Research News

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian is one of the world’s foremost research centers in science, the arts, and the humanities. In addition to research pursued by the museums, our research centers specialize in areas of inquiry spanning the globe and the farthest reaches of the universe.

Man sits on a boat floating on wetlands
Alice Stearns
Pat Megonigal on research expedition

Pat Megonigal, head of the Smithsonian's Global Change Research Wetland, on a research expedition to the salt marshes of Virginia's Goodwin Islands.

SI-175-2022

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Person in sunglasses with wetlands in background
Chunwu Zhu
Chunwu Zhu at the Smithsonian’s Global Change Research Wetland

Chunwu Zhu, lead author of a new study on how sea level rise stifles wetland growth, at the Smithsonian’s Global Change Research Wetland.

SI-175-2022

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View of lush tree tops

Northeast Australia’s relict tropical rainforests, one of the oldest and most isolated rainforests in the world. Credit: Alexander Shenkin

Tropical Trees Are Dying of Dehydration Due to Climate Change
Rainforest Trees May Be Dying Twice as Quickly Since the 1980s as a Hotter, Thirstier Atmosphere Dries Them Out
05.18.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
Fog over top of a rainforest
Alexander Shenkin
Australian Rainforest

Tree death rates have markedly increased across species in northeast Australia's tropical rainforests, threatening the critical climate mitigation and other functions of these ecosystems. 

SI-182-2022

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Three people kneel next to river looking at a fish they caught

The research team, including Murilo Pastana (center) and William Ohara (right), collect fishes from a seine net by the river bank near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil. Credit: Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara

Amazon Deforestation Threatens Newly Discovered Fish Species in Brazil
Smithsonian Researcher Helps Discover and Describe Two New Species of Freshwater Fish That Are at Risk of Extinction
05.16.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Cattle graze in small field
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Cattle ranch near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil

Cattle ranch near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil. These livestock have been raised in recently deforested areas. Pressure from farming and logging activities are leading to an unprecedented deforestation rate of the Amazon rainforest and threatening local fauna and flora. 

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Three people wade in a river to carry a fish using a tarp
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Research team collects fish specimen

The research team, including Murilo Pastana (center) and Willian Ohara (right), collecting specimens next to a river bank after fishing with a seine net near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil.

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Three people kneel to examine a fish specimen next to a river
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Research team collects fish

The research team, including Murilo Pastana (center) and William Ohara (right), collect fishes from a seine net by the river bank near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil.

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River and surrounding foliage
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
River microhabitat of Poecilocharax callipterus

The river microhabitat where Poecilocharax callipterus was discovered. This species is found among vegetation accumulating along the riverbanks, such as the aquatic grass in the lower-left corner of the photo. P.

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River and river bed full of tree roots
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Microhabitat of Poecilocharax rhizophilus fish

The river microhabitat where Poecilocharax rhizophilus was found. The species is named after the microhabitat where it lives among the roots of riparian vegetation (rhiza = roots; philos = attraction) that grow along the banks of muddy rivers.

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Single fish against a blank background
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Poecilocharax rhizophilus

The recently described Poecilocharax rhizophilus, female specimen. Adults of this species are considered miniature fish since they are never longer than one inch. Fish size ~2 centimeters.

SI-140-2022

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Two fish against a blank background
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Poecilocharax callipterus

The recently described Poecilocharax callipterus, male above and female below. Notice the dimorphic coloration and dorsal- and anal-fin elongation. Males are reddish in color and slightly darker than females and have a conspicuously long filament on the dorsal and anal fins.

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Single small fish on plain background
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Poecilocharax callipterus

The recently described Poecilocharax callipterus, a male specimen displaying the full potential of its dimorphic coloration and dorsal- and anal-fin elongation. Dimorphism is a term scientists use to describe the differences in appearance between males and females of the same species.

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Five small fish on blan background
Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara
Poecilocharax callipterus

The recently described Poecilocharax callipterus. Average fish size ~3 centimeters. 

SI-140-2022

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Black hole
EHT Collaboration
First image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way

This is the first image of Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. It is the first direct visual evidence of the presence of this black hole.

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Image of black hole
EHT Collaboration
Making of the image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has created a single image (top frame) of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, called Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), by combining images extracted from the EHT observations.

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Black hole in space

First image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Credit: EHT Collaboration

Astronomers Reveal First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy
05.12.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Bonnie Newsom
Shell midden or deposit of oysters on the Damariscotta River in Maine

Shell midden or deposit of oysters on the Damariscotta River in Maine. Sites like this contain massive quantities of oysters harvested some 2,200–1,300 years ago and were key to forming the foundation for this study.

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Low tide at a bay with oysters washed up on the shore

Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland. Credit: Torben Rick

Indigenous Peoples Have Shucked Billions of Oysters Around the World Sustainably
Global Study of Indigenous Oyster Fisheries Finds Evidence of Huge Harvests Spanning Hundreds and Even Thousands of Years
05.03.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Low tide on a bay
Torben Rick
Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland

Eroding archaeological site on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Sites like this contain massive quantities of oysters harvested over 1,000 years ago and were key to forming the foundation for this study.

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Person excavating in a deep hole
Iain McKechnie
Shell deposits at Tseshaht First Nation village in the Pacific Northwest

Dense shell midden deposit spanning the past 1,000 years as exposed during excavation at a Tseshaht First Nation village in the Pacific Northwest.

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staircase on a graa hill
Victor Thompson
Crystal River site in Florida with shell mounds

Crystal River site in Florida with massive shell mounds, dominated by oysters, pictured here during archaeological mapping and showing the modern staircase and platform built on top of one of the mounds.

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Small pit of archeological materials
Kevin McBride
Accumulation of oyster, other shellfish, animal bone and artifacts

Small “pit feature” or accumulation of oyster, other shellfish, animal bone and artifacts in Rhode Island dated to 100–500 years ago. Sites like this show the full range of sites used in the study, with this representing the smaller end of accumulation of oysters.

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Mound of shells with overgrown vegetation
Victor Thompson
Crystal River site in Florida with shell mound

Crystal River site in Florida is a massive shell mound, dominated by oysters showing the profile and dense accumulation of shell and other material.

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