4-May-2009 First jaguar photo taken at Smithsonian Research Station in Panama Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Business Announcement The first photo of a jaguar on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, home of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's premier tropical biology research station was taken on April 20, 2009.
20-Apr-2009 Live-in domestics: Mites as maids in tropical rainforest sweat bee nests Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication Mites not only inhabit the dust bunnies under your bed, they also occupy the nests of tropical sweat bees where they keep fungi in check. Bees and their young are healthier when mites live-in, report researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and the University of Texas at Austin.
2-Apr-2009 Food security for leaf-cutting ants: Workers and their fungus garden reject endophyte invaders Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication New diseases affect human survival and food security, especially as population density climbs. Leaf-cutting ants, one of a few groups of social insects to cultivate crops and live in dense colonies, harvest plant material to fertilize underground fungal gardens. New results from the Smithsonian show that both the ants and their fungal crop actively combat fungi coming into the nest inside leaves. Funder National Science Foundation, American Association of University Women, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, World Cacao Foundation
24-Mar-2009 Smithsonian scientist warns that palm oil development may threaten Amazon Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication Oil palm cultivation drives forest destruction across Southeast Asia. Proposed change in Brazil's legislation, new infrastructure and the influence of foreign agro-industrial firms in the region, may create a similar situation in the Amazon. Journal Tropical Conservation Science
13-Mar-2009 First successful transvaginal nephrectomy performed using advanced surgical concepts' tri-port Instituto Medico La Floresta Peer-Reviewed Publication Dr. Rene Sotelo performs the world's first successful live human transvaginal nephrectomy using Advanced Surgical Concepts' unique Tri-port access port.
19-Feb-2009 Cleaning the atmosphere of carbon: African forests out of balance Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication Carbon held in African forests is on the rise, but there's no simple explanation. The two most likely explanations are that forests are responding to high atmospheric carbon dioxide or that they are recovering from a previous natural or human-induced disturbance. Journal Nature Funder HSBC Climate Partnership
13-Feb-2009 AAAS Symposium: Emerging threats to tropical, temperate and ocean ecosystems Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication Three conservation scientists describe new threats and research needs for tropical, temperate and ocean ecosystems. Meeting 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
4-Feb-2009 World's largest snake discovered in fossilized rainforest Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Peer-Reviewed Publication New snake species described in the journal Nature based on vertebra from excavations in Colombia. Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the world's largest snake, was more than 42 feet long and weighed over a ton. Journal Nature Funder Cerrejon Coal Mine, Florida Museum of Natural History, National Science Foundation, Banco de Colombia, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Geological Society of America, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
30-Jan-2009 Smithsonian scientists receive coveted BBVA Ecology and Conservation Award Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Grant and Award Announcement Leaders in tropical biology and conservation, William F. Laurance and Thomas E. Lovejoy, have won the 2008 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, announced on Jan. 30, 2009, in Madrid, Spain. Funder BBVA Foundation
13-Jan-2009 New digital map of Africa's depleted soils to offer insights critical for boosting food production CIAT Peer-Reviewed Publication Responding to sub-Saharan Africa's soil health crisis, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture announced today an ambitious new effort to produce the first-ever, detailed digital soil map for all 42 countries of the region. This project combines the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples from remote areas across the continent to help provide solutions for poor farmers.