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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Smithsonian Voices

bat bird census cover copy.jpg

Birds by Day, Bats by Night: Paired Long-Term Census of Bats and Birds Starts in Panama

Research teams studying bats and birds gather in Panama’s Soberanía National Park to celebrate the launch of a long-term census of bats designed to complement the bird census, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year

Elisabeth King & Rosannette Quesada Hidalgo | May 7, 2025

_ground air space cover copy.jpg

NASA Is Studying Tropical Ecosystems by Linking the Ground, Air and Space

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

Rosannette Quesada Hidalgo | April 30, 2025

Excavations at Cerro Juan Diaz in 1994

Archaeologists Study the Connections Between the Deceased Buried at Cerro Juan Díaz, Panama

Individuals recovered at the archaeological site of Cerro Juan Díaz shed more light on how the local communities buried and honored their dead

Vanessa Crooks | March 31, 2025

Cover_Newly hatched White-necked Jacobin chick

Possible Caterpillar-Like Baby Hummingbird Discovered in Panama

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?

Rosannette Quesada Hidalgo | March 23, 2025
Frog defenders

Bezos Earth Fund Gives $2 Million Grant to Launch Groundbreaking Amphibian Conservation Project Across Latin America

A grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to help save 25 frog species through conservation, rewilding and disease prevention efforts

Vanessa Crooks | March 20, 2025
Dendrology course field trip

A New Course by ForestGEO Experts Teaches the Biodiversity of Panamanian Forests

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

Vanessa Crooks | March 19, 2025
Cover

A Composting Fly Could Significantly Reduce Organic Waste at the Smithsonian Institution

An innovative and low-cost project aims to bio-convert food scraps into fertilizer, animal feed and extractable oil using the Black Soldier Fly

Rosannette Quesada Hidalgo | March 11, 2025
Illustration from the cover of "The First 100 Years of Research on Barro Colorado: Plant and Ecosystem Science (Volumes 1 and 2)"

The First Volumes of the BCI 100 Celebration Series Are Now Available Online

To celebrate a century of scientific research in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, a series of volumes will provide a record of the major contributions to plant and ecosystem science, animal science, and the physical environment for future generations of researchers

Vanessa Crooks | March 10, 2025
Carollia perspicillata

Bat Salad: First Record of Bats Eating Entire Leaves and Not Spitting Them Out

Bats are known to chew and spit out leaves, like humans chew and spit out tobacco or coca, but this is the first continuous recording of a bat eating entire leaves

Elisabeth King | March 7, 2025
Categories
  • Connections in Nature (22)
  • Life in Deep Time (10)
  • Origins of Species and Societies (10)
  • Social Sciences (6)
  • Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet (30)
  • Tropical Research (36)
Archive
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  • 2021 (16)
  • 2022 (12)
  • 2023 (10)
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