The mission of the MBL's Ecosystems Center is to investigate the structure and functioning of ecological systems and to apply the resulting knowledge to the wise management of natural resources. Center scientists investigate the biological, chemical, and physical processes that link species and their physical environment to predict their response to changing environmental conditions.
Research questions focus on ecosystem viability in the face of changing conditions.
In Waquoit Bay on Cape Cod and in Plum Island Sound north of Boston, we are learning specifically how changing land use and heavy reliance on fertilizers affect theflow of sediments and nutrients into streams, lakes, rivers, and estuaries and what that means for fish populations. They study tundra ecosystems for changes in plant and soil composition because climate models predict that any atmospheric warming will be greatest at high latitudes. This innovative research and education program supplements the curricula at liberal arts colleges and small universities and includes training in aquatic and terrestrial ecology, biogeochemistry, and mathematical modeling. More than 30 schools are members of the SES consortium. A New Environmental Sciences Building Since its inception in 1975, The Ecosystems Center has grown into a vital center of ecological research with an international reputation for excellence.