Panama’s Plentiful Plants
An invitation from Mireya Correa
August 23, 2013
The director of Panama’s herbaria invite visiting researchers to use these valuable resources of Panama’s astounding plant biodiversity.
The director of Panama’s herbaria invite visiting researchers to use these valuable resources of Panama’s astounding plant biodiversity.
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.
STRI is hosting Dr. Anna Mežaka, originally from Latvia and currently employed at the University of Marburg (UMR), Germany, who is doing a project called “Life on a leaf: species interactions and community dynamics in epiphyll communities” funded by a Marie Skłodowska - Curie Global Fellowship from the European Union.
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.
From tiny banana seeds to giant coconuts, it’s tough for seeds to survive in tropical soils where they are under attack by fungi, bacteria, insects and animals. By understanding how seeds defend themselves, tropical biologists contribute to reforestation, crop management and sustainable agriculture in the tropics.
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.
For these four women, the Smithsonian Institute’s internship program represented an opportunity to explore their research questions in the field