STRI newsTupper 4pm specialTuesday is Carnival Day and aholiday for STRI. OnWednesday, February 25, 4pmseminar speaker will be NoelleMichele Holbrook, Harvard: Why are baobab trees so fat?Water relations and bio-mechanics in the genusAd an s o n ia

Bambi seminarThursday, February 26, Bambiseminar speaker will be NoelleMichele Holbrook, HarvardUniversityTitle to be announced

ArrivalsKirstin Übernickel and IngaGeipel, University of Ulm,Germany, to study theecholocation and foragingbehavior of the Neotropicalbat Noctilio leporinus andMacrophyllum macrophyllum andits significance for biomimeticapplications, on BCI.

Billy Bau and Kipiro Damas,Papua New Guinea ForestResearch Institute, toparticipate in the field course"CTFS -SIGEO Papua, NewGuinea Training Workshop"on BCI.

Sehel Mclem Kenneth,Cliffson Idigel and SehelMclem Kenneth, New GuineaBinatang Research Center, toparticipate in the field course"CTFS -SIGEO Papua, NewGuinea Training Workshop"on BCI.

Eleanor Reagan, BalwinWallace College, to participatein the Barro Colorado Islandmammal census, on BCI.

Benjamin Birnbach, Universityof Constance, Germany, toparticipate in the Field CoursePrinceton 2009, at Bocas delToro.

Scientists: Klaus Winter, Noris Salazar, Stanley Heckadon, Charles Alcock &

Rachel Collin

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá www.stri.org February 20, 2009

Charles Alcock visits STRICharles Alcock, SI actingundersecretary for Science anddirector of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics, wife May-YingChu, vice-president ofOperations of PolyPlus BatteryCompany, and children ChloeChu Alcock, 13 and Leo ChuAlcock, 9, visited STRI fromFebruary 13-21. The groupwas hosted by director BiffBermingham and acting deputydirector Bill Wcislo. Their firstvisit to STRI was on BCI.They enjoyed a research-ledtour through the forest and aboat tour around the Islandperimeter and met withresearchers of the AutomatedRadio Telemetry System(ARTS). Later they visitedGamboa and the Agua Saludproject located in the PanamaCanal Watershed.

On Monday, Alcock andfamily traveled to Bocas delToro and spent some time inthe Station and surroundingareas. A visit to ParqueMetropolitano’s canopy cranewas hosted by STRI scientist S.Joseph Wright. StanleyHeckadon- Moreno hosted avisit to the Galeta MarineLaboratory. At Galeta, Alcockparticipated with the first livebroadcast beamed by Galeta

via internet to hundreds ofchildren in New Jersey. Alcockhad the opportunity to talk tothe children of his wife´s schooltown in New Jersey, showingthem the wonders of the coastaltropics and Galeta´s evergreenmangroves.

At the Tupper Center on Friday,deputy director Bill Wcislo andcolleagues hosted the visitors tothe Laboratory for Behavior &Evolutionary Neurobiology.Bermingham, Wcislo, theAlcock family and othermembers of the STRIadministration met with the restof the scientists during lunch atthe Tupper Conference Center,visited Punta Culebra NatureCenter with its director MarkTorchin and Panama´sBioMuseo, a SmithsonianAffiliated Museum with itssenior director Anthony G.Coates, senior scientist emeritusand former deputy directorof STRI.

Charles Alcock, subsecretarioencargado para Ciencias delSmithsonian y director delCentro de Astrofísica de SI yHarvard, su esposa May-YingChu, vicepresidenta deOperaciones de PolyPlusBattery Company e hijos ChloeChu Alcock, 13, y Leo ChuAlcock, 9, visitaron STRI del 13al 21 de febrero. El grupo fueatendido por el directorEldredge Bermingham y elsubdirector encargado BillWcislo. Su primera visita a STRIfue a Barro Colorado, dondedisfrutaron de un recorridocientífico a través del bosque yalrededor del perímero de la islaen bote, y se reunieron coninvestigadores del Sistema deRadio Telemetría Automatizada(ARTS). Luego visitaronGamboa y el proyecto de AguaSalud localizado en la Cuencadel Canal de Panamá.

El lunes, Alcock y su familiaviajaron a Bocas del Toro donde

More arrivalsLiduine van Toor, Universityof Konstanz, Germany, toparticipate in the Field CoursePrinceton 2009, at Bocas delToro.

Maria Angela Echeverry-Galvis and Sergio Cordoba,Princeton University, toparticipate as instructors, inthe Field Course Princeton2009, at Bocas del Toro.

Therese Frauendorf, SouthernIllinois University, to work inthe Tropical AmphibianDeclines in Streams (TADS)project, in Gamboa.

New publicationsAlvarez-Clare, Silvia, andKitajima, Kaoru. 2009."Susceptibility of tree seedlingsto biotic and abiotic hazards inthe understory of a moisttropical forest in Panama."Biotropica 41(1): 47-56.

Anderson, L.O., Malhi,Yadvinder, Ladle, R.J., Aragao,O.C., Shimabukuro, Y.,Phillips, Oliver L., Baker,Timothy R., Lopez-Gonzalez,G., Monteagudo, Abel, NunezVargas, Percy, Peacock, J.,Quesada, C.A., Almeida,Samuel, and Vasquez Martinez,Rodolfo. 2009. "Influence oflandscape heterogeneity onspatial patterns of woodproductivity, wood specificdensity and above groundbiomass in Amazonia."Biogeosciences Discussions 6(1):1-45.

Muller-Landau, Helene C.2009. "Carbon cycle: Sink inthe African jungle." Nature457(7232): 969-970.

R, R & R

STRI organizes teacher training workshop

recorrieron la Estación y áreasaledañas. También visitaron elSistema de Acceso al Dosel delParque Natural Metropolitano,guiados por el científico S.Joseph Wright. StanleyHeckadon-Moreno losacompañó a visitar elLaboratorio Marino de Galeta,donde Alcock participó en laprimera transmisión en vivo yen directo desde Galeta viainternet a cientos deestudiantes en escuelas de

New Jersey. Alcok tuvo laoportunidad de hablar conestudiantes de la escuela de suesposa en New Jersey, ymostrarles las maravillas de lostrópicos y los siempre verdesbosques de manglar.

En el Centro Tupper el viernes,el subdirector Bill Wcislo ycolegas guiaron a los visitantesal Laboratorio deComportamiento yNeurobiología Evolutiva.

Bermingham, Wcislo y otrosmiembros de la administraciónde STRI se reunieron con loscientíficos durante un almuerzoen el Centro de Conferenciasdel Tupper, visitaron PuntaCulebra con su director MarkTorchin así como el BioMuseode Panamá, un museo afiliado alSmithsonian con su directorsenior Anthony G. Coates,científico senior emérito yantiguo subdirector de STRI.

In coordination with Panama´sMinistry of Education(MEDUCA) STRI´s Bocas delToro Research Stationorganized the 3rd TeacherTraining Workshop for localdocents "Dynamic Connectionsbetween Nature, Science andKnowledge 2009", fromFebruary 16-20 on Isla Colon.

During this workshop, 28docents attended talks fromSTRI researchers includingAntonio Baeza, who works onanimal behavior using shrimpsand other crustaceans, andRosana Rocha who studiestunicate organisms and theirdiversity among mangroveroots. James Roper spoke ontropical bird studies, ArcadioCastillo talked about differentlong term projects on thestation, and Plinio Gondolatalked on ocean dynamics and

climate change. Alsoparticipating from MEDUCA,were Otilia Arroyo fromEnvironmental Education andMarivel Centeno, regionalcoordinator.

The aim of the workshop wasto share new findings on coastalmarine environments with theteachers, teaching techniquesand hands on activities toenhance the learning teachingexperience in the classroom.

En coordinación con elMinisterio de Educación(MEDUCA), la Estación deInvestigaciones de STRI enBocas del Toro organizó elTercer Taller de Capacitaciónde Maestros, para docenteslocales “ConeccionesDinámicas entre la Naturaleza,la Ciencia y el Conocimiento 2009" del 16 al 20 de febrero en

Durante el taller, 28 docentesasistieron a charlas deinvestigadores de STRI queincluyeron a Antonio Baeza,que trabaja en comportamientoanimal con camarones y otroscrustáceos, y Rosana Rochaquien estudia organismostunicados y su diversidad entrelas raíces de manglares.

James Roper habló sobreestudios de aves tropicales,Arcadio Castillo habló sobre losdiferentes estudios a largo plazoque se llevan a cabo en laEstación y Plinio Góndolahabló sobre EducaciónAmbiental y cambio climático.

Del Ministerio de Educación(MEDUCA) tambiénparticiparon Otilia Arroyo, deEducación Ambiental y MarivelCenteno, coordinadora regional.

Publications update ‘08Cadena, Edwin, Jaramillo,Carlos, and Paramo, Maria E.2008. "New Material of ChelusColombiana (Testudines;Pleurodira) from the LowerMiocene of Colombia." Journalof Vertebrate Paleontology 28(4):1206-1212.

Chew, David M., Magna,Tomas, Kirkland, ChristopherL., Miskovic, Aleksandar,Cardona, Agustin, Spikings,Richard, and Schaltegger, Urs.2008. "Detrital zirconfingerprint of the Proto-Andes:Evidence for a Neoproterozoicactive margin?" PrecambrianResearch 167(1-2): 186-200.

Glynn, Peter William, Enochs,Ian C., McCosker, John E., andGraefe, Abigail N. 2008. "Firstrecord of a pearlfish, Carapusmourlani, inhabiting the AplysiidOpisthobranch molluscDolabella auricularia." PacificScience 62(4): 593-601.

McCoy, Krista A., Hoang,Loan K., Guillette, Jr., Louis J.,and Mary, Colette M.St. 2008."Renal pathologies in gianttoads (Bufo marinus) vary withland use." Science of the TotalEnvironment 407(1): 348-357.

Oviedo, Lenin, Guzman,Hector M., Florez-Gonzalez,Lilian, Capella, Juan, and Mair,James M. 2008. "The song ofthe Southeast Pacifichumpback whale (Megapteranovaeangliae) off Las PerlasArchipelago, Panama:Preliminary characterization."Aquatic Mammals 34(4):458-463.

STRI in the news"University ecologists explore'rainforest pharmacy' for cures,investment" by Brian Maffy.2009. The Salt Lake Tribune:February 15.

"Newsmakers: award in cash"2009. Science 323(5916): 859.February 13.

Photo collections on-lineThe Office of Bioinformatics,in corporation with the STRILibrary, has been scanning alarge collection of mostly blackand white photographs takenbetween the 1920’s and the1980’s. The photos have beenscanned at high resolution andare available in JPG and Tiff

formats. Thephotos can befound at:Q:\OBio\STRI\BW\LibraryCollection and areviewable fromany computerconnected to

the STRI intranet. Thecontents of most of thephotographs have not yet beenidentified. If you haveinformation about a particularphotograph please record theinformation in the suppliedExcel files. Thank you.

The Q drive is intended to bethe permanent storage locationfor STRI’s institutional digitalarchives. There are currentlyover 70,000 files (900GigaBytes) on-line, includingphotos, audio andvideo recordings,maps, anddocuments. Weexpect thiscollection todouble in the next12 months.

La Oficina deBioinformática, en

colaboración con la Bibliotecade STRI ha escaneado unaextensa colección de fotografíasen blanco y negro tomadasentre 1920 y 1980. Las fotos seescanearon el alta resolución yaparecen en formatos de TIFFy JPEG. Estas fotos se puedenencontrar en el disco:Q\OBio\STRI\BW\LibraryCollectiony se pueden ver desde cualquiercomputadora conectada alintranet de STRI. El contenidode la mayoría de las fotos no sehan identificado. Si usted tieneinformación sobre unafotografía en particular, leagradecíamos que registrara lainformación en los documentosde Excel que hemosproporcionado.

El disco Q se obtuvo con elpropósito de ser el depósitopermanente de los archivosdigitales institucionales deSTRI. Actualnente hay 70,000archivos (900 GigaBytes) enlínea, incluyendo fotos,grabaciones de audio y video,mapas y documentos.Esperamos que esta coleccióndoble su tamaño en un períodode 12 meses.

New publicationsMalhado, A.C.M., Whittaker,R.J., Malhi, Yadvinder, Ladle,R.J., Ter Steege, H., Aragao,O.C., Quesada, C.A., Araujo,A.M., Phillips, Oliver L.,Peacock, J., Lopez-Gonzalez,G., Baker, Timothy R., Butt,N., Anderson, L.O., Arroyo,Luzmilla, Almeidas, S., Higuchi,Niro, Killeen, Timothy J.,Monteagudo, Abel, Neill, D.A.,Pitman, Nigel C.A., Prieto, A.,Salomao, Rafael P., Silva,Natalino A., Vasquez Martinez,Rodolfo, Laurance, William F.,Alexiades, M.N., and RamirezA., H. 2009. "Spatialdistribution and functionalsignificance of leaf laminashape in Amazonian foresttrees." Biogeosciences Discussions 6:1837-1874.

Ramos, Ruth, Cipriani,Roberto, Guzman, Hector M.,and Garcia, Elia M. 2009."Chronology of mercuryenrichment factors in reefcorals from westernVenezuela." Marine PollutionBulletin 58: 222-229.

Smith, J. Travis, and Jackson,Jeremy B.C. 2009. "Ecology ofextreme faunal turnover oftropical American scallops."Paleobiology 35(1): 77-93.

Wcislo, William T., andTierney, Simon M. 2009."Behavioural environments andniche construction: theevolution of dim-light foragingin bees." Biological Review 84(1):19-37.

STRI in the news“Hot carbon storage” by SidPerkins. 2009. Science News:February 18.

“Mmmm, carbon!” by PhilBerardelli. 2009. ScienceNOWDaily News: 18 February

ARTS: Watching yourevery move, 24-7

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute February 20, 2009

Story: Adapted from

“Tracking forest

creatures on the move”

by Natalie Angier, New

York Times: 02/02/09.

Edited by M Alvarado

and ML Calderon

Photos: MA Guerra,

2005

Capuchin monkeys are

said to be

exceptionally

quick-witted. “Nothing

seems to slow them

down,” says Margaret

Crofoot, 29, recently

selected to run the

Automated Radio-

Telemetry System

(ARTS) on Barro

Colorado Island. She is

an anthropologist

graduated from

Harvard, and studies

the social relations of

Cebus capucinus.

ARTS relies on seven

40-meter-high radio

towers scattered on

BCI, capable to

monitor data from

many individuals at the

same time, at all times,

all year long.

Once a monkey has

been outfitted with a

transmitting device,

the towers track its

unique radio signature

and, by triangulation,

indicate its location on

the Island, its

movements and

encounters with any

other radio-endowed

individual.

The constant data

streams feed into

computers at a central

lab building on the

island, allowing

researchers to stay

abreast of far more

animal activities

than they could

possibly follow

through direct

observation.

Only five of the

BCI’s estimated 250

to 300 capuchin

monkeys are wearing

radio collars. Once

Crofoot is able to

monitor

simultaneously on a

representative

sampling of the 15 to

20 capuchin social

groups that roam the

island, she can better

address her abiding

interest in intertribal

politics.

Se dice que los monos

cariblancos son

excepcionalmente

alertas y que

responden

rápidamente a

cualquier estímulo.

“Nada parece

detenerlos” comenta

Margaret Crofoot,

recientemente

seleccionada para

liderar el proyecto de

Radio-Telemetría en

Barro Colorado

(ARTS.) Graduada en

antropología en

Harvard, estudia las

relaciones sociales de

Cebus capucinus.

ARTS se basa en siete

torres de radio de 40

metros de altura

construidas en

diferentes lugares en

BCI, capaces de

monitorear

información de

muchos individuos al

mismo tiempo, en todo

momento, a lo largo de

todo el año.

Una vez se le ha

colocado el radio-

transmisor al mono,

las torres empiezan a

recibir su firma de

radio única y, por

triaqulación, indican

donde está en la Isla,

sus movimientos y sus

encuentros con

cualquier otro

individuo que porte un

radio-transmisor.

La transmisión

constante de datos que

alinmentan las

computadoras en el

laboratorio central en

la Isla, permite a los

investigadores estar al

tanto de muchas más

actividades del animal

de lo que podrían

lograr observándolos

directamente

Sólo cinco de un

estimado de 250 a 300

cariblancos de BCI

portan collares de

radio. Una vez Crofoot

pueda monitorear

simultáneamente una

muestra representativa

de los 15 o 20 grupos

sociales de

cariblancos que andan

en la Isla, ella podrá

satisfacer su interés en

la política inter-tribal

de estos primates.