Botanist Alicia Ibañez hopes the book, which presents new data on the tiny island’s endemic flora and fauna in both Spanish and Ngäbere, will increase awareness of the importance of preserving its biodiversity.
Giant agates found in an island on the Pacific coast of Panama prompted a study on the area’s geology to answer the question of how the Isthmus evolved and became a bridge between two continents.
Panama is a land of volcanoes, with a long history of volcanic activity.
The tiny female fig wasp carries a huge burden but cutting corners may not be worth the risk.
Geologist Tony Coates changed the way we think about the ground under our feet. He confirmed the date when North and South America were connected at about 3 million years ago. We remember Tony not only as a skilled field geologist, but as a kind person and storyteller, who captured the imagination of scientists and non-scientists alike with his ability to spin a tale.
A Smithsonian emeritus scientist takes a field trip to some of Panama’s most important known marine fossil deposits for a quick lesson the age of the Ithsmus of Panama.
My primary research focuses on the ecological mechanisms that structure forest communities and determine their fine- and large-scale spatial and temporal dynamics. This research spans topics as diverse as forest demography, functional traits, canopy structure and change over succession, spatial...
As Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, I retired in June, 2020 from the job of managing more than 400 employees, an annual budget of $35 million, and the institute’s research facilities ...
My primary research interest is the ecology of tropical rainforests, plant-animal interactions and theoretical ecology. Along with Robin Foster (now at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago), I founded the 50-hectare forest dynamics plot on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal. The...
Eavesdropping behavior in the canopy may answer questions about how acoustic interplay among animals has developed over millions of years in the forest
