Magnificent ocean giants
Tracking blue whales through oceanic corridors.
March 27, 2025
Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, travel hidden ocean highways.
Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, travel hidden ocean highways.
Research teams studying bats and birds gather in Panama’s Soberanía National Park to celebrate the launch of a long-term census of bats designed to complement the bird census which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
The brightly colored, science-packed van is bringing the Smithsonian experience to students around the country. First stop: the province of Herrera in western Panama.
Researchers compared DNA from corals and their symbiotic organisms from two sites along the Pacific coast of Panama to better understand how the different members of the coral holobiont influence their ability to tolerate temperature extremes.
A groundbreaking study of 7000-year-old exposed coral reef fossils reveals how human fishing has transformed Caribbean reef food webs: as sharks declined by 75% and fish preferred by humans became smaller, prey fish species flourished —doubling in numbers and growing larger. This unprecedented look into prehistoric reef communities shows how the loss of top predators cascaded through the entire food web, shifting the balance amongst coral reefs.
Estimating shark populations on degraded Caribbean reefs is complicated, especially when there few around. A pioneering member of the O’Dea lab has developed a technique to estimate shark populations — both past and present — using their microscopic skin scales
From deep time to real time
in western Caribbean ecosystems
In the Collin Lab we work to understand how environmental conditions, their natural variation and environmental change from the climate emergency shape marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Our current work focuses on three areas (1) Documenting the biodiversity of tropical marine invertebrates, (...
A cutting-edge molecular lab
and launching point to the
Eastern Tropical Pacific
In one of the wildest places
in Central America