Lightning strikes more than 100 million times per year in the tropics
Tropical storms often begin with an impressive display of pyrotechnics, but researchers have largely overlooked the role of lightning strikes in tropical ecosystems.
Two Panamanians in the service of the common good in Bocas del Toro
Carolina César and Viviana Bravo radically changed their work rhythm: from going out daily to the archipelago, to keeping a research station afloat.
Isolation led white-faced capuchin monkeys into the Stone Age.
After 14 thousand years of living in confinement and without the threat of predators, the white-faced capuchin monkeys on the Coiba National Park islands have begun to exhibit behaviors that have not been recorded in the mainland populations. For example, they are highly terrestrial and have learned to use stones as tools. Listen to doctoral student in animal behavior and former STRI fellow,...
Long-term consequences of river damming in the Panama Canal
As the demand for hydroelectricity and water increases in the tropics, a team of scientists explored the natural impacts of one of the oldest tropical dams in the world
Science and technology for the conservation of manatees in Bocas del Toro and the Ngäbe-Buglé region
Manatees are endangered aquatic mammals. To help protect them, researchers Héctor Guzmán from STRI, Fernando Merchán, Héctor Poveda and Javier Sánchez-Galán from the Technological University of Panama (UTP), and Guillaume Ferré from ENSEIRB-MATMECA, developed a monitoring system based on hydrophones, which detects in real-time the underwater calls these animals make to communicate with each...
The trace of suffering, in the bones
Human remains used to be considered a nuisance in archaeological excavations. Today they are considered a valuable source of information to understand the ways of life of prehistoric populations and their conditions.
New bird checklists from Jicarón and Jicarita Islands in Coiba National Park, Panama
A trip to Jicarón Island during the Coiba Bioblitz led to a published bird checklist.
A new social role for echolocation in bats that hunt together
Socially foraging bats may find food faster by listening in to the search-phase calls of their group members
Director Emeritus Matthew Larsen retires
The entire STRI community shares its gratitude with Dr. Larsen for his six years of service, for his leadership, kindness and the positive changes he has overseen.
Can social bees and ants teach us the pillars of sustainable societies?
STRI staff scientist and evolutionary biologist Bill Wcislo discusses the foibles of social bees and farming ants and the evolution of their behavior in changing environments. In a time of crisis, what can we learn from these insects about their highly efficient public health care systems?
