The Southeast Environmental Research Center, operated through and located on the main campus of Florida International University, is composed of faculty, research associates, students and technicians from a variety of disciplines who work together on environmental research efforts in the Southeastern United States and the neotropics. SERC was founded in 1993 in response to a growing regional need for scientific investigations in threatened environments of South Florida. Research programs developed in Biscayne National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, the Florida Keys and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary have been instrumental in providing a basis for management decisions for sustaining these fragile resources.