My research interests have mainly involved the archaeology and human ecology of the lowland American tropics together with the biogeographical and climatological history of the tropical biome. They have included study of phytoliths, starch grains and pollen at archeological sites in Panama,...
Murder mysteries may take decades to resolve, especially if they take place under the sea. The massive deaths of sea urchins in the Caribbean in the 1980’s is one of them. But only after a new killing spree erupted in 2022, could scientists corner the probable killer.
Since I joined STRI’s scientific staff in 1975, I have conducted field research on a broad range of topics relating to the reproductive biology, demography, population biology, behavior, community ecology, evolution and biogeography of tropical reef fishes, with an emphasis on those species that...
The first winner of the D. Ross Robertson Postdoctoral Fellowship for Field Studies on Neotropical Reef Fishes, Floriane Coulmance, tests a new, underwater camera system to study the connection between hamlet color patterns and genetics in fish from four countries around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
A 13-million-year-old saber-toothed marsupial skeleton discovered during paleontological explorations in Colombia is the most complete specimen recovered in the region
The first Sunday of every month, residents and visitors join researchers from the Smithsonian Bat Lab to get a close-up look at Panama’s bats.
Elizabeth (Liz) Stockwell sent this obituary of her father, STRI research associate, Henry Stockwell, in May, 2023. We published a brief mention at the time and include the entire text here.
He would have turned 77 this past October. We deeply miss his endless enthusiasm for learning and his passion for teaching others.
In the Collin Lab we work to understand how environmental conditions, their natural variation and environmental change from the climate emergency shape marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Our current work focuses on three areas (1) Documenting the biodiversity of tropical marine invertebrates, (...
During the 1970s and 1980s, I worked in community development, land-tenure and environmental projects with rural and indigenous communities in Panama and Central America. It helped me gain lots of hands-on experience and to work, within the government, towards the creation of Panama’s National...
