Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce: Thirty-Eight Years of Research on the Marine Biodiversity of Florida

Abstract

The Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, located on South Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce, Florida, has had an ongoing program in the marine sciences since the early 1970s. Funded by a private trust from J. Seward Johnson, Sr., to the Smithsonian, the marine program has supported the research of Smithsonian scientists and their associates, postdoctoral fellows, resident scientists, and the operations of the station, including a small support staff. The station is administered by the National Museum of Natural History as a facility for research dedicated to the marine sciences. The Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce has developed a strong, broadly based research program focusing on ecology, evolution, systematics, and life histories of marine organisms. Ongoing studies address important issues in biodiversity, including global climate change, invasive species, harmful algal blooms, larval ecology, and evolutionary developmental biology.