A cutting-edge molecular lab
and launching point to the
Eastern Tropical Pacific
My lab’s research focuses on coastal marine ecology with an emphasis on host-parasite and consumer interactions, infectious diseases and biological invasions. I focus on how trophic interactions such as parasitism and predation alter populations, community structure and ecosystems. Parasites are...
Research in my lab examines the long and complex history of peoples and cultures in the Americas, and how these ancient societies developed both by changing, and being transformed by, their surrounding environment. My lab uses zooarchaeology, or the identification of animal bones, shells, and...
Exploring the tropical peoples
and ecosystems of the past
Scientists first discovered the shiny sea critter in 2009. Genetic testing suggested it crossed the canal on more than one occasion.
To better explain how deer populations have declined throughout tropical America, one researcher delves into a collection of 2,500 deer bones at the Smithsonian archaeology lab in Panama.
Panama’s infamous canal grass rises from the ashes of fire much faster than trees, complicating reforestation efforts.
At one of the oldest Maya sites, STRI staff archaeologist, Ashley Sharpe, discovered dog bones from the Guatemalan highlands deep within two pyramids.
Smithsonian marine biologist Ross Robertson suspects that the regal demoiselle hitched a ride to the Gulf of Mexico on an oil rig. Its outstanding success in its new habitat raises questions about its impact in the Gulf.
Initial results from a massive study comparing marine organisms sampled along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Panama with samples from the Atlantic show that the success of invaders is lopsided.
