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Tropical Forest Diversity Increased During Ancient Global Warming Event

By Guest PostNovember 18, 20101 commentEnvironment, Nature, Scienceangiosperm pollen, atmospheric carbon dioxide, carlos jaramillo, century, Colombia, eldredge bermingham, global warming, joe wright, outcrops, paleocene-eocene thermal maximum, panama, rainforests, scanning electron microscopy image, taxa, temperature increase, tropical areas, Venezuela

The steamiest places on the planet are getting warmer. Conservative estimates suggest that tropical areas can expect temperature increases of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Does global warming spell doom for rainforests? Maybe not. Carlos Jaramillo, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and colleagues report in the journal Science that nearly 60 million years ago rainforests prospered at temperatures that were 3-5 degrees higher and at atmospheric carbon dioxide levels 2.5 times today’s levels.

About the image: This is a scanning electron microscopy image of characteristic angiosperm pollen taxa from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Image credit: Francy Carvajal, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (more…)

Smithsonian Researchers Report that Regional Sea Temperature Rise and Coral Bleaching Event Has Reached Western Caribbean

By Guest PostOctober 15, 20101 commentEnvironmentanomalous sea temperature rise, anoxic conditions, arcadio castillo, bocas del toro research station, caribbean coast, coral bleaching, coral polyps, costa rica, dissolved oxygen, héctor m guzmán, hotosynthetic algae, isla colon, kuna-yala to bocas del toro, nancy knowlton, noaa, panama, sea surface temperatures, turbid waters, warm pocket, western caribbean, zoxanthellae

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Bocas del Toro Research Station and Galeta Point Marine Laboratory are reporting an anomalous sea temperature rise and a major coral bleaching event in the western Caribbean. Although the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, issued an advisory in July announcing above-average sea surface temperatures in the wider Caribbean region, there had been no clear indication of increased sea temperatures in Panama and the western Caribbean until late August-early September. (more…)

Earth’s Highest Coastal Mountain on the Move

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 20101 commentScienceagustin cardona, camilo montes, caribbean sea, coastal mountain, Colombia, earth, ecopetrol energy company, geological basin, geological evolution, german ojeda, paleomagnetic, panama, peru, santa marta, sierra nevada de santa marta, smithsonian scientists, smithsonian tropical research institute, stri, volcanoes

The rocks of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta—the highest coastal mountain on Earth—tell a fascinating tale: The mountain collides and then separates from former super-continents. Volcanoes are born and die. The mountain travels from Peru to northern Colombia and finally rotates in a clockwise direction to open up an entirely new geological basin. Smithsonian scientists were part of a four-year project to study Santa Marta’s geological evolution. Their findings are published in the October 2010 special issue of the Journal of South American Earth Sciences.

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2 new frog species discovered in Panama’s fungal war zone

By Guest PostJuly 5, 20101 commentNatureand, Central Panama, chytridiomycosis, colombian border, darien province, deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, el cope, frogs, fungal disease, karen lips, omar torrijos national park, pacific coast, panama, panama amphibian rescue conservation project, pristimantis adnus, pristimantis educatoris, p_adnus

Trying to stay ahead of a deadly disease that has wiped out more than 100 species, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute continue to discover new frog species in Panama: Pristimantis educatoris, from Omar Torrijos National Park, and P. adnus from Darien Province near the Colombian border.

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1200 Howler Monkeys on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island

By Guest PostJune 29, 20102 commentsNatureanita arcia mendoza, astrocaryum, barro Colorado, Berkeley, bot fly, bot fly lesion, claudio monteza, cuterebra baeri, darlene mitre, david natera, dawn chorus, department of environmental science and policy manageme, first howl, greg willis, howler monkey, island, jose alejandro ramirez silva, karis tunon, katie Milton, luis yepes, orlando ortiz castillo, panama, Smithsonian, stalwart volunteers, stri, triangulation, university of california, university of panama

The fifth Howler Monkey census at the Smithsonian’s Barro Colorado Island research station in Panama, organized by Katie Milton, professor in the department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley, revealed that monkey numbers have not changed significantly since the first census 33 years ago.

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Tag Archives: panama

Tropical Forest Diversity Increased During Ancient Global Warming Event

Smithsonian Researchers Report that Regional Sea Temperature Rise and Coral Bleaching Event Has Reached Western Caribbean

Earth’s Highest Coastal Mountain on the Move

2 new frog species discovered in Panama’s fungal war zone

1200 Howler Monkeys on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island