Where the tropics speak and stories grow – from canopy to community.
Welcome to the Tropical Studies Blog that takes you behind the scenes of OTS fieldwork, told by students, researchers, staff, and communities on the front lines of discovery.
In News
One Frond at a Time: The Transformative Journey of an OTS Ambassador
One Frond at a Time: The Transformative Journey of an OTS Ambassador By Cristopher Jiménez-Orozco As part of our ongoing spotlight on OTS alumni, we reached out to Cristopher Jiménez-Orozco—an undergraduate biology student at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and...
In News
Investigating the Welfare of Wild Fish in Dammed and Free-Flowing Rivers
When Rivers Speak: Exploring Fish Welfare in a Changing MekongBy the OTS South Africa Team Interest in animal welfare is expanding beyond traditional subjects of mammals and birds to include invertebrates and lower-order vertebrates including fishes. This shift reflects growing...
In News
Welcome Rebecca Cole and OTS’ Tropical Center for Restoration Science
Welcome Rebecca Cole and OTS’ Tropical Center for Restoration Science It is with great anticipation and happiness that we welcome Rebecca Cole back to OTS to lead OTS’s Tropical Center for Restoration Science. Rebecca grew up in the Las Cruces...
In News
BioCursos: Connecting human ingenuity and nature
OTS is pleased to announce the relaunch of our BioCursos program, an initiative that seeks to make the natural world available to our community in an experiential way. BioCursos is aimed at adults who love nature, promoting environmental education and...
In News
News from the Board and President/CEO – January 2025
Connecting with you in 2025! For OTS, 2024 was a year for renewing long-standing connections and making new ones. Over a year ago, on a trip to Las Cruces for the closing reception of the show of artist Deirdre Hyde,...
In News
OTS Attends the U.N. sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) in Cali, Colombia
In late October, OTS Director for Strategic Engagement Carlos Silva traveled to Cali as part of a delegation of more than 20 people from the Ecological Society of America (ESA) to attend COP16, the latest round of negotiations among 196...
In News
Alumni Ambassador spotlight – January 2025
Photo: Darren Lowery An interview with Darren Lowery, African Ecology and Conservation, Fall 2024 What made you decide to do an OTS program? I decided to do an OTS program, because I believed it would be an invaluable experience. I...
In News
Announcing the Dr. Nora Bynum Fund for Inclusion
To celebrate the work of Dr. Nora Bynum, who retired last fall from her position as OTS Dean of Academic Programs, OTS announces the Dr. Nora Bynum Fund for Inclusion. Nora has had a profound influence on OTS through her...
In News
News from Admissions – January 2025
Tropical Biology, Spring 2025 OTS Admissions proudly welcomes our Spring 2025 undergraduate cohorts! Our African Ecology and Conservation program in South Africa has reached its largest enrollment since pre-pandemic times, and our Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet program in...
In News
Science happenings at OTS: New research and publications – January 2025
Photo: Stephanie Clements Photo: Stephanie Clements Complex patch geometries maximize species richness at the expense of forest specialists. The landscape surrounding Las Cruces Research Station is highly fragmented, consisting of forest reserves, forest patches, corridors, and a matrix. Clements...