Tupper seminar
Tue, Oct 7, noon seminar speaker will be Steven V.
Vollmer, Harvard University Hybridization, immortal mules, and mosaic introgression Caribbean staghorn corals"
Bambi seminars
BCI will have two Bambis. On Tue, Oct 7, Guillermo
Goldstein, University of Miami
Water economy of savanna plants: The death of old paradigms
On Thu, Oct 9, Frode Odegaard, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Title will be announced
Congratulations
To Vielka Chang-Yau who was selected as vice president of the Asociación Interamericana de Bibliotecarios, Documentalistas y Especialistas en Información Agrícola (Interamerican Association for Agriculture Librarians, Documentalists and Information Specialists) for 2003-2006.
Arrivals
Robert Elner, Simon Frazer University, Canada, Oct 4-16, to work with Kimberly Mathot, at Naos.
Helene Mueller-Landau, CTFS fellow from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, California, Oct 6-29, to study seed dispersal in tropical forests, at Tupper.
Departures
Haris Lessios, Sep 27 - Oct 11, to Munich, Germany, to attend the 11 Internationalth Echinoderm Conference.
STRI news
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá www.stri.org October 3, 2003
Coral reef mining by indigenous peoples
Conservation Biology (17: 1396-1401) has published “Natural disturbances and mining of Panamanian coral reefs by indigenous people” by STRI staff scientist Héctor Guzmán with Carlos Guevara and Arcadio Castillo. Before the 1980s, coral reefs were considered relatively stable and healthy in Kuna-Yala, Caribbean Panama. During the 1980s, however, natural disturbances, demographic growth and the Kuna traditional practices have resulted in a degradation of the living coral. Between 1970 and 2001, the coral reefs have declined 79%, while the indigenous population increased 62%. Coastal erosion has increased as a result of the lack of a
protective natural barrier and a 2.0 cm/year local increase in sea level. Coral-mining and land-filling practices to accommodate population expansion and mismanagement of resources have significantly modified the reef ecosystem and will have serious long- term consequences. Based on these studies Guzmán et al. propose eight priority conservation areas within the Kuna reserve. The Kuna people and their leaders are considering a cultural change, which may include a gradual and organized migration to the mainland, and have optimistically accepted these results. (.pdf version available at [email protected])
Conservation Biology (17: 1396-1401) ha publicado el artículo “Perturbaciones naturales y explotación de arrecifes coralinos panameños por habitantes nativos”, por el científico de STRI Héctor Guzmán, junto con Carlos Guevara y Arcadio Castillo. Antes de 1980, se consideraba que los arrecifes coralinos eran relativamente estables y sanos en Kuna-Yala, en el Caribe panameño. Sin embargo, durante la década de 1980, las perturbaciones naturales, el crecimiento demográfico y las prácticas tradicionales de los Kuna han minado la cobertura de coral vivo en la reserva. Entre 1970 y 2001 el coral decreció en un 79%, mientras que la población indígena incrementó en un 62%. La erosión ha aumentado debido a la falta de una barrera natural de protección, y el nivel del mar sube localmente 2.0 cm/año. La extracción de coral y las prácticas de relleno de terrenos para acomodar más habitantes, así como el manejo inadecuado de recursos han modificado el ecosistema arrecifal significativamente, lo que traerá graves consecuencias a largo plazo. Con base en estos estudios, Guzmán et al proponen ochos áreas prioritarias de conservación dentro de la reserva Indígena. Los Kuna y sus líderes están considerando un cambio cultural, que puede incluir una migración gradual y organizada al continente, y han aceptado nuestros resultados con optimismo.
Piperno will hold joint scientific post at SI
Directors Ira Rubinoff, STRI, and Cristian Samper, NMNH are pleased to announce that Dolores Piperno will hold the first joint scientific appointment between STRI and the NMNH, effective October 1st. This appointment is an important step in the implementation of the Science Commission recommendation to strengthen collaboration between Smithsonian bureaus. Piperno, one of the Smithsonian's leading anthropologists, has been a staff scientist at STRI since 1988. She has worked extensively on the origins and development of agriculture and other aspects of prehistoric human ecology, pioneering techniques that use plant remains to reconstruct ancient environments and human diet.
She has authored three books and numerous publications on these subjects, including articles in Science, Nature and other prominent journals. Piperno will be based at the NMNH, and will maintain a laboratory at STRI, where she will continue her research on the ecology of prehistoric humans in the tropics.
Los directores Ira Rubinoff, STRI y Cristián Samper, NMNH se complacen en anunciar que Dolores Piperno será la primera científica en ocupar un cargo en conjunto entre estos dos centros, a partir del 1ro de octubre. Este nombramiento es un paso importante en la puesta en marcha de las recomendaciones de la Comisión de Ciencias, para reforzar la colaboración entre las unidades del Smithsonian. Piperno, una de las antropólogas más destacadas de SI, ha sido científica de STRI desde 1988. Ha trabajado extensamente sobre los orígenes y desarrollo de la agricultura y en otros aspectos de la ecología humana
prehistórica, usando técnicas pioneras que usan los restos de las plantas para reconstruir ambientes primitivos y las dietas humanas. Es autora de tres libros y numerosas publicaciones en estos temas incluyendo artículos en Science, Nature y otras revistas prominentes. Piperno tendrá oficinas en el NMNH, y mantendrá su laboratorio en STRI, donde continuará sus investigaciones en la ecología de humanoprehistóricos en los trópicos.
Graduate student and postdoctoral positions
Applications are being solicited from individuals interested in either graduate-level or postdoctoral research on the biology of Wolbachia. These endosymbiotic bacteria are perhaps the most widespread parasites on earth and are likely to have profound effects on the ecology and evolution of their host species. The research is funded by a 5-year Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research grant from NSF. The proposed research aims to integrate approaches spanning genomics, genetics, functional biology , evolution, ecology , and biogeography. Training will be cross-disciplinary in nature, and individuals will have
opportunities to work at multiple institutions, including the University of Rochester (John Werren (PI), John Jaenike, Mitsu Ogihara), UC -Riverside (Richard Stouthamer, Cheryl Hayashi, John Heraty), UC -Santa Cruz (Bill Sullivan), STRI (Don Windsor), the American Museum of Natural History (Rob DeSalle), the Marine Biological Laboratory (Jennifer
Wernegreen), the Institute for Genomic Research -TIGR (Herve Tettelin) and Yale (Kevin White). Parties interested in technical, predoctoral and postdoctoral positions at STRI under this grant should send initial inquires to Donald Windsor,
SI Secretary Lawrence Small will address all STRI employees on Thu, Oct 9 at 4pm in the Tupper Center Auditorium.
El Secretario Lawrence Small del Smithsonian se dirigirá a todos los empleados de STRI el jueves 9 de octubre a las 4pm en el Auditorio del Centro Tupper.
Exhibit
An oil painting collection will open to the public on Friday, October 10 at the
Metropolitan Natural Park.
The event is organized by Jorge Ventocilla, STRI and Rodrigo Jaén, University of Panama. Everybody is invited.
Una colección de oleos abrirá al público el viernes 10 de octubre en el Parque Natural Metropolitano. El evento está organizado por Jorge
Ventocilla, STRI y Rodrigo Jaén, Universidad de Panamá.
For sale
Toyota Corolla '98, 40,000km Excellent conditions $6000 Please contact Irene Holst at 212-8073.
The English Department at Universidad Tecnológica is selling tickets to “Cristóbal Colón” at Teatro en Círculo for Sat, Oct 18 at 8pm, $10.
Contact Neal Smith.
More departures
Egbert Leigh, Sep 27 - Nov 5, to Washington DC, on official business at SI, to collaborate with Elizabeth Losos of CTFS, and to other sites around the US to present seminars and consult with colleagues.
New publications
Chatzimanolis, Stylianos.
2003. "Natural history and behavior of Nordus fungicola (Sharp) (Coleoptera:
Staphylinidae)." Annals of the Entomological Society of America 96(3): 225-230.
Engelbrecht, Bettina M.J., and Kursar, Thomas A. 2003.
"Comparative drought- resistance of seedlings of 28 species of co-occurring tropical woody plants."
Oecologia 136: 383-393.
Guzman, Hector M., Guevara, Carlos A., and Castillo, Arcadio. 2003. "Natural disturbances and mining of Panamanian coral reefs by indigenous people."
Conservation Biology 17(5): 1396- 1401.
Heckadon-Moreno, Stanley.
2003. "Flora y fauna del istmo según G. Maack, 1871."
"Epocas" Segunda Era
(Supplement to La Prensa) 18(8):
2-3.
Heckadon-Moreno, Stanley.
2003. "Los naturalistas A.
Aldrich y B. Bole en Azuero, 1932." "Epocas" Segunda Era (Supplement to La Prensa) 18(9):
2-3.
Menino, Holly, and Klum, Mattias (photographer). 2003.
"The kinkajou." National Geographic 2003(October): 42- 57.
