OTS ONLINE STORE
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2009 TAX RECEIPTS
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Lost your 2009 gift receipt? Just e-mail us for a copy, we'll be happy to send you one by e-mail!
Email us!
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OTS Auction Opens on Monday!
The OTS online auction will open at 8:00 EST, February 22, 2010!
We will continue to accept items until February 18, 2010. The auction will coincide with our Annual Meeting in Costa Rica.
 Featured ItemWhale Watching & Sunset Cruise For 10
 Bring nine of your
closest friends for a 4 hour cruise along the South Pacific of Costa
Rica observing whales and dolphins as they jump and play in their
natural environment. Pacific Quest,
a 110' catamaran based in Dominical, allows you to sit back and relax
on the open, upper observation deck with a tropical drink from the bar
as the on-board naturalist answers your questions.
Special Instructions
More information about our tour is available at http://costaricawhalewatching.com/ Advance reservation is required for groups of 10 or more. Maximum capacity is 100 passengers, plus crew.
Humpback Whales are in Costa Rican waters from January through March
and July through December. Other species of cetations are seen year
round. Pacific Quest is a member of the Responsible Whale Watch Operators Association.
 DONATE AN AUCTION ITEM ONLINE TODAY
As a non-profit organization, all auction donations are considered tax-deductible according to applicable US tax laws. If you have an item you are considering donating to the auction, please contact Cathleen Lemoine at OTS, 919-684-6969, or e-mail cathleen.lemoine@duke.edu.
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Graduate Course Deadlines
Tropical Butterfly Ecology May 14 - 28, 2010
Application Deadline: February 16, 2010 for priority admission, followed by rolling admission until fully enrolled.
A two-week immersion course for graduate
students engaged in or planning field research on tropical Lepidoptera.
The course draws upon the coordinator's expertise and 30+ years of work
on butterfly ecology and evolution in Central and South America,
Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, China, Borneo and Australia. Based
at La Selva in Costa Rica, topics will include field methods, ecology
and evolution of butterfly-ant symbioses, behavioral ecology, mimicry,
ecological physiology, quantitative natural history and future
directions in this field.
Coordinators:
Phil DeVries, University of New Orleans,
Bruce Walsh, University of Arizona,
Isidro Chacón, Museo Nacional de Costa Rica & INBIO
Details (111 kb)
Application form (135 kb) 
Tropical Plant Systematics
June 10 - July 13, 2010
Application Deadline: February 15, 2010 for priority admission, followed by rolling admission until fully enrolled.
Offered in even-numbered years, this course emphasizes a strong conceptual foundation in phylogenetic systematics in an intensive field setting. The course travels to diverse habitats around Costa Rica, from cloud forest and paramo to tropical dry forest and Atlantic lowland rain forest. This course is next offered in 2010 followed by another edition in 2012 as it alternates with OTS-18, the Spanish language version of the
course which is offered in odd years. OTS member students have
priority for admission; however students from non-member institutions
are welcome to apply.
Details
Application form (119kb) Biodiversity of True Bugs (Heteroptera)August 8-22 2010
Application Deadline:March 10, 2010 for priority
admission, followed by rolling admission until fully enrolled.
This two week
course is oriented towards graduate students and post doctoral fellows
interested in intense field training in the collection, identification
and inquiry-based research on the Heteroptera or True Bugs, which are
well represented in the highly diverse tropics. Field collection, lab
identification, and hands-on research experience on Heteroptera will be
complemented by a lecture series on their natural history and
classification. This program will enhance participants' abilities to
work on the ecology and systematics of this megadiverse group that
includes important disease vectors, crop pests, and natural enemies.
The course will take place in wet forest habitat at the La Selva
Biological Station, including if possible sections of the Barva
transect, as well as in the dry forest habitat and wetlands surrounding
the Palo Verde Biological Station.
Coordinators:
Dr. Christiane Weirauch, University of California, Riverside,
Dr. Randall t. Schuh, American Museum of Natural History, New York
Details (216 kb)
Application form (135 kb)
Expanding the Frontier in Tropical Ecology through Embedded Sensors August 16-31, 2010
Application
deadline March 15, 2010
 With
funding from the National Science Foundation, the Organization for
Tropical Studies will conduct a conduct a Pan-American Advanced Studies
Institute (PASI) to introduce tropical ecologists from the Americas to
recent developments in embedded sensor networks.
Embedded
Sensor Networks offer a powerful combination of distributed sensing
capacity and open possibilities for countless applications in
ecological research. The frontiers of ecology expand as biologists
think of new applications and engineers develop the necessary tools to
increase our understanding of how ecological systems work.
Coordinators:
Carolina Murcia
Phil
Rundel
Details (724 kb)
Application form (57 kb)
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Attention Birders!
Upcoming BioCursos Trip: Panamá-Chiriquí Highlands and
Barro Colorado Island in the Panamá Canal
March 1 - 5,
2010 
OTS is offering an exclusive tour for birding enthusiasts into Western Panama
and the Smithsonian's Barrio Colorado Island research station on the Panama
Canal. Organized through the OTS BioCursos program, which provide adult
education packages in Costa Costa, this one-week trip starts shortly after the
OTS annual meetings to be held this year in southern Costa Rica at Las Cruces
and the Wilson Botanical Garden.
Birding will be the theme of the day  as the
group travels across the border and down into Panama. Bird enthusiasts, plant
lovers, hummingbird and butterfly
aficionados -- whether you are a part of the OTS
boards or part of the friends, alumni or research community -- are welcome to
join us. Everyone will be thrilled to discover the spectacular biodiversity of the
region! Please see our link for additional information. Do know, we will be
happy to work with you in making your travel arrangements to Costa Rica and
Panama.
Full Description Cost
per person: $1299
Contact Jonathan Giles at 919-684-6188 or jgiles@duke.edu.
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Knee-deep in Research at Palo Verde
The Palo Verde Station is currently in its third year of a grant for International Research Experiences for Students, sponsored by NSF. Graduate students in the early stages of their careers have been selected on a
competitive basis from educational institutions throughout the United
States. Once selected, they spend 10 weeks working with
OTS scientists on research
projects in tropical biology, such as wetlands restoration, flood
control, water usage, and reducing negative agricultural impacts on the
region.
 Jennifer Bufford (University
of Hawai'i Mānoa, top), an IRES (International Research Experiences for Students) participant, and assistant Poling Chan (Knox
College, bottom) are measuring the species richness of three different aquatic
plant communities, which correspond to different management (fangueo) regimes
in the Palo Verde marsh. Jennifer is also monitoring bird use of these habitats
and will examine the seed bank and regeneration in the field. The IRES program provides a unique opportunity for graduate students to
develop research at Palo Verde.  So far, 12 young researchers have
participated in this program.This IRES project allows OTS to offer an international,
collaborative research opportunity to U.S. students at a point in their
education when such international mentorship and professional
relationships can have the greatest impact on the selection of research
questions, research design, study systems, and study locations. The
work with local farmers, technicians, and extension agents has a dramatic impact on the entire local community as
well as on a wider audience.
For more information, please contact Mahmood Sasa, Palo Verde Station Director at mahmood.sasa@ots.ac.cr.
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