Centennial celebration
Barro Colorado Island, 100 years of science and discoveries
August 15, 2023
Five Panamanian scientists share a glance at the experience of working in the tropical biologist’s dream, Barro Colorado Island.
Five Panamanian scientists share a glance at the experience of working in the tropical biologist’s dream, Barro Colorado Island.
Research projects in our lab combine approaches from behavioral ecology, functional morphology, ethology and evolution of behavior. Our work focuses mostly on the ultimate and proximate causes of behavior in an ecological and social context, with an emphasis on how ecological or social...
Irene Kopelman’s most recent exhibit, which includes a new collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, can be seen at Panama’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
Over the last two years, staff at the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center have worked to save bats from the dangers of the Russian full-scale invasion. Now, they join researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to study bat behavior in Panama.
An innovative and low-cost project to bio-convert food scraps into fertilizer, animal feed and extractable oil using the Black Soldier Fly.
Spix’s disc-winged bats shrieked when they were first shown mealworms, a new food for them. Were they alarmed, or were they communicating their excitement to their fellow bats?
A baby hummingbird hatches. But it has fluffy feathers on its back, looking just like a dangerous caterpillar. Could this be something unusual among hummingbirds?
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.
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.
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.