Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)
Dr. Matthew Larsen, Director
Thirty-five permanent scientific staff and twelve hundred visiting scientists each year at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute offer a dynamic intellectual community for students of tropical biology. Our two areas of excellence: discovering and understanding life’s diversity, and the study of human diversity and cultural change, embrace a wide range of academic disciplines. STRI is the world’s premier international research platform for tropical biologists working in more than forty countries. We offer expertise, data, training programs and tools to young scientists and professionals alike. This enriches our own endeavor as STRI staff engage in collaborations and intellectual exchange with scholars and students from a wide range of partner institutions.
The Smithsonian’s history of 100 years of tropical research in Panamaon evolution, ecology and behavior of tropical organisms informs STRI’s innovative initiatives in soil science, plant physiology, canopy biology, paleoecology and climate change, molecular biology and neurobiology.
The Isthmus of Panama offers unique advantages for biodiversity research. Formed about three million years ago, the isthmus is a complex zone of contact between the floras and faunas of North and South America. In addition, it separates closely related forms of marine life that were isolated in the Atlantic and Pacific Basins. Panama’s topography and small size mean that a wide range of habitats are accessible within a short distance. Terrestrial habitats range from dry grasslands and scrub, through seasonal and evergreen lowland tropical forests, to montane and perpetually wet cloud forests. Marine envi-ronments include muddy, sandy, and rocky shores, coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses and the open waters of the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Rivers and lakes provide opportunities for freshwater studies. Ten modern research facilities in the Republic of Panama provide an ideal base for tropical biology research.
STRI’s headquarters, including administrative offices, library, and the Earl S. Tupper Research and Conference Center, are located in the Ancon area of Panama City. The Tupper Center houses laboratories and offices for scientists as well as an auditorium and meeting rooms. STRI’s Tropical Sciences Library is one of the most comprehensive in the world for tropical studies, receiving 500 periodicals, containing more than 60,000 volumes and offering fast, online reference services.Barro Colorado Island (BCI) is one of the best known sites in the world for the study of lowland tropical forest. A reserve since 1923, research at BCI builds on more than eight decades of scientific studies that have resulted in over fifteen hundred publications. Facilities include modern laboratories and living quarters for approximately 65 visiting scientists. The 5,000-hectare Barro Colorado Nature Monument includes the island, five mainland peninsulas, and many smaller islands, which afford opportunities for the study of primary and secondary forests, freshwater habitats, and island biogeography.
STRI’s Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archeology in Panama City is a five minute walk from its headquarters. This facility houses scientists, fellows and research assistants studying the geological rise of the Central American Isthmus, the evolution of tropical rainforests since the last glaciation, human colonization of the Isthmus and the origins of agriculture. STRI is developing major new laboratory facilities in the town of Gamboa intended to foster increased academic interchange among fields. The nearby22,000 hectare (54,362 acre) Soberania National Park, contains lowland forest of various ages and a variety of freshwater habitats. A facility at Gamboa is also available for field courses. A station in Fortuna, Chiriqui, Panama’s western province, provides scientists with access to wet montane forests.
The STRI Tropical Forest Canopy Program uses construction cranes to study the upper canopy of tropical forests. Cranes are now in place at a dry tropical forest in the Parque Natural Metropolitano, in Panama City, and at a very wet tropical forest site on the Caribbean side, providing safe access to the forest canopies in contrasting environments. With marine laboratories on both the Pacific and Caribbean (Atlantic) coasts, STRI presents unique and unparalleled opportunities for comparative studies on the biota of the two oceans. Naos, on the Pacific, is a short distance from STRI headquarters near Panama City. The Molecular Evolution Laboratories, at the Naos Island Laboratories, host studies in evolutionary biology, genetics and molecular systematics. The Galeta Laboratories, 80 km (50 mi) north, on the Atlantic coast, is located at the edge of a fringing coral reef adjacent to mangrove forest. STRI’s Caribbean (Atlantic) laboratory is located in Isla Colón, in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. This laboratory offers a range of services, including boats and SCUBA to provide investigators with access to an extraordinary diversity of marine and terrestrial biota.
STRI has expanded its research on animal behavior and evolutionary biology by establishing a laboratory of Evolutionary Neurobiology and Behavior. The new facility focuses on comparative neurobiological and behavioral studies of tropical invertebrates with extreme body size reduction. The laboratory also provides well-equipped facilities for visiting neurobiologists; will host symposia on topics relating to brain miniaturization; and will explore connections between brain miniaturization and applied research related to engineering and information technology.
STRI scientists collaborate with research and academic organizations at sites throughout the tropics. STRI maintains formal cooperative research partnerships with colleagues in Kenya, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Brazil, Cameroon and other countries.
Large-scale, permanent forest plots have been established based on methods originally developed on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. These forest dynamic plots form a Global Earth Observatory network under The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS), a STRI program to promote long-term biological and socio-economic research within tropical forests and forest-dependent communities, and to translate this information into relevant forest management, conservation, and natural resources policies. Many findings are tested directly in the Panama Canal watershed and at other sites as part of a huge, landscape-level study of reforestation with native tree species coordinated the CTFS and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and in close cooperation with the Panama Canal Authority and Panama’s Environmental Authority (ANAM). At the Mpala Research Centre in the Laikipia Plateau of Kenya, scientists integrate research in disciplines ranging from wildlife/livestock management, ecology, geology, and animal physiology.
The Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) is the world’s largest-scale and longest-running study of habitat fragmentation, operated cooperatively by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Brazil’s National Institute for Amazonian Research. Located in the central Amazon, near the city of Manaus, Brazil, the BDFFP was initiated in 1979 to assess the impacts of fragmentation on rainforest animals, plants, and ecological and ecosystem processes. Research in the BDFFP’s 1000 square-kilometer study area is conducted by staff scientists, Brazilian and foreign graduate students, and visiting researchers. In addition to its research mission, the BDFFP sponsors education programs for Latin American university students and decision-makers. To date the BDFFP has produced well over 300 publications or graduate theses, and has trained hundreds of scientists in the Amazon region. It was awarded the prestigious Ford/Conservation International Award for Conservation Research and Training in Brazil.
In addition to Smithsonian wide fellowships administered by the Office of Fellowships in DC, STRI offers its own international, competitive awards to support the research of visiting students. Requests for fellowship information should be addressed to the Office of Academic Programs (E-Mail:fellows@si.edu). Information on facilities usage, housing and fees can be addressed to the Office for Visitors Services (E-Mail:STRIRegistration@si.edu). Further information on STRI facilities and research programs can be found at STRI’s web site: http://www.stri.org.
RESEARCH STAFF
AIELLO, Annette, Entomologist. B.A. (1972), Brooklyn College, New York; Ph.D. (1978) Harvard University. Research specialties: Life histories, behavior, and evolution of insects, especially moths and butterflies.
ALTIERI, Andrew, Marine Biologist. B.A. (1999) University of California Santa Cruz; Ph.D. (2006) Brown University. Research specialties: marine ecology; marine conservation; coastal ecosystems; human impacts; environmental stress.
CHRISTY, John, Biologist. B.A. (1970) Lewis and Clark College, Oregon; Ph.D. (1980) Cornell University. Research specialties: Animal communication; sexual selection and mating systems; functional morphology; reproductive cycles, larval dispersal; behavioral ecology of intertidal invertebrates with an emphasis on fiddler crabs.
COATES, Anthony G, Scientist Emeritus. Ph.D. 1963, London University. Research specialties: Geology (stratigraphy and Paleontology).
COLLIN, Rachel, Staff Scientist, Director of the Bocas del Toro Research Station. Sc.B. (1993) Brown University; M.S. (1996) University of Washington; Ph.D. (2002) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Evolution of marine invertebrate life histories and development; systematics of marine gastropods.
CONDIT, Richard, Biologist. B.S. (1978) University of Illinois; Ph.D. (1984) University of California, Santa Cruz. Research specialties: Population biology; tropical forest ecology, microbial population dynamics, animal behavior.
COOKE, Richard, Archaeologist. B.A. (1968) University of Bristol; Ph.D. (1972) University of London. Research specialties: Archaeology of New World tropics; faunal analysis; human ecology; history of fishing.
CORREA, Mireya D., Scientific Staff, Botanist. Licenciado (1963) University of Panama; M.A. (1967) Duke University. Research specialties: Tropical plant systematics, especially the flora of Panama; ethnobotany, especially medicinal plants.
DAVIES, Stuart, Senior Staff Scientist, B.Sc. (1987) University of Sydney, Australia; Ph.D. (1996) Harvard University. Research specialties: Tropical forest ecology; Asian ecosystems; plant ecology; long-term ecological observatories; plant taxonomy.
DETTO, Matteo, Associate Scientist, Ph.D. (2000) University of Bristol, B.S. (2002) Politecnico di Milano, Ph.D. (2006) Duke University. Environmental engineering, bio-micrometerology, hydraulic engineering and hydrology.
EBERHARD, William G., Biologist, Professor, Universidad de Costa Rica. A.B. (1965), Ph.D. (1969) Harvard University. Research specialties: Behavior of insects and web-building spiders; sexual selection by cryptic female choice; genitalic evolution, effects on behavior of miniaturization of nervous system.
GUZMAN, Hector M., Staff Biologist. B.Sc. (1979), M.Sc. (1986) University of Costa Rica; Ph.D. (1994) Newcastle University, UK. Research specialties: Ecology and population dynamic of coral reefs; sclerochronology; conservation biology; human impacts on marine ecosystems, coastal management and marine pollution.
HALL, Jefferson, Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator, Agua Salud Project. B.A. (1983) Miami University; M.F.S. (1992), Ph.D. (2002) Yale University. Research specialties: Tropical forest silviculture and management, restoration ecology, ecosystem services, secondary succession.
HERRE, E. Allen, Biologist. B.A. (1977) University of Chicago; Ph.D. (1988) University of Iowa. Research specialties: Coevolution of figs and their pollinator wasps; host-parasite coevolution; the evolutionary effects of population structure on sex ratio, sexual selection and parasite virulence; and interactions between tropical host plants and both mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi.
HUBBELL, Steven, Staff Scientist. B.A. (1963), Carleton College; Ph.D. (1969) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Tropical forest ecology; theoretical community ecology.
JACKSON, Jeremy B.C., Biologist Emeritus. B.A. (1965), M.A. (1968) George Washington University; M.Phil. (1970), Ph.D. (1970) Yale University. Research specialties: Diversity, speciation and extinction of tropical marine invertebrates; ecology and conservation of tropical coastal communities.
JARAMILLO, Carlos, Staff Scientist. B.A. (1992) Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Ms. (1995) University of Missouri-Rolla , Ph.D. (1999) University of Florida. Research specialties: palynology, paleobotany, paleontology, biostratigraphy, paleobiology.
KNOWLTON, Nancy, Sant Chair for Marine Science. A.B. (1971) Harvard University; Ph.D. (1978) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Marine Biodiversity; ecology, behavior, evolution and systematics of coral reef organisms.
LARSEN, Matthew, Director. BSc. (1976) Antioch College, Ph.D. (1997) University of Colorado. Research specialties: Tropical geomorphology and geomorphic work.
LEIGH, JR., Egbert G., Biologist (Emeritus). B.A. (1962) Princeton University; Ph.D. (1966) Yale University. Research specialties: Evolution of mutualism; the role of mutualism in evolution and ecosystem function; evolutionary implications of population genetics; why there are so many kinds of tropical trees; analogies between economies and ecosystems.
LESSIOS, Harilaos, Senior Scientist. B.A. (1973) Harvard College; M.Phil. (1976), Ph.D. (1979) Yale University. Research specialties: Molecular evolution and population genetics of marine organisms; ecology of coral reefs.
LINARES, Olga F., Senior Research Staff - Anthropologist Emeritus. B.A. (1958) Vassar College; Ph.D. (1964) Harvard University. Research specialties: Cultural and ecological processes among sub-Saharan African farmers; Agrobiodiversity; Social and political organization of agrarian systems; Urban farming; Home gardens.
MCMILLAN, Owen, B.Sc. (1985) Duke University, M.Sc. (1991) University of Hawaii, Ph.D. (1994) University of Hawaii, Postdoctoral (1994-1997) University of College London. Research specialties: Evolution, behavior, origins and genetic basis of adaptive variation.
MULLER-LANDAU, Helene Clara, Staff Scientist. B.A. (1995) Swarthmore College; M.A. (1997), PhD (2001) Princeton University. Research specialties: Plant community ecology; Ecological and evolutionary theory; Anthropogenic influences on forests; Carbon budgets of forest ecosystems.
O’DEA, Aaron, Paleobiologist. B.Sc. (1996) Liverpool John Moores University; Ph.D. (2000) University of Bristol. Research specialities: Tropical Paleobiology; Marine ecology and evolution; Historical Ecology; Conservation Paleobiology.
PAGE, Rachel, Research Scientist. B.A. (1996) Columbia University; Ph.D. (2008) University of Texas, Austin. Research specialties: Vertebrate behavior, sensory and cognitive ecology, predator-prey interactions, signal evolution.
PIPERNO, Dolores R., Archaeologist/Paleobotanist Emeritus. B.A. (1971) Rutgers University; M.A. (1979), PhD (1983) Temple University. Research specialties: Archaeology and human ecology of tropical regions; paleobotany and paleoethnobotany.
POTVIN, Catherine, Research Associate. B.Sc. (1981); M.Sc. (1982) University of Montreal, Canada; Ph.D. (1985) Duke University. Research specialties: Plant ecology, global change biology, ethnobotany.
ROBERTSON, D. Ross, Staff Scientist. B.Sc. (1966), Hons. (1968), Ph.D. (1974) University of Queensland, Australia. Research specialties: Zoogeography of neotropical shorefishes; Coral reef fishes: behavioral ecology; larval, reproductive and population biology; demography.
ROUBIK, David W., Entomologist. B.S. (1975) Oregon State University; Ph.D. (1979) University of Kansas. Research specialties: Tropical bees and beekeeping, ecology, systematics and behavior of bees, pollination systems; palynology; ecology and entomology.
SALAZAR ALLEN, Noris, Part-time Scientific Staff, STRI, Research Professor and Curator of Bryophytes and Lichens, Herbarium, Department of Botany, Universidad de Panamá. B.A. (1969) Trinity College; M.A. (1973) State University of New York, Geneseo; Ph.D. (1986) University of Alberta, Edmonton. Research specialties: Biosystematics, phytogeography,morphology and evolution of tropical bryophytes; lichens of Panama.
SALTONSTALL, Kristin, Molecular Ecologist. B.A. (1992) Wellesley College; M.F.S. (1996) Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; Ph.D. (2002) Yale University. Research specialties: Genetics of invasive species, invasive grasses, metagenomics, conservation genetics.
SANTOS-GRANERO, Fernando, Researcher, Social Anthropology. Licenciatura (1980) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; M.Sc. (1981), Ph.D. (1986) London School of Economics and Political Science. Research specialties: Native Amazonian leadership and philosophies of power; history of native Amazonian peoples; Amerindian forms of slavery and servitude; tropical American chiefdoms; Amazonian regional economies.
STALLARD, Robert, Research Scientist, Staff. B.S. (1974), Ph.D. (1980) Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Research specialties: Earth-surface environmental processes with a focus on the study of water quantity and quality in streams, weathering, soil development, and erosion as related to land-cover and climate change in the tropics.
TORCHIN, Mark Erik, Staff Scientist. B.A. (1991)University of California, Santa Barbara; M.S. (1994) University of Oregon; Ph.D.(2002) University of California, Santa Barbara. Research specialties: Marine population and community ecology; host-parasite interactions; invasion ecology; conservation biology.
TURNER, Ben, Staff Scientist. B.Sc. (1996) University of Sheffield, UK; Ph.D. (2000) Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Research specialties: Soil biogeochemistry, including soil organic phosphorus and the nutrition of plants, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, soil carbon, tropical forest soils, tropical wetlands.
WCISLO, William, Biologist. B.S. (1982) University of Michigan; Ph.D. (1991) University of Kansas. Research specialties: Evolutionary biology; ethology; behavior and behavioral evolution of bees, ants and wasps; perception and learning; social evolution; brain evolution.
WEST-EBERHARD, Mary Jane, Entomologist. B.A. (1963), Ph.D. (1967) University of Michigan. Research specialties: Social behavior,natural history, and evolution of wasps (especially Vespidae); social evolution; sexual and social selection; developmental plasticity and evolution.
WINDSOR, Donald M., Research Biologist. B.S. (1966) Purdue University; Ph.D. (1972) Cornell University. Research specialties: Macroevolutionary studies of Tortoise Beetle (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae) diversification related to food plant, parasitoid and mite associations worldwide.
WINTER, Klaus, Biologist. Dr.rer.nat. (1975) Darmstadt; Habil. (1983) Würzburg. Research specialties: Plant Physiology; plant physiological ecology; photosynthesis and photoinhibition; crassulacean acid metabolism; plant responses to elevated CO2.
WRIGHT, S. Joseph, Biologist. A.B. (1974) Princeton University; Ph.D. (1980) University of California, Los Angeles. Research specialties: Ecology of tropical forests; community ecology.
AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF
ANGEHR, George, Research Associate. BS (1973) Cornell University; Ph.D. (1980) University of Colorado. Research specialties: Ecology and distribution of the birds of Panama; Bird distribution in Latin America and Africa; Conservation of birds; Conservation of tropical forests.
ASHTON, Mark S., Research Associate. B.S.(1982) University of Maine, Orono; M.F. (1985), Ph.D. (1990) Yale University. Research specialties: Tree seedling ecology, physiological and morphological adaptations of leaves to environment, forest microenvironments, disturbance and landscape level dynamics of forests and their applications to: regeneration silviculture of natural forests, restoration of degraded forestlands, plantation analogs of mixed-species stands, and silviculture of non-timber forest crops.
BALUNAS, Marcy, Research Associate. B.A. (1995) University of Rochester; M.S. (2003) State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Ph.D. (2007) University of Illinois at Chicago Research specialties: Selectivity and specificity of drug action, using marine natural products chemistry to address critical questions within the broader field of chemical biology.
BARRIOS, Hector, Professor of Entomology, University of Panama. Ph.D. Instituto de Zoologia de la Academia de Sciencias. Research specialties: Entomology.
BOOMSMA, J.J. Koos, Senior Research Associate. M.Sc. (1977), Ph.D. (1982) Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Research specialties: Social Evolution; Conflict and Cooperation; Co-evolution Mating systems; Conservation.
BRAWN, Jeffrey, Research Associate. B.S. (1975) University of Massachusetts, Amherst; M.S. (1979) University of Missouri, Columbia; Ph.D (1986) Northern Arizona University. Research specialties: Avian Ecology, tropical ecology, comparative life histories, demography.
BREEDY, Odalisca, Research Associate. B.A.(1979), Licence (1986), M.A.(2003) Universidad dde Costa Rica. Research specialties: Octocoral taxonomy and biogeography, eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
COLEY, Phyllis, Research Affiliate. PhD (1981) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Tropical plant ecology; plant herbivore interactions, chemical ecology.
COLLINS, Laurel, Research Associate. B.S. (1974) University of Maryland; M.S. (1985) George Washington University; M.Phil. (1985), Ph.D. (1989) Yale University. Research specialties: Paleobiology of foraminifera, paleoenvironments, Caribbean, Tropical Eastern Pacific.
COMITA, Liza, Research Associate. B.A. (1999), M.A. (1999) University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. (2006) University of Georgia. Research specialties: tropical forest ecology.
CROFOOT, Margaret, Research Associate. B.A. (2001) Stanford University; M.A. (2003), Ph.D. (2008) Harvard University. Research specialties: primate behavioral ecology, movement ecology.
DALLING, James, Research Associate. B.A. (1988) Oxford University; Ph.D. (1992) Cambridge University. Research specialties: Seed ecology and forest regeneration.
DAVIDAR, Priya, Research Associate. B.Sc. (1973), M.Sc. (1975) Madras University; Ph.D. (1979) Bombay University; S.M. (1985) Harvard University. Research specialties: Tropical forest ecology and conservation, pollination and seed dispersal mutualisms, biodiversity of Andaman islands and Western Ghats of India.
DEKROON, Hans, Research Associate. M.Sc. (1984), Ph.D. (1990) Utrecht University. Research specialties: plant population ecology; population models; plant plasticity; root ecology; biodiversity mechanisms.
DICK, Christopher William, Research Associate. B.A. (1990) Hampshire College; Ph.D. (1999) Harvard University. Research specialties: tropical forest ecology, biogeography, and ecological genetics of tropical forest trees.
DUDA JR., Thomas Franklin, Research Associate. B.S. (1988) Texas A&M University, Galveston; M.A. (1992) San Francisco State University; PhD. (1999) Harvard University. Research specialties: Evolution of molluscs (population genetics, phylogenetics, biogeography and molecular evolution).
DUDLEY, Robert, Research Associate. B.S. (1983) Duke University; Ph.D. (1987) University of Cambridge. Research specialties: Biomechanics, physiology, and evolution of flight in insects and vertebrates.
ELSENBEER, Helmut, Research Associate. Diploma (1980) University of Munich; M.S. (1982) University of California, Davis; Ph.D. (1989) North Carolina State University. Research specialties: Hydrological, hydrochemical and surficial processes in tropical ecosystems (natural and man-made) and their response to land-use change.
FERRAZ, Gonzalo, Research Associate. Licenciatura (1995) University of Lisbon; Ph.D. (2004) Columbia University. Research specialties: Population ecology and site-occupancy dynamics with applications to neotropical ornithology and epidemiology.
GERWICK, William H., Research Associate. B.S. (1976) University of California, Davis; Ph.D. (1981) Uinversity of California, San Diego. Research specialties: Marine natural products chemistry and drug discovery; biosynthesis and molecular biology of marine natural products.
GILBERT, Gregory, Research Associate. B.S. (1985) State University of New York; M.S. (1988), Ph.D. (1991) University of Wisconsin, Madison. Research specialties: Plant disease ecology, fungal community ecology, and tropical forest ecology and conservation.
HARMS, Kyle E., Research Associate. B.S. (1989) Iowa State University; Ph.D. (1997) Princeton University. Research specialties: Population, community & evolutionary ecology of tropical forests & sub-tropical pine savannas.
JIGGINS, Christopher, Research Associate. B.A. Hons (1993) University of Cambridge; Ph.D. (1997) University College London. Research specialties: Genetic basis of adaptation and speciation in mimetic butterflies.
KASPARI, Michael, Research Associate. B.S. (1983), M.S. (1985) University of Nebraska; Ph.D. (1992) University of Arizona. Research specialties: Community and Biogeography of soil communities, with a taxonomic focus on ants.
KAYS, Roland, Research Associate. B.A.(1993) Cornell University; Ph.D.(1999) University of Tennessee. Research specialties: Temperate and neotropical mammals, especially carnivores; radio-telemetry; non-invasive surveys; spatial ecology; canopy biology.
KITAJIMA, Kaoru, Research Associate. B.A. (1984) University of Tokyo; M.S. (1987), Ph.D. (1992) University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Research specialties: Plant functional traits; physiological ecology of tropical trees; seed and seedling ecology; plant-soil interactions; functional basis for plant invasion.
KRAUSE, Heinrich, Research Associate. M.S.(1964), Ph.D.(1966) University of Bonn. Research specialties: Physiological responses of tropical plants to high solar radiation.
KURSAR, Thomas, Research Affiliate. B.A. (1971) Rutgers College; M.S. (1976), Ph.D. (1982) University of Chicago. Research specialties: The physiology and ecology or tropical rainforest plants. Linking the discovery of novel uses of biodiversity to conservation and economic development..
LAURANCE, Susan, Research Associate. B.Sc (1989) Queensland University; M.Nat.Res. (1996), Ph.D. (2001) University of New England. Research specialties: Anthropogenic impacts on rainforest plant and wildlife communities; rainforest tree ecology.
LAURANCE, William, Research Associate. Ph.D. (1989) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Tropical forest ecology and conservation; Climate change science
LIPS, Karen, Research Affiliate. B.S. (1988) University of South Florida; Ph.D. (1995) University of Miami. Research specialties: Ecology and conservation of amphibians; amphibian population declines; wildlife diseases; Appalachian salamanders; role of amphibians in tropical ecosystems.
LOVEJOY, Thomas E., Research Associate. B.S. (1964), PhD. (1971) Yale University. Research specialties: Tropical ecology; conservation biology; environment/policy.
MAYO, Julia, Research Associate. Ph.D. (2004) Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España. Research specialties: stone or earthen features, such as mines, low relief carvings (“petroglyphs”), platforms, ditches, groups of sculpted and un-sculpted stone columns, dry stone walls, stone and cobble pavements, and stone and earthen circles and mounds; Gran Coclé precolumbian culture area of central Panama relation to the exploitation of the natural resources.
MEYLAN, Peter, Research Associate. B.S. (1976), M.S. (1980), Ph.D. (1985) University of Florida. Research specialties: Ecology, phylogeny, systematics and paleontology of reptiles especially turtles.
MEYLAN, Anne, Research Associate. B.S.(1974), M.S. (1978), Ph.D. (1984), University of Florida. Research specialties: Reproductive biology, ecology and migrations of marine turtles; global status of hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
OGDEN, Fred L., Research Associate. B.S. (1987), M.S. (1989), Ph.D.(1992) Colorado State University. Research specialties: Hydrologic Model Development, Physical Hydrology, Hydrologic and Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Hydraulics, Ecohydrology.
RANERE, Anthony, Research Associate. B.A. (1964) Harvard University; M.A. (1968 Idaho State University; Ph.D. (1972) University of California, Davis. Research specialties: Archaeology of the American tropics; origins of agriculture; early human colonization of the Americas; lithic analysis.
RICKLEFS, Robert E., Research Affiliate. A.B. (1963) Stanford University; Ph.D. (1967) University of Pennsylvania. Research specialties: Evolutionary ecology; historical biogeography of the West Indies; life-history diversification in birds; avian malaria parasites.
ROBERTS, Tyson, Research Associate. B.A. (1961), Ph.D. (1968) Stanford University. Research specialties: systematics and evolutionary biology of fishes, currently including oarfishes, synbranchids, and piranhas. Khmerology: identification of portrait statues of ancient Cambodian devaraja or divine kings with the reigning monarchs they portray..
RYAN, Michael, Research Associate. B.A. (1975) Glassboro State College; M.S.(1977) Rutgers University; Ph.D. (1982) Cornell University. Research specialties: Evolution and mechanisms of animal behavior, especially animal communication and sexual selection.
SÁNCHEZ-AZOFEIFA, G. Arturo, Research Associate. B.Sc. (1990) University of Costa Rica; M.Sc. (1993), Ph.D. (1996) University of New Hampshire. Research specialties: Hyperspectral remote sensing, tropical dry forests, wireless sensor networks.
SCHNITZER, Stefan A., Research Associate. Ph.D. (2001) University of Pittsburgh. Research specialties: Plant Community Ecology; Tropical Forest Ecology; Plant Competition; Ecology of Lianas.
SRYGLEY, Robert, Research Associate. B.A. (1983) University of Washington; Ph.D. (1991) University of Texas. Research specialties: Physiology, behavior, evolution and ecology of insect migration, predator-prey interactions, and flight.
TANNER, Edmund, Research Associate. B. Sc. (1973 ) Univesity of London; Ph D (1977) University of Cambridge. Research specialties: Tropical forests, nutrients, water, trees, biodiversity, forest dynamics.
VENCL, Fredic, Research Associate. B.A. (1972) Hiram College; M.A .(1975), Ph.D. (1977) Stony Brook University. Research specialties: Evolution of dietary specialization in phytophagous insects and its relation to host plant and insect diversification; speciation via sexual selection; taxonomy and systematics of shining leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae); sexual selection fireflies (Lampyridae).
WARKENTIN, Karen, Research Associate. B.Sc. (1985) University of Guelph; M.Sc. (1990) Dalhousie University; Ph.D. (1998) University of Texas, Austin. Research specialties: Phenotypic plasticity, behavioral ecology & ecological developmental biology of amphibians, especially egg and larval stages; Predator-prey interactions and inducible hatching; Vibrations as an information source; Ecology of fear.
WIKELSKI, Martin C., Research Associate. Diploma (1991) Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Ph.D. (1994) University of Bielefeld, Germany. Research specialties: Radio tracking; birds; migration; Physiological ecology; field endocrinology; field energetics.
WOODHAMS, Douglas, Research Associate. B.Sc. (1999) Michigan State University; Ph.D. (2003) James Cook University.. Research specialties: Disease ecology; Amphibian conservation; The interaction between innate immune defenses and microbial communities.
ZOTZ, Gerhard, Research Associate. M.Sc. (1989); Ph.D. (1993) University of Wuerzburg, Germany. Research specialties: Ecology of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes; tropical biodiversity; ecophysiology of mosses.