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The Donald E. Stone Memorial Fund
To pay tribute to the memory of Don Stone and the enormous impact he had on tropical research, conservation and education, the Donald E. Stone Memorial Fund has been established by his family, friends and colleagues. This endowment will provide scholarships in honor of Don and his work with OTS over the last 5 decades.
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Don at the opening ceremony for the La Selva bridge in 1982. In 1996, the bridge was renamed in his honor.
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s a professor at Duke University, Don participated in an OTS course in 1965 and, as a result, was instrumental in Duke University joining the OTS consortium. He served on the OTS Executive Committee until 1976 when he became the Executive Director, a position from which he lead OTS for twenty years. In 1996 Don retired from OTS and became the Chair of the Botany Department at Duke. He returned to OTS to be an active member of the Board of Visitors in 2000 and, later, in 2004, was asked to be the Interim President and CEO, a position he held in a volunteer capacity for nearly two years before our current President and CEO Elizabeth Losos was hired. Don was famous for his fundraising efforts and even now would be smiling at the thought that the memorial fund will provide much needed scholarships for graduate students in our courses. In particular, he would love the fact that all gifts to the fund will be matched by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation up until June 30 of this year. To make a contribution to the memorial endowment fund, please click here: https://www.gifts.duke.edu/ots. Please select "Where Needed Most", complete the Memorial Dedication section and type "Donald E. Stone Memorial Fund" in the comments section. We will automatically notify Don's family, so you do not need to complete the "Please Notify" section although of course you may do so. If you wish to remain anonymous, you
can indicate that as well. Contributions can also be sent to the OTS North American Office at the following address:
Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)
410 Swift Avenue
Durham, NC 27705
If there are any questions or concerns of a financial / tax
nature, please contact the OTS Development Office: Jonathan Giles, jgiles@duke.edu, 919-684-6188
Cathleen Lemoine, cathleen.lemoine@duke.edu, 919-684-6969 As a reminder, a reception to celebrate Don's life will be held on April 16, from 4-6 pm at the Washington Duke Inn.
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OTS Featured at Al Gore Event
On March 16 OTS participated in "The Corporate Forum for Sustainability and the Environment: Al Gore in Costa Rica, Global Affairs." A key component of the event was the participation of the ex-Vice President of the United States and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (2007), Al Gore. Mr. Gore is renowned for his role in raising both global awareness of and action against climate change.
 At the event, businesses and organizations exhibited their products and services, the majority of which were related to environmental conservation and the reduction of their impact on the environment.
OTS was the only science-based organization with high visibility during the day-long forum and in the exhibit hall. Dr. Elizabeth Losos, President and CEO of OTS, set the tone of the forum by presenting the first talk of the day, "The Impact of Climate Change in the Tropics." After presenting the causes and impacts of climate change in Costa Rica, Dr. Losos provided an overview of some of the recent research on frogs, birds, and trees from La Selva 
Biological Station that is helping scientists understand long-term change in tropical ecosystems. The talk was well-received by the audience and the press, and led to a series of discussions during and after the forum. Two days after the symposium, Costa Rica's largest paper, La Nación, ran a full-page interview of Dr. Losos discusses this research further (see La Nacion March 18). This article followed another recent interview with Dr. Losos in
"La República" (January 20).
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2012 T-Shirt Survey ResultsThe winner is....
 Here is the winning design for the 2010 OTS membership t-shirt. Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey!
The new t-shirt will only be available to OTS members in appreciation for their contribution of $50 or more. The new t-shirt will be available in July 2011.
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Update from the Field: Global Health Students Prepare for Final Project
The OTS Undergraduate Global Health students have completed their third and last 'mini-project' at Finca Luna Nueva, a certified organic biodynamic farm and Eco-lodge near La Fortuna, and are now preparing to return to the Las Cruces Station in preparation for their the final project. Mini-projects progressively allow students more responsibility in study design, data collection, data management and analysis, presenting results and possible applications. The final project that acts as a capstone experience, when students implement a research project they have conceived and designed based on community needs.
 | | Spring 2011 students, Anya Price and Jessica Smith, measure growth of a medicinal shrub in varying light conditions. Photo by Anya Price |
This semester, students will be considering the role of environment, genetics and lifestyle issues in gastric cancer in the surrounding community. Soil and water quality will be examined and mapped using GIS. In a nearby indigenous community, local health providers have been talking about working with healers to incorporate traditional and biomedical healthcare into the community clinic. Students will provide first steps for this project by consulting with local healers, documenting folk taxonomy of some of the plant knowledge and develop recommendations for layout of a medicinal plant garden for the clinic. In the same community, another group of students will discuss women's decisions to seek biomedical versus traditional prenatal care and assistance with delivery, in an effort to understand utilization of the community clinic by women.
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2011 Naturalist Guides Participants Selected
In early April, we officially began our Naturalist Guides course; which sponsored by OTS and the Swiss Embassy and being offered at the Las Cruces Biological Station for the first time. We received more than 100 applications for 15 available spots in this course. In the selection process, priority was given to residents of Coto Brus region and a proven interest in ecotourism.
 | 2011 Naturalist Guide Course Participants
Photo by Rodolfo Quiró. |
The training includes weekend sessions on natural history, forest ecology, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods and English lessons among others. This course aims to provide basic tools that promote personal development in order to increase employment opportunities for participants in the future.
We are proud to announce the selected participants:
- Jennifer Figueroa (Agua Buena, Copal)
- Geizel Rodríguez (San Vito, Bello Oriente)
- Paula Melissa Mesén (San Vito, San Vito)
- Daniela Torres (Buenos Aires, Biolley)
- Rita Rodriguez (San Vito, La Administración)
- Carolina Vindas (Sabalito, Sabalito)
- Esteban Sandí (Agua Buena, Copal)
- Merlin Abarca (Agua Buena, Agua Buena)
- Roger González (San Vito, San Vito)
- Henry Barrantes (San Vito, Las Brisas)
- Laura Granados (Golfito, Rio Claro)
- Laura Jiménez (Golfito, Rio Claro)
- Oscar Palacios (Limoncito, Territorio Guaymi)
- Raquel Rodríguez (Golfito)
- Xinia Bejarano (Limoncito, Territorio Guaymi)
Congratulations to the participants!
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2012 Calendar - Call for Photos! The OTS calendar is an annual tradition. Each year, we have highlighted various images of fauna and flora representing our programs and the areas in which we work.
For 2012, we plan to select photos which represent the people of OTS -- students, researchers, and faculty who share our values. If you would like to submit your photos for possible inclusion in the 2012 OTS calendar, please send your images to cathleen.lemoine@duke.edu and luis.ulloa@ots.ac.cr. If your image is selected for inclusion, you will receive one night of accommodations at one of our stations (meals included) for each image used. Images must have the following qualities to be considered: Resolution: 300 ppi minimum Size: 8 inch base minimum Content: Images of students, faculty or researchers working at one of the OTS sites. Please provide names of the individuals in the photograph, name of photographer, date photograph taken, and a brief description of what is happening in the photo. Please submit your images by June 1, 2011.
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OTS Field Stations Receive Bandera Azul
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Pictured L-R, Rodolfo Quirós, Noemi Picado, Alberth Ureña and Kenneth Alfaro
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On March 17, the OTS biological stations at La Selva and Las Cruces were once again recognized by the Bandera Azul Program. Thanks to our sustainable actions, both stations received flags in two categories: "Protected Natural Areas" and "Actions to Confront Climate Change." Kenneth Alfaro and Alberth Ureña accepted the flags on behalf of La Selva while Rodolfo Quirós and Noemi Picado accepted on behalf of Las Cruces. The ceremony took place in the Casa Presidencial, attended by the President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla, Vice-President Alfio Piva, the Minister of Health, Maria Luisa Ávila, and the Minister of Energy and the Environment, Teófilo de la Torre Argüello. Congratulations to all those who worked so hard to achieve this recognition!
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