What is the Stony Brook - Southampton Coastal and Estuarine Research Program (SCERP)?
Founded in 2003 as a partnership between the Southampton College marine science program and the Tamarind Foundation, the goal of SCERP is to assess the environmental health of Long Island estuaries and coastal ecosystems, their habitats, and their resident populations. This is done by carefully identifying environmental areas of concern and comprehensively documenting the extent of the problems via robust scientific research. A secondary goal of SCERP is to forge solutions to environmental problems by sharing research results with municipal agencies, non-government organizations, and the public. SCERP became part of Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences in 2006. Since 2003, marine science students and professors have conducted more than 25 research projects on Long Island. Each spring, SCERP hosts its annual Environmental Symposium, which is a series of presentations of the most recent findings of SCERP and represents an opportunity for policy makers, non-government organizations, and the public to learn about recent research and new directions for SCERP. In addition to support from the Tamarind Foundation, additional support for SCERP projects have come from New York Sea Grant, the Nature Conservancy, Suffolk County, and the Town and Village of Southampton.

Much of the research conducted by SCERP occurs in estuaries. An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water, where fresh water and ocean water mix. Estuaries are of great value to the residents of Long Island as they are extremely diverse and productive habitats which host a range of important plants, animals, and fisheries. Estuaries can provide flood and water quality control and, on Long Island, are aesthetic and recreational focal points for residents. Human population expansion on Long Island has brought a series of environmental problems to estuaries which SCERP has investigated including overfishing of shellfish populations, nutrient overloading, harmful algal blooms, low oxygen in bottom waters, loss or damage of critical habitats such as eelgrass beds and salt marshes, and biological and chemical contaminants. Some of the major estuaries SCERP has worked in include Long Island Sound, the Peconic Estuary, Great South Bay, Shinnecock Bay, Moriches Bay, Quantuck Bay, and Mecox Bay.