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Tropical Studies Blog

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.

Carpenter Bequest

Photo via LinkedIn All of us at OTS are deeply grateful and excited to announce the bequest to OTS of $430,000 from the Francis Lynn Carpenter Trust. Lynn, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Irvine,...
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OTS South Africa turns 20

It's been just over 20 years ago that we launched the OTS African Ecology and Conservation courses in South Africa after two years of careful discussions. Thanks to the initial funding from the Mellon Foundation, a partnership between OTS, WITS,...
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An excerpt: “Quetzals: Icons of the Cloud Forest”

Quetzals: Icons of the Cloud Forest Alan F. Poole Photo credit: Zona Tropical Publications The following is an excerpt from Alan F. Poole's book, Quetzals: Icons of the Cloud Forest: “……a bird of such incredible beauty that for 200 years...
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Open Doors Festival 2024 at Las Cruces Research Station

Photo credit: Ramon Morales Garro Open Doors is a tradition that was born in 2008. The event has been evolving as a means of community outreach at the Las Cruces Research Station and Wilson Botanical Garden, with the intention of...
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In Remembrance of Rodolfo Silva Vargas

Photo credit: Carlos Silva I share the sad news that Rodolfo Silva, a long-time OTS friend and supporter, passed away on July 10, 2024, at the age of 91, leaving behind his wife Margaret, his son Carlos and wife Irene,...
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OTS community news – September 2024

Photo credit: BioQUEST OTS is represented in the OCELOTS network. New online modules for teaching tropical biology are based on research by the OTS community. La Selva researchers G. Small and C. Ganong created a module to allow students to...
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Publications – September 2024

La Selva mammals are in the spotlight. Using exclusion plots, Osorto Nuñez et al. 2024[1] showed that the presence of collared peccaries increased seedling diversity, seedling height, and evidence of herbivory at La Selva, whereas at a nearby comparison site...
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Nora Bynum

Dr. Nora Bynum, a long-term staff member who made significant contributions to the development and implementation of OTS’ education program, retired in July 2024. Dr. Bynum was integral to the OTS education program in a variety of roles for almost...
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On the 60th anniversary of the Organization for Tropical Studies – Luko Hilje

On the 60th anniversary of the Organization for Tropical Studies From Costa Rica, an original way to understand neotropical nature in depth (an English translation of the original article, appearing on Meer.com) June 13, 2024 Luko Hilje Students and professors...
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News from Admissions – September 2024

We are very excited to welcome undergraduate students to both South Africa and Costa Rica for the Fall 2024 semester. This marks the official relaunch of the Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet undergraduate semester program. Applications are now open...
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Continue diving into real-world field experiences, discoveries, stories and voices shaping the future of tropical science.