|
|
Family and Friends Gather to Celebrate the Memory of Don Stone
On April 16, the community joined together to remember and celebrate the memory of Donald E. Stone. Friends and family shared moving tributes and joyful stories of Don's life. At the reception, Don's family announced they are contributing $75,000 to establish the Donald E. Stone Memorial Endowment Fund to provide graduate student scholarships in our courses. A group of former employees and board members, led by Lucinda McDade, has taken the lead in trying to match this generous donation by reaching out to OTS alumni, board members, employees, and friends who were influenced by Don. As of today, they have raised $62,000 and are now just $13,000 from their goal of $75,000. For almost four decades, Don's actions - both large and small - reached every employee, student, researcher, and friend of OTS. We are all forever grateful for his involvement. All gifts made before June 30 will qualify to be matched colon-for-colon and dollar-for-dollar by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This summer a plaque, listing the names of all contributors will be displayed permanently at La Selva. Memorial donations can be made online here: https://www.gifts.duke.edu/ots (Please select "Where Needed Most" and type "Stone Memorial Fund" in the comments section.) or call 919-684-6969 to submit a credit card by phone.
|
 |
Update from the Field: Tropical Ecology
The OTS-Duke University semester program in Tropical Biology, Environmental Science and Policy, Research Design, and Spanish Language and Culture finished up the academic part of the semester at La Selva Biological Station the first week of May. The La Selva stay began with a visit to Dole Banana and a discussion of the pros and cons of large scale agriculture in the context of conservation and socioeconomic criteria. The visit to the plantations and packing plant was an eye opening experience for many students, and the discussion explored the many ways in which issues surrounding the presence of multinational corporations in underdeveloped countries is not black and white.
 | |
Photo by J. Mauricio García-C
|
At La Selva, the group also completed the final faculty-led projects of the semester, led by invited faculty Kyle Harms (LSU) and Cesar Nufio (U. Colorado, Boulder). These "FLPs" led to several offshoot projects that students developed as their independent research projects. These research projects allow students to practice formulating hypotheses, designing projects, collecting data and presenting results both as formal scientific papers and as formal talks for a research symposium. Projects ranged from the role of plant anthocyanins in deterring insect herbivores to a test of the "dear enemy" hypothesis in bullet ants. When a mini dry spell ended abruptly towards the end of the stay at La Selva, students also experienced the joys of torrential tropical downpours and the wonders of sudden and explosive night time frog activity.
The course ended with a 2-night visit to Rincon de la Vieja National Park and a final dinner. The slide show at the final dinner included the photos taken of each student on the very first day of the course. Everyone laughed and smiled to see how much they had changed in 16 short weeks, having started as strangers and finished as "USAP TB Spring 2011."
|
| |
OTS Hosting ATBC Conference in 2013 Mark your Calendar!  We are thrilled to announce that we are hosting the ATBC (Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation) Annual Meeting on June 23-27, 2013 and raising a glass in celebration with ATBC as both organizations celebrate their 50th Anniversaries.
|
OTS Bids Farewell to La Selva Director
 It is with great sadness that OTS announces the departure of Dr. Deedra McClearn, Director of the La Selva Biological Station. Dr. McClearn will be leaving La Selva sometime between Sept -Dec, 2011 in order to pursue projects in the United States.
Dr. McClearn has been a valued asset to the organization during her six-year tenure as Station Director and for nine years before that in our educational programs in Costa Rica and South Africa. Though she will be leaving the employment of OTS, we hope to keep her actively engaged in La Selva with her research and in our educational programs. We thank Deedra for her years of service, strong character and enthusiasm; we wish her great success in her future endeavors.
A search committee will be formed to recruit and review candidates for this key position and we will be posting an formal announcement of this position shortly. We expect to begin interviewing potential candidates this summer to ensure a smooth transition.
|
|
REU at Palo Verde Provides Nicaraguan Students with Unique Opportunity
 | |
REU participants Claridalia Lopez (Universidad Nacional Agraria de Nicaragua) and Sendy Pichardo (UNAN-León) during their research on nest predation in Acacia trees
|
"In Nicaragua, we have lots of courses that teach us statistics and ecological theory, but none that give us the practical experience of how to conduct research in the field," said undergraduate Luis Quintana from the University of Leon in Nicaragua. "I love what we are learning here in Palo Verde. More than anything, we are learning techniques that we can use in the future." Luis is one of 14 undergraduates currently enrolled in OTS' Research Experience for Nicaraguan Undergraduates. He is in the middle of his independent field project, in which he is trying to assess the influence of temperature on leaflet response in Mimosa pudica. Danelia Mairena of the University of Managua, Nicaragua, agreed that this experience of living and breathing biology in the field is unlike anything she had ever experienced. She was determined to take this course this year after a friend of hers from last year's REU told her it was the experience of a lifetime. Daneila is conducting her independent research on spider foraging behavior in bromeliads, though when she returns to Nicaragua she hopes to continue her career path studying sea turtles.
Fourteen undergraduates - Thirteen Nicaraguans and one Costa Rican - are in the final phase of this REU which is being held at Palo Verde Biological Stations from May 1-15, 2011. Each of the students is collecting data for their independent field project. The REU program is taught by Dr. Mahmood Sasa, Palo Verde Station Director, with visiting faculty from Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional, Estación Biológica Tirimbina, Area de Conservación Arenal Tempisque.
The REU has been generously funded for as second year by Chris Davidson and Sharon Christoph.
|
|
|
Alumni -- Get Involved!
As you know, OTS offers its alumni post-course fellowships and other research awards to encourage a return to the tropics. Our field stations have enabled OTS alumni to interact with a host of scientists from around the world. But we want to do more.
We are looking for Alumni Representatives to help us reach out to lost alumni and develop a comprehensive alumni program. Specifically, we want to:
- Create an OTS Alumni Benefits Package - we are working on creating a package of benefits for members of the OTS Alumni community. We would love your input!
- Plan an OTS Alumni Reception - scheduled during the ATBC Conference in San José planned for June 23-27, 2013.
- Locate Lost Alumni
Please consider joining us, once again, and make a powerful statement about your belief in OTS. If you are interested in helping us prepare for the 50th celebration, please contact Cathleen Lemoine at cathleen.lemoine@duke.edu or 919-684-6969.
|
| |
New Breakfast Bar at La Selva Created at Mosaic Workshop
As part of La Selva's dining area remodeling efforts, a new breakfast bar was recently installed to provide an alternative space for visitors while dining, chatting with other guests, or waiting for a tour to begin. Built out of cement, the breakfast bar has a garden box, which has been planted with ferns and other tropical plants. The designers, AMI Design, envisioned adorning the top-surface with a tile mosaic. To make the process more interactive and meaningful, the Station invited the children of La Selva employees to participate in an arts and crafts workshop and help make the mosaic.
 | |
The La Selva staff and their children worked side-by-side to complete the mosaic. Photo by AMI TV Team.
|
On April 16, 2011, eight children between the ages of 10 and 12 participated in the workshop at La Selva. They were a little shy at first, but once they understood the process of how to make a mosaic, they did not hesitate to dirty their hands in cement and begin gluing down the ceramic pieces on top of the drawing that AMI Design prepared the night before.
 | | The new breakfast bar at La Selva provides an alternative space for visitors while dining. Photo by Ronald Vargas |
Hammers chipped away to break the ceramic into smaller tiles, cement was strategically placed on the different areas of the drawing, and little by little, the large leaves that hang from green vines within the mosaic design began to take shape. Their involvement and enthusiasm soon sparked interest among their parents who had first quietly observed, but then could no longer resist the desire to scrounge through the mosaic pieces and to dirty their hands with cement while laying tile. With everyone working so diligently, the morning passed quickly, and the 40-foot long by 20 inches wide mosaic was completed in 4.5 hours. After a much deserved round of applause and feeling very pleased with the completed work, the group had lunch together. It was a great team effort and resulted in something that will be enjoyed by everyone who visits the station for years to come.
|
|
|
|
