure added 

 crucial comparative data to SERC's studies. 



Cherry blossoms appear earlier every year in Washington, 

 D.C. — on average, seven days earlier than they did three 

 decades ago. Global warming may be the reason, according 

 to National Museum of Natural History scientists who ana- 

 lyzed botanical data during a 30-year study. They found 

 significant correlations between temperature and early flow- 

 ering: As the average minimum temperature rises, flowering 

 plants begin to bloom earlier in the spring. 



Museum scientists Stanwyn Shetler, Mones Abu-Asab, 

 Paul Peterson, and Sylvia Stone Orli studied 100 species in 

 and around Washington. They determined that 89 show a 

 consistent trend of earlier flowering, including dogwood, 

 columbine, bluebells, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and the famous 

 flowering cherry trees that are a rite of spring in the nation's 

 capital. 



The phenomenon could affect far more than the spring 

 tourist season. We could expect a gradually expanding grow- 

 ing season, as well as long-term changes in local flora. Plants 

 that prefer colder climates could die out, and weedy species 

 that thrive on warm weather could spread. People who are 

 allergic to pollen could suffer over a longer period, because 

 wind-pollinated trees are among the first to bloom. 



Smithsonian botanists are continuing theit study so they 

 can contribute to the understanding of global wanning and 

 its effects. 



Art conservation and scientific research at the Smithson- 

 ian preserve the nation's collections while contributing to 

 knowledge in the field. At the Freer and Sackler Galleries, 

 the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research is 

 involved in crucial conservation work on the renowned col- 

 lection of Chinese paintings with the support of a $250,000 

 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The program also 

 provides valuable professional training and collaborative op- 

 portunities for conservators in the United States and abroad. 

 Another Freer and Sackler team, along with scientists from 

 Johns Hopkins University, is exploring the possibility that 

 techniques from the automotive and aerospace industries 

 could be used to study ancient metalworking. With a grant 

 from the National Center for Preservation Technology and 

 Training of the National Park Service, they are studying a 

 method used to examine metals to find out whether it is ap- 

 propriate for conserving and authenticating works of art. 



On-line and in person, researchers' access to Smithsonian 

 libraries and archives is faster and more complete. Search- 

 ing the Smithsonian Library Catalog through the Smith- 

 sonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) 

 is a simpler, smoother process now that SIRIS is an inte- 

 grated system that supports cataloguing, circulation, 

 acquisitions, and public access. Among the new editions in 

 the Electronic Library are three rare books in natural his- 

 tory, which researchers can peruse on-line in high-quality 

 digital editions. 



Collections guides such as the Archives of American Art's 

 Papers of Latino and Latin American Artists — reissued this year 

 in a second edition with 43 additional collections — provide 

 a road map to the Archives' extensive original source materi- 

 als on American art and cultural history. Finding aids are 

 being converted for electronic access, oral history transcripts 

 are available on-line, and a new search engine improves Web 

 service. 



Smithsonian-sponsored public symposiums in the arts and 

 the humanities present current research and raise challeng- 

 ing issues. "Reflections in Black: A History of Black 

 Photographers, 1840 to the Present," this year's James A. 

 Porter Colloquium cosponsored by the Anacostia Museum 

 and Center for African American History and Culture and 

 Howard University, brought together more than 30 of the 

 nation's most respected African American photographers 

 and art historians for lectures and demonstrations. At the 

 National Museum of American History, Behring Center, 

 overflow audiences attended "Slavery in History and Mem- 

 ory," a two-day symposium that looked at images of slavery 

 and how they continue to haunt race relations in this coun- 



