Why study
the Tropics?

Tropical forests and reefs represent a small portion of the Earth's surface - two percent and less than one percent, respectively - but contain most of the planet's biodiversity.

We study tropical ecosystems and the people who live there because their unusually high diversity inspires great questions relevant to all organisms. How do inhabitants of the tropics evolve and learn to coexist? What lessons does nature offer humans as we seek to build sustainable societies?