Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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Have Antillean Manatees Crossed the Panama Canal into the Pacific?

Over half a century ago, a group of manatees from Panama's Caribbean region of Bocas del Toro was flown into the Panama Canal to control the abundance of aquatic plants in its water reservoir and prevent the proliferation of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Where are they now?

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A Yellow Submarine Explores the Depths of the Panamanian Pacific

Baby biodiversity in the ocean

'Python of the Sea' Study Highlights How Marine Biodiversity Can Be Dramatically Underestimated

El Coral beach fish trap in Saboga Island, Panama

See a New Interactive Map of Indigenous Fishing Practices Around the Pacific Rim

Escudo de Veraguas Island

An Indigenous Language Book Presents the Unique Biodiversity of a Panamanian Island

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Smelly Ocelot Habitats May Scare Off Agoutis

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Accidental Slingshot Wound to a Tree Reveals Unexpected Ant Behavior

As part of her fieldwork, Fernandez habituated the bats to her presence near their day-roosts, obtaining observations of their natural behaviors and recording their vocalizations in a completely undisturbed environment during months. (Ana Endara)

Similar to Human Babies, This Bat Species Learns to Communicate Through Babbling and Vocal Imitation

Many terrestrial birds disappeared in Barro Colorado Island, in the Panama Canal, despite their abundance in adjacent mainland forests, because they could not cross Gatun Lake to maintain populations on the island. (Ghislain Rompre)

Biodiversity Loss Despite a Century of Protection

From the surface, the havoc caused on a coral reef by a layer of low-oxygen water was barely evident.

Watch What Happens When A Coral Reef Can't Get Enough Oxygen

Heather Stewart, former PhD fellow at STRI, is very involved in local and global initiatives related to the conservation of coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean, such as mangrove forests.

Caribbean Mangrove Forests May Serve as Coral Shelters

The cloud forests in the Fortuna Hydrological Reserve are home to almost as many species as the entire United States.

Exploring the cloudiest forest in Central America

From Refuge Cove in Alaska to San Francisco Bay to Baja California and at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, a team from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Temple University deployed panels to find out what limits marine invertebrate invasions. Here, Laura Jurgens and Carmen Schloeder, celebrate a successful deployment in Mexico (Laura Jurgens)

Invasion Dynamics

Happy Earth Day 2021! Hillary Hughes, Panamanian actress, visits the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Agua Salud Project during the filming of videos in Spanish and English to share hope for the success of tropical forest reforestation informed by the largest experiment of its kind in the tropics. (video still)

Watch These Two Videos and You Will Feel More Hopeful About the Future of Tropical Forests

The purple-flowered crown of Dipteryx oleifera, one of the biggest trees on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, towers above the forest. Big trees may be most exposed to the effects of climate change: more frequent and severe drought, and the high winds and lightning of monster storms. (Evan Gora)

How Will the Biggest Tropical Trees Respond to Climate Change?

Bryophytes in the tropics are threatened due to lack of information and research. (Jorge Alemán, STRI)

Tiny Plants in a Big Changing World

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Bigger Is Better: Panama Expands MPA to Protect More Than 54 Percent of Its Oceans

Have Antillean Manatees Crossed the Panama Canal into the Pacific?

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