Back from the dead
Tropical tree fern repurposes its dead leaves
Febrero 26, 2024
A species of tree fern found only in Panama uses ‘zombie leaves’ or reanimated dead leaf fronds, and turns them into root structures that feed the mother plant.
A species of tree fern found only in Panama uses ‘zombie leaves’ or reanimated dead leaf fronds, and turns them into root structures that feed the mother plant.
A massive coral bleaching event in Panama’s Guna Yala islands along the eastern Caribbean coast signals a major problem with rising ocean temperatures and their long-term effects.
The elusive prickly shark was observed during a submarine expedition to the depths of the Cordillera de Coiba seamounts, a biodiversity hotspot and marine protected area.
Marine conservation scientists advocate for a cultural shift in academia that fosters deeper connections with places of study and encourages collaboration with local communities to make science more equitable
What started as a student summer job, became Anibal Velarde’s life’s work. Over fifty years later, he is still at the Smithsonian
The smallest and possibly most ancient terrestrial plants, bryophytes are an important part of our environment, but in the tropics, there is still much to learn about them.
Ancient, fossilized grape seeds from Panama, Colombia and Peru, provide perspective on the evolution of plants after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
An improved method of identifying manatees by their vocalizations makes it easier to tell them apart, to better estimate their populations and help efforts for their conservation.
To create a global standard for forest carbon storage, we need boots on the ground. The GEO-TREES system of forest plots offers this immediately: establishing a single method for forest carbon estimation at existing on-the-ground forest study sites around the world.
First experimental comparison of the effects of temperature and oxygen deprivation on three key Caribbean coral species shows that nightly low oxygen tips the balance of species survival away from tall, elegant, reef-building corals, towards lower, weedy corals, simplifying coral communities.