Does beauty beget weakness?
March 08, 2013
Male fiddler crabs’ large claws may look unwieldly, but a new study demonstrates that these large weapons are not only for show.
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Why no poop in garden?
February 15, 2013
A visit to a shaman’s garden prompts an unexpected warning about the tobacco plant spirit’s ability to do away with disrespectful visitors.
Do objects have an occult life?
February 08, 2013
In the Peruvian Amazon, a Smithsonian anthropologist learns that Yanesha people believe that certain personal objects become part of a person’s being.
Fire fuels invasive grass
October 19, 2012
Panama’s infamous canal grass rises from the ashes of fire much faster than trees, complicating reforestation efforts.
STRI’s intellectual history
October 05, 2012
With almost 50 years at the Smithsonian in Panama, evolutionary biologist Egbert Leigh has had a privileged front-row view of the institution’s scientific advances in the tropics.
What is merdigery?
September 28, 2012
Some beetles have a rather inventive, if unsavory, way of fending off predators.
Do pests keep rare tree species from becoming common?
July 15, 2012
A five-year, $2-million grant will help test the hypothesis that rare trees are more susceptible to pathogens than common trees on Barro Colorado Island.
Is there an evolutionary point of no return?
April 27, 2012
A Chilean sea snail appears to have tried two forms of development and decided to turn back before it was too late.
Presenting hidden biodiversity
February 10, 2012
An activity book for kids looks at the world of the smallest plants.
Distant relatives become new species
January 13, 2012
A five-million-year-old urchin ancestor gave rise to two common lineages of sea urchins found today on either side of the Isthmus of Panama, according to new research by a Smithsonian scientist.
