Seedlings and tropical biodiversity
Whose shadow is safer?
September 27, 2017
A novel research project takes aim at the ageless question of what influences tropical seedling survival.
A novel research project takes aim at the ageless question of what influences tropical seedling survival.
What slows or stops a disease epidemic if the pathogen is still present? It appears that wild frogs are becoming increasingly resistant to the chytrid fungal disease that has decimated amphibian populations around the world.
Mosquitoes in the genus Aedes, which can carry dangerous viruses causing yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika, invaded the crossroads of the Americas multiple times, by land and by sea.
As researchers ask which disease-carrying mosquito species will rule Panama’s Azuero Penninsula (and perhaps the world), they discover culinary delights along the way.
Inspired by a universal call-to-action from the Interacademy Partnership (IAP) within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), in conjunction with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and other organizations, is bringing together a global team to design inclusive and equitable research-based science education.
Which mosquito species is likely to transmit the virus that causes the next epidemic? Join José Loaiza, Smithsonian research associate, senior scientist at Panama’s government research bureau, INDICASAT, and University of Panama professor, as he visits back yards and used-tire lots to find the answer.
How do microorganisms influence seed survival in the forest?
How do social interactions change in the face of illness? As humans face potential global pandemics we look to nature for examples. Close observation of another highly social animal, the vampire bat, sheds light on how interactions change—or do not change—as individuals become sick.
Different socio-economic conditions and lack of clean water may change the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Find out more about why bats carry viruses and how both bats and humans benefit from bat conservation.