Indigenous marine biologist deciphers the evolution of feeding strategies of sister fish species on both sides of the isthmus of Panama
Historical Ecology
Since the earliest humans settled in Central America, there has been a profound impact on the land and the oceans of the region. Trash heaps, or middens, provide a rich and unique record of the animals harvested from forests and seas, and reveal how people altered the environment and even the evolution of wild animal species over time. Pioneering work with microfossils, such as phytoliths, starch grains and pollen, gives STRI researchers an unrivalled opportunity to reconstruct the remarkable process of crop domestication. Cores extracted from the sea floor uncover the state of Caribbean coral reefs over millennia, pinpointing when they began to deteriorate and providing guidelines for reef conservation.
100 Years of Tropical Biology at the Smithsonian’s Barro Colorado Island Research Station in Panama
Have Antillean manatees crossed the Panama Canal?
What the leaves tell us: stories of extinction and the origins of tropical forests
Scientists share lessons about the Anthropocene’s impact on tropical forests
Biodiversity loss despite a century of protection
