Much of the aquatic life in Chesapeake Bay is very depen- 

 dent upon the shallow water habitats along the margins of the 

 bay. SERC scientists measured fish and crustacean utilization 

 of these shallow water areas as refuges and found abundances 

 of small species and the young of larger species were greatest 

 in depths of less than two feet. Experiments were also con- 

 ducted on the habitat values of coarse woody debris, such as 

 tree branches. Populations of common species such as grass 

 shrimp preferred to live in areas of the shallows containing 

 coarse woody debris. These studies indicate the importance of 

 maintaining forested shorelines without bulkheading to pro- 

 vide refuges for these organisms. 



The insecticide Dimilin is commonly used for control of 

 Gypsy Moths, which defoliate trees and have caused extensive 

 forest damage in the eastern United States. Dimilin's physio- 

 logical effect is to disrupt invertebrate growth. SERC scien- 

 tists studied the effects of Dimilin on the development of 

 immature copepods in Chesapeake Bay. Bioassays for short- 

 term survival and development to the next growth stage 

 found that concentrations of less than one part in a billion had 

 significant adverse effects. These results indicate that caution 

 should be exercised in applications of this insecticide near the 

 Chesapeake Bay to avoid adverse impacts on natural zooplank- 

 ton populations, an important component of the food chain. 

 The education program at SERC also had a very successful 

 year. Many visiting groups took pan in such activities as the 

 Java History Trail, rhe Discovery Trail, canoeing on the tidal 

 creek, and estuarine activities in the boat dock area. These 

 groups included handicapped, elderly, children, and minori- 

 ties. SERC also hosted a large number of workshops and edu- 

 cational outings for teachers, administrators, and scientists. 

 At SERC these groups can combine meetings and lectures 

 with seeing field research in action within a wide variety of 

 natural habitats. 



SERC also continued its very successful work/learn intern- 

 ship program for undergraduates and beginning graduate stu- 

 dents. This is a competitive international program. 

 Prospective interns apply to work with a SERC staff scientist 

 or educator on a specific project. In addition SERC staff and 

 facilities attracted a large number of graduate students, post- 

 doctoral fellows, and visiting scientists. 



SERC manages approximately 2,600 acres of land, approxi- 

 mately 300 actes of which has historically been maintained in 

 agricultural uses. In some cases those land uses are a require- 

 ment in legal covenants. The SERC research program also fo- 

 cuses some of its efforts on the interactions among 

 agricultural lands and natural habitats. In recent years the 

 population of white-tailed deer has been increasing rapidly. 

 This excessive deer population was destroying crops on SERC 

 lands and adjacent private lands, spreading Lyme disease 

 (which is carried by the deer tick), and was also damaging the 

 natural habitats upon which SERC conducts long-term stud- 

 ies. None of the available approaches to managing the deet 

 population was practical in the SERC situation except hunt- 

 ing. In the fall of 1993 the Smithsonian agreed to allow a 



Maryland Department of Natural Resources managed deer 

 hunt on SERC lands. One hundred and fifty one deer were 

 taken from SERC lands in this hunt. In 1994 an environmen- 

 tal assessment for public deer hunting on the lands of SERC 

 was developed and widely distributed for comment. A public 

 participation meeting was held and a final assessment was is- 

 sued in September, 1994 which had wide-spread support from 

 home owners, farmers, sportsmen, naturalists, and the scien- 

 tific community. 



Smithsonian Institution Libraries 



Barbara J. Smith, Director 



The S. Dillon Ripley Library Endowment, established in 1993 

 with funds contributed by numerous individual and founda- 

 tion donors, enabled the purchase of 126 notable books, in- 

 cluding works to support research in Native American 

 studies, a twelve-volume series on African-American life from 

 1861 to 1900, and the first of several projected volumes of the 

 Flora of Japan. To support Native Ametican research and 

 programs, the Libraries purchased with funds donated by 

 Ruth L. Webb an illustrated account of the Pacific Railroad 

 Survey of 1853. Members of the Smithsonian Council made a 

 collective gift to purchase research materials in Anthropology 

 in honor of Secretary Emeritus Robert McC. Adams, and a do- 

 nation from the Jacques Admiralty Law Firm supported cata- 

 loguing of the world-class trade catalogue collection. Funds 

 from the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Fund provided 

 for the purchase of a rare 18th-century work on mollusks. The 

 Women's Committee awarded funds for conservation of a 17th- 

 century travel book in the Coopet-Hewitt National Design 

 Museum Branch and supported purchase of adjustable exhibi- 

 tion mounts for use in the Libraries' Exhibition Gallery. The 

 Libraries received a large bequest of books from the personal 

 collection of Paul Garber, founder of the National Air and 

 Space Museum, and also benefitted from contributions from 

 donors for Memorial and Honorary gifts, and other financial 

 contributions. 



The highlight of the year was the installation of SIRIS, the 

 Smithsonian Institution Research Information System, with 

 access available at office pes. SIRIS catties the Libraries on- 

 line catalogue and modules for acquisition, cataloguing, and 

 circulation. A complex and fully integrated system, installa- 

 tion entailed major changes in procedures and conversion of 

 modules, installing access software on over 100 microcomput- 

 ers, and conducting lengthy testing of the system and ttain- 

 mg for staff and users. A method of transferring ordering and 

 invoice data from the SIRIS acquisitions module to the new 

 Smithsonian Financial System (SFS) was implemented result- 

 ing in speediet ordering from publishers. The telecommunica- 

 tions structure was completely revised, and all local branches 



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