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Abstract INTRODUCTION TO THE SMITHSONIAN MARINE SCIENCE NETWORK Michael A. Lang The Smithsonian Institution operates a unique network of coastal laboratories and long-term marine research sites in the western Atlantic Ocean that extends along the east coast of North and Central America, bridging the Panamanian isthmus from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The Smithsonian Marine Science Network (MSN) provides unparalleled access to Atlantic shore ecosystems through its facilities on the Chesapeake Bay, Indian River lagoon, Mesoamerican barrier reef, and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Panama. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program in Belize and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have each contributed for more than 35 years to the increase and diffusion of knowledge through peer-reviewed contributions to marine sciences. Through the Office of the Under Secretary for Science, the MSN Steering Committee (E. Bermingham, A. Hines, M. Lang, V. Paul, K. Ruetzler, O. Oftedal and P. Taylor) prioritized its goals to ensure the Network’s integrated support of “Discovering and Understanding Life’s Diversity,” a core scientific mission of the Smithsonian Science Strategic Plan; to ensure that the whole of the integrated Network is larger than the sum of its parts; to support enhanced productivity through collaborative and comparative research facilitated by increased inter-unit coordination and access; to provide marine infrastructure development and support; to foster professional training and outreach; and, to effectively allocate competitive research funding. MSN workshops and colloquia have been particularly productive, as has our investment in an active marine postdoctoral fellowship program. The 2007 Smithsonian Marine Science Symposium celebrates the work of Smithsonian scientists, collaborators and postdoctoral fellows and highlights milestones in its next phase of evolution.
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