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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

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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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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?

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

Spix's disk-winged bats inside their leaf tube

Listen Up! Hungry Bats Emit Food Calls to Family and Friends

Spix’s disc-winged bats shrieked when they were first shown mealworms, a new food for them. Were they alarmed, or were they communicating their excitement to their fellow bats?

Annette Aiello

A Lifelong Passion for Tropical Insects Leads to Generous Support

A fund set up by STRI staff scientist Annette Aiello intends to provide long-term funding for the preservation and management of the insect collection at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, highlighting the importance of reference collections for the advancement of science

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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

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Following the Swarm: Making a Documentary Short Film In Panama’s Tropical Forest

At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, researchers track swarms of carnivorous army ants and the birds that follow them. A new documentary reveals a glimpse of life, and research, in the Neotropics

BCI Mangrove fossils

A 22 Million-Year-Old Mangrove Forest Was Discovered on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island

A volcanic eruption triggered a sediment flow that preserved a mangrove forest around what is now Barro Colorado Island, providing a better glimpse of the vegetation that existed in a highly changing area

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Extraordinary Fossil Find Reveals Details About the Weight and Diet of Extinct Saber-Toothed Marsupial

A 13-million-year-old saber-toothed marsupial skeleton discovered during paleontological explorations in Colombia is the most complete specimen recovered in the region

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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A Turtle Time Capsule: DNA Found in Ancient Shell

Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide

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First global assessment of the sustainability of coral reef fisheries

An innovative mathematical analysis of global coral reef fisheries offers hope for sustainable management of multispecies and artisanal fishing, especially in the global South

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Gamboa Bat Nights: Bilingual Noches de Murciélagos along the Panama Canal

The first Sunday of every month, you can join researchers from the Smithsonian Bat Lab to get a close-up look at Panama’s bats

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Barro Colorado Island, One Hundred Years of Science and Discoveries

Five Panamanian scientists share a glance at the experience of working in the tropical biologist’s dream, Barro Colorado Island

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Marine Fossils Unearth Story About Panama’s Deep Past

New fossil mammals found in Caribbean Panama suggest ongoing marine interchange during the final stages of formation of the isthmus connecting North and South America

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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?

Baby biodiversity in the ocean

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

Most ocean life remains to be discovered. Because fish and many other animals that live in the ocean often have larvae or other, microscopic life stages that drift freely in ocean water, counting species by genetic barcoding of plankton samples adds to counts of species recorded as adults and is a highly efficient way to understand what lives in the ocean and how biodiversity changes as we modify the ocean environment

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