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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Toby Kiers

Fungi Expert Is on a Mission to Protect Global Natural Underground Networks

The youngest woman to receive the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers was also the youngest student on Barro Colorado Island when she first burrowed underground into the fascinating and complex world of fungi

Glitter and Globug

How Camera Traps at the Smithsonian’s Research Institute in Panama Inspired a New Generation of Tropical Scientists

The long-term mammal monitoring project on Barro Colorado Island is one of the most unique camera trap systems in the tropics and the first of its kind

Atlantic forest treefrog Aplastodiscus leucopygius

Connected Forests Favor More Diverse, Disease-Preventing Microbes

New research shows that forest connecting different types of habitats may help frogs fight a deadly amphibian fungus

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Smithsonian’s Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project Releases Panama’s Critically Endangered Golden Frogs Into the Wild

After disappearing from the wild due to a deadly fungal disease, the Panamanian golden frog is being reintroduced through the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC). In a recent trial, 100 captive-bred frogs were released to study rewilding strategies.

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Leafcutter Ants Have Blind Spots, Just Like Truck Drivers

Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama discovered that carrying oversized loads limits the ability to perceive the trail in leafcutter ants, akin to blind spots while we are driving

Genome_3

A Comparison of Colorful Hamlets From the Caribbean Challenges Ideas About How Species Arise

Scientists have been thinking about how new species evolve since Darwin wrote On The Origin of Species in 1859. The results presented here call into question some of the most common explanations of how species originate.

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Mutualism Under Pressure: New Research in Panama Shows a Plant's Ability to Keep Its Defender Ants Happy

Scientists discovered that swollen-thorn acacias invested more in ant rewards during a drought, suggesting that mutualistic interactions play a crucial role in the plant's survival, even during climate stress

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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

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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

Fungi in Barro Colorado Island

How Even the Smallest Organisms Can Shape Entire Ecosystems and Inspire Lasting Change

From sonic tomographies to global biodiversity negotiations, this journey through research, resilience, and connection reveals how small organisms, death and decay bring about new life

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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?

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

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

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

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'Scientists for Scientists' Wartime Grant Brings Ukrainian Bat Biologists to Panama

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

Imama

Between Pasture and Forest: The Crusade to Protect the Jaguar in Panama

Fundación Yaguará Panamá not only leads the protection of the largest feline in the Americas in cattle ranching areas of the country, but also promotes gender equality by actively involving women in key roles in the project, both at the scientific and community levels.

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Smarter Foragers Do Not Forage Smarter

Why do primates have big brains? In the Panamanian rainforest, scientists pitted large-brained primates against smaller-brained mammals to find out who was the smartest forager.

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Red Flags: I'm Not the Bug for You

Recent research conducted in Panama has revealed that the waving behavior exhibited by matador bugs, with their attractive hind-leg flags, are neither mating displays nor distraction tactics against predators, as previously thought.

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A 17-Year Study Reveals How Dead Leaves Are a Tropical Forest Lifeline

A 17-year experiment in Panama revealed that the process of leaves falling and decomposing on the ground provides nutrients to the soil that help promote tree growth in otherwise infertile tropical forests.

Dr. Ruth Bennett holding Summer Tanager

Drink Coffee, Eat Chocolate, Save Birds!

A new initiative will make it easier for regional coffee and chocolate industries in Latin America to join the global movement to produce sustainable food.

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