The next time you eat seafood, think about the long-term effects. Will consistently eating the biggest fish or the biggest conch, mean that only the smaller individuals will have a chance to reproduce?
Lightning is common in the tropics, but its ecological effects in tropical forests are poorly understood. Steve Yanoviak, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Louisville, will summarize the basic physics of lightning, how we study lightning in Panama and the importance of lightning as an agent of tropical tree mortality.
Scientists think that climate change may have greater impact the largest trees in tropical forests, and the death of these giants has a major impact on the forest, but because these monumental trees are few and far between, almost nothing is known about what causes them to die.
Secretary of the Smithsonian awards medal to Oris Sanjur for her exceptional work in Panama
An entrepreneur who dreamed of becoming an oceanographer teams up with STRI researchers and young Latin American biologists to find out if some coral reefs are more resilient than others. His yacht will be the center of operations as they deploy high tech sensor arrays at sites around the tropical eastern Pacific.
Ongoing research by thousands of scientists is continually strengthening our understanding of the impact of climate change on our planet. Steve Paton, director of STRI’s physical monitoring program, will present an overview of the latest information concerning greenhouse gas production, global warming, and the threats posed by climate change, as well as some possible solutions to these challenges.
Coral reefs in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) are exposed to a broad range of environmental conditions defined by the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean. Regional variation in upwelling activity along the TEP make it an ideal natural laboratory to understand the importance of changing environmental conditions for reef health and resiliency. Watch Panamanian scientist Andrew Sellers explain the aims of the ambitious Rohr Reef Resilience (RRR) Project, and his experience in recent research expeditions to the Panamanian and Costa Rican Pacific.
Genetic population connectivity study of the endangered whale shark in Pacific Panama provides important data for conservation efforts.
Analyses of microbial communities in streams across different land use types suggests that passive reforestation rapidly restores water quality in lowland tropical watersheds.
The adaptation of certain plants to drought and high temperatures involves a fundamental reprogramming of their metabolism, not just a simple adjustment that can be made by regular plants.
