Gamboa seminar
Monday, August 29, 12 noon, at the Gamboa School, Gamboa Series Seminar speaker will be Susan Finkbeiner, University of California at Irvine
The benefit of being a social butterfly
CTFS-SIGEO seminar
Tuesday, August 30, 10:30am CTFS-SIGEO talk speaker will be Sarah Batterman, Princeton University
Patterns and constraints on symbiotic di-nitrogen fixation
Large Meeting Room (Tupper)
Tupper seminar
Tuesday, August 30, 4pm seminar speaker will be Samraat Pawar, UCLA
Understanding the effects of body size and
environmental temperature on community dynamics
Paleo-Talk
Wednesday, August 31, Paleo- talk speaker will be Aaron Wood, University of Florida Early Eocene
paleoenvironmental change in the terrestrial Clarks Fork Basin, Wyoming, USA
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá
STRI news
www.stri.si.edu August 26, 2011Largest shark ever
shows its teeth at STRI
Catalina Pimiento, a Ph.D.
candidate at the University of Florida, contributed a talk on the Megalodon and other ancestral sharks of Panama to the Centennial Seminar series on Wednesday, August 24, at the Tupper Center.
Thanks to mathematical calculations using the white shark as a reference, scientists have estimated the size of the Megalodon, a shark measuring about 18 meters long and that lived for 100 years, some 17 million years ago. Pimiento, who used to work with live sharks, now collects fossils of ancient sharks along the new excavations of the Panama Canal, to learn about their diet, geographical distribution and to pose a hypothesis of the causes of their extinction, for her doctoral dissertation. She recently discovered that the Megalodon used the shallow waters of Central Panama as a nursery, before the Isthmus emerged.
Pimiento and her team, STRI researchers and colleagues at the University of Florida, have created a bilingual website for children,
“Tiburones fósiles en Panamá.
Fossil sharks in Panama,”
at STRI´s website for children, at:
http://www.stri.si.edu/
english/kids/sharks/index.html.
The photo at right shows Pimiento showing shark teeth to Ryan Herzig, a young enthusiast attending the talk.
Catalina Pimiento, candidata a doctorado en la Universidad de Florida, contribuyó con la Serie de Seminarios del Centenario con una charla sobre el Megalodón y otros tiburones ancestrales de Panamá, el
miércoles 24 de agosto, en el Auditorio del Centro Tupper.
Gracias a cálculos matemáticos que usan al tiburón blanco como referencia, los científicos han estimado el tamaño del Megalodón, un tiburón que crecía hasta los 18 metros y vivía cerca de cien años, hace 17 millones de años. Pimiento, quien trabajaba anteriormente con tiburones vivos, ahora colecta fósiles de tiburo- nes ancestrales a lo largo de las nuevas excavaciones para el ensancha- miento del Canal de Panamá, para conocer sobre su dieta, distribución geográfica, y para proponer una
hipótesis sobre la causa de su extinción, para su tesis de doctorado. Hace poco, Catalina descubrió que el Megalodón utilizaba las aguas someras de Panamá central como criadero, antes de que surgiera el Istmo.
Pimiento y sus colaboradores, investigadores de STRI y colegas en la Universidad de Florida, han creado un sitio web bilingüe para niños, “Tiburones fósiles en Panamá. Fossil sharks in Panama” en la página de web para niños de STRI, en
http://www.stri.si.edu/english/k ids/sharks/index.html.
La foto muestra a Pimiento mostrándole dientes de tiburón a Ryan Herzig, un joven entusiasta que asistió a la conferencia.
Bambi seminar
Thursday, September 1st, Bambi seminar speaker will be Jorge W. Moreno-Bernal, CTPA, STRI
Is reptile gigantism a reliable proxy for ancient temperatures? An example with fossil Neotropical crocodilians
Arrivals
Etienne Low-Decarie, McGill University, to study ocean acidification, at Bocas del Toro.
Andrea Massicotte Pepin, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada, to study ocean acidification, at Bocas del Toro.
Patricia Jones, University of Texas at Austin, to study predator foraging behavior, in Gamboa.
Yorick Liefting, The
Netherlands, to study tropical vertebrate diversity loss and the emergence of tick-borne diseases: a pilot to develop SIGEO for monitoring wildlife and diseases, on BCI.
Susan Gosse, University of Postdam, to join the Agua Salud Project-Hydrologic Studies.
Amber Stubler, State University of New York at Stony Brook, to study the effects of pH and temperature on the bioerosion and growth rates of the boring sponge, Cliona deletrix: Ecosystem-level implications for coral reefs, at Bocas del Toro.
Helen Esser, The Netherlands, to study tropical vertebrate diversity loss and the emergence of tick-borne diseases: a pilot to develop SIGEO for monitoring wildlife and diseases, on BCI.
ARTS
publishes results from six years on Barro
Colorado
Many important moments in an animal’s life are difficult to study because they are rare, cryptic or occur over large spatial or temporal scales. One of the first obstacles any researcher studying wild animals must overcome is how to monitor and observe the behavior of mobile organisms.
For the last 50 years, attaching radio-tags to animals has been a primary method for studying animals in their natural
environment, and one that vastly improves the quality and quantity of data that biologists can collect.
After monitoring 375 individuals from 38 species, including 17 mammal species, 12 birds, 7 reptiles or amphibians, as well as two
species of plant seeds, the Automated Radio Telemetry System (ARTS) team on Barro Colorado Island published their results from six years of tracking animal location and activity in
“Tracking animal location and activity with an Automated Radio Telemetry System in a tropical rainforest,” a summary paper published by The
Computer Journal on August 12.
The paper was authored by STRI-associated ARTS researchers Roland Kays, Meg Crofoot (in the photo above), Daniel Obando, Alejandro Ortega, Ben Hirst and Martin Wikelski, with colleagues from the US and Germany. In this
article, the team describes their use of standard VHF
radiotracking technology to monitor the movements of radio-tagged study animals automatically, continuously and simultaneously.
The article was distributed by Neal Smith in the Science Sendings. You may also obtain it from [email protected]
Muchos momentos importantes en la vida de un animal son difíciles de estudiar por ser poco comunes, crípticos o porque ocurren a lo largo de un
territorio muy extenso, o durante un período de tiempo muy largo.
Uno de los primeros obstáculos que deben salvar los que estudian animales salvajes es poder monitorearlos y observar su conducta.
Durante los últimos 50 años, uno de los principales métodos para estudiar animales en su ambiente natural ha sido fijándoles radio- transmisores. Esto ha mejorado notablemente la calidad y cantidad de información que los biólogos han podido recoger.
Luego de monitorear 375 individuos de 38 especies, incluyendo 17 mamíferos, 12 aves, 7 reptiles o anfibios, así como las semillas de dos especies de plantas, el equipo del Sistema de Radio-Telemetría
Automatizada en Barro Colorado (ARTS) ha publicado los
resultados de seis años de trabajo de seguir la actividad y
localización de animales en
“Tracking animal location and activity with an Automated Radio Telemetry System in a tropical rainforest” [El rastreo de la localización y la actividad de animales con el Sistema de Radio-Telemetría en un bosque tropical], un artículo
comprehensivo en The Computer Journal (12 de agosto).
Los autores del artículo son los investigadores de ARTS asociados a STRI, Roland Kays, Meg Crofoot (en la foto), Daniel Obando, Alejandro Ortega, Ben Hirst y Martin Wikelski, junto con colegas de Estados Unidos y Alemania. En este artículo, el equipo describe el uso de tecnología de radio-transmisores VHF para monitorear los movimientos de animales que portan radio de forma automática, continua y simultánea.
La contribución fue distribuida por Neal Smith a través de Science Sendings. Puede obtenerlo también de [email protected]
From the left, rear row (desde la izquierda, fila de atrás): Ross Robertson, Lee Weigt, Ariel Deutsch, Dan Mulcahy & Amy Driskell. Front row (fila de adelante), Eric Weigt, Cristina Castillo, Priya Patel, Carole Baldwin, Andrea Ormos & Amanda Windsor (Photo: Ernesto Peña)
More arrivals
Tobias Smith, University of Queensland, Australia, to conduct an investigation into the relative frequencies of bees and flower-visiting flies in Neotropical and Australian tropical rainforest understories, in Fortuna.
John Schwab, US, to work on the project "Urbanization begins in the mind: City imagery in native Amazonian myths and oral traditions" at Tupper.
Leonor Alvarez Cansino, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, to explain the distribution and dominance of lianas and tree species across the Panamanian Isthmus, on BCI.
Kathleen Lynch, University of Texas, to work on assessing the condition-dependence and fitness consequences of male warning color brightness in Dendrobates pumilio, the
strawberry poison dart frog, at Bocas del Toro.
Daniel Stanton, Princeton University, to study the response of a nitrogen fixer to N, P and Mo limitations under pre-industrial, present day, and predicted CO2 levels, on BCI.
Paula Trillo, Butler University, to study the evolution of primary and secondary sexual characters in the tortoise beetle Acromis sparsa, at Tupper and Gamboa.
New publications
Cernusak, Lucas A., Winter, Klaus, and Turner, Benjamin L. 2011. "Transpiration modulates phosphorus acquisition in tropical tree seedlings." Tree Physiology doi:10.1093
Deep sea fish, the Hook-throat Bass, collected off Pacific Panama. Pez de aguas profundas, Hemanthias signifer, colectado en aguas del Pacífico panameño. (Photo: D Ross Robertson)
Barcoding fish fest at Naos
Lee Weight, Carole Baldwin and Amy Driskell led a team of ten barcoders from the National Museum of Natural History Laboratory of Analytical Biology (LAB) that sampled 4950 individuals from Ross Robertson's tropical fish collection at Naos, from August 15-19.
Robertson donated the specimens, collected over the past 20 years, to the SI barcoding program and the National Museum of Natural History. It includes ~6,000 tissue samples of ~600 species of tropical reef fishes from all three oceans, and
~750 specimens of several dozen species of small cryptic reef fishes from remote oceanic islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In addition, the
collection incorporates ~1000 frozen specimens of ~150 species of deep sea sharks, rays, chimaeras, hagfish and bony fishes he took on a trawling cruise by the Spanish research vessel BO Miguel Oliver along the Pacific shelf of Central America.
This activity is part of the efforts conducted by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL), an international initiative devoted to developing DNA barcoding as a global standard for the identification of biological species. CBOL has 200 Member Organizations from 50 countries, including Panama and operates from a Secretariat Office located in the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
Lee Weight, Carole Baldwin y Amy Driskell lideraron a un equipo de diez codificadores de barra del Laboratorio de Biología Analítica (LAB) del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (NMNH) del Smithsonian, que analizaron muestras de 4950 individuos de
la colección de peces tropicales de Ross Robertson en Naos, del 15 al 19 de agosto.
Robertson puso a disposición sus especímenes, colectados durante los últimos 20 años, al
programa de códigos de barra del Smithsonian y al Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. La colección incluye unas 6000 muestras de tejido de cerca de 600 especies de peces tropicales de los tres océanos, y cerca de 750 especímenes de varias docenas de especies de peces crípticos pequeños de islas oceánicas remotas en los océanos Atlántico y Pacífico. Además, la colección incorpora cerca de 1000 especímenes
congelados de cerca de 150 especies de tiburones de aguas profundas, rayas, quimeras,
lampreas y peces hueso que encontró durante una
exploración de arrastre a bordo del BO Miguel Oliver a lo largo de la meseta del Pacífico de Centroamérica.
Esta actividad es parte de los esfuerzos que lleva a cabo el Cosorcio para el Código de Barra de los Seres Vivos (CBOL), una iniciativa internacional destinada a desarrollar el códigos de barra de ADN para la identificación de especies biológicas. CBOL tiene 200 organizaciones miembros en 50 países, incluyendo Panamá, y opera desde una oficina central localizada en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Smithsonian en
Washington, DC.
New publications
Cooke, Richard, and Jimenez, Maximo. 2010.
"Animal-derived artefacts at two pre-Columbian sites in the ancient savannas of Central Panama. An update on their relevance to studies of social hierarchy and cultural attitudes towards animals." In Campana, D., Crabtree, P., DeFrance, Susan D., Lev-Tov, J., and Choyke, A. (Eds.), Anthropological Approaches to Zooarchaeology:
Complexity, colonialism, and animal transformation: 30-55.
Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.
Hiller, Alexandra, Harkantra, Sadanand, and Werding, Bernd. 2010. "Porcellanid crabs from Goa, Eastern Arabian Sea (Crustacea:
Decapoda: Porcellanidae)."
Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 107(3): 201-212.
Martin, Adam R., and Thomas, Sean C. 2011. "A reassessment of carbon content in tropical trees."
PLoS ONE 6(8): e23533.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.002 3533
STRI in the news
“Neglected CO2-source detected” by Christine Heidemann. 2011. ETH Life Archives: August 18, at http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/a rchive_articles/110818_Pana ma_ch/index_EN
Food and Think
“Benevolent maize and ogre- fart chillis: Food origin myths” by Lisa Bramen.
2011. Smithsonian.com:
August 19 at:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag .com/food/2011/08/benevo lent-maize-and-ogre-fart-chili s-food-origin-myths/
Klaus Winter talks about tropical plants and climate change to Rotary Club
STRI staff scientist Klaus Winter presented a conference on tropical plants and climate change, at the invitation of Club Rotario Panama Sur, on August 9.
The photo shows Club Rotario´s president Jorge Cano presenting Winter with a certificate of recognition, for this important contribution.
El científico de STRI, Klaus Winter, presentó una conferencia sobre “Plantas tropicales y el cambio
climático” invitado por el Club Rotario Panama Sur, el 9 de agosto. La foto muestra al presidente del Club Rotario, Jorge Cano, mientras presenta un certificado de
reconocimiento a Winter, por
esta importante contribución. Jorge Cano & Klaus Winter
TERPEL continues to support STRI
For the third consecutive year, Petrolera Nacional supported the Punta Culebra Nature Center school program. This year, thanks to this donation, 10,000 children from all over Panama will come to Punta Culebra to learn about terrestrial and marine life and STRI research on both oceans.
In the photo, Terpel director Jorge Usuga (first from the right) and legal advisor Manual Quintero present a check to STRI director for corporate
relations Mónica Alvarado, and education specialist Lidia Valencia, on Thursday, August 25. Also in the photo, a group of children visiting from Colón hold the Smithsonian flag.
Por tercer año consecutivo, Petrolera Nacional apoya el programa escolar del Centro Natural Punta Culebra. Este año, gracias a esta donación, 10,000 estudiantes de todo Panamá podrán visitar Punta Culebra para conocer sobre la vida terrestre y marina y los
estudios de STRI en ambos océanos.
En la foto, el director de Terpel.
Jorge Usuga (primero desde la derecha) y el asesor legal, Manuel Quintero, hacen entrega de una donación a la directora de relaciones coorporativas, Mónica Alvarado, y a la especialista en educación, Lidia de Valencia, el jueves, 25 de agosto. También en la foto aparece un grupo de estudiantes de Colón, sostienen la bandera del Smithsonian.