Egged on
How frogs’ superpowers may have led to life on land
July 31, 2024
Frogs lay eggs both in the water and in jelly-like masses on plants. Could their flexible behavior help explain how vertebrates moved from life in ocean to life on land?
Frogs lay eggs both in the water and in jelly-like masses on plants. Could their flexible behavior help explain how vertebrates moved from life in ocean to life on land?
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.
Grant Supports the Smithsonian’s Leadership Role in Bringing the Global GEO-TREES System Online
Last year we celebrated 100 years of tropical biology research, a testament to the teamwork and commitment of the STRI team to science across national boundaries. This year will bring new challenges, but our dedication to the study of tropical forests and reefs will not waver.
Virola trees in Panama are defying a well-known hypothesis from the 1970s regarding tropical biodiversity, revealing how genetics and the environment shape pathogen communities and seedling survival in tropical forests
From sonic tomographies to global biodiversity negotiations, this journey through research, resilience, and connection reveals how even the smallest organisms can shape entire ecosystems and inspire lasting change.
Through a course in dendrology, the study of the taxonomy of woody plants in the absence of flowers or fruits, two experts in forest diversity seek to leave a legacy of knowledge for future generations.
A NASA plane came to Panama to acquire aerial images to inform scientists about the diversity of tropical ecosystems. At the same time, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama collected similar data from the ground. The goal: to create an algorithm to better understand tropical ecosystems using satellite remote sensing in the future.
Data collected on juvenile and adult fringe-lipped bats reveal the first clues into the development of eavesdropping behavior in predators
The air moving above the forest carries valuable information about how trees absorb carbon, and what may happen in the future as global temperatures rise.