 OTS News
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New Director of La Selva Biological Station Joins OTS
 OTS is pleased to announce that Dr. Carlos de la Rosa has agreed to join the OTS team as Director of the La Selva Biological Station, based in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica.
Dr. de la Rosa holds a Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he carried out research on resource partitioning among a complex assemblage of freshwater insects. Since then, Dr. de la Rosa's research has bridged the fields of ecology and taxonomy of aquatic insects, natural resource conservation and management and outreach to citizens about science and conservation.
His links to Costa Rica are deep, professionally and personally. "My children grew up in the forested slopes of Volcán Orosí, in Guanacaste, as well as in Monteverde, where they learned to love and appreciate nature, science and reading (they never watch TV, to this day)," he says. "To us, Costa Rica is more than a wonderful place to live and work. It is the home we're returning to."
As the new Director of the La Selva Station, Carlos will provide leadership and direction to an important suite of projects and initiatives in research, education, management and outreach. Together with his zoologist and wildlife artist wife, Claudia, they will bring a refreshing collection of ideas, enthusiasm and dedication to the amazing history and significance of La Selva's long-term and wide-ranging programs.
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Annual Meeting at La Selva
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Pictured L-R: Liana Babbar (OTS Director General-Costa Rica), Rodolfo Silva (Board of Visitors, Emeritus), Elizabeth Losos (President and CEO, OTS), Margaret Silva, Bette Loiselle (outgoing Chair, Board of Directors) and Carlos de la Rosa (New Station Director of La Selva.
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The 49th annual meeting of the OTS Assembly of Delegates was held in Costa Rica at La Selva Biological Station on March 9-10, 2012. Delegates were joined by OTS staff, Board of Directors and the Board of Visitors. Approximately 80 attendees from 24 universities, colleges and research institutions joined forces to provide guidance on education, research and ecotourism initiatives of the organization. Highlights of the meeting were welcoming new delegates and institutions, a workshop on how best to design new courses, a research seminar by Dr. Amy Savage (Rice University), winner of the 2011 student paper award, and potential sustainability projects for the three stations. Elections bring new faces to the board of directors. These include: Chair: Mike Breed (U.Colorado); Vice Chair, Education: Cesar Nufio (U.Colorado); Vice Chair Research: Susan Cordell, US Forest Service; Vice Chair Public Awareness: Carlos Morera (Universidad Nacional); Vice Chair, Board of Visitors: Giuseppe Tarnero; Vice Chair, Marketing and Development: John Aspinall; Member at Large: John Kress (Smithsonian Institution), Ivan Sandoval (Universidad Nacional); Nominations Committee: Greg Wray (Duke University). The next annual meeting of the Assembly will be held in conjunction with the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) in San Jose, Costa Rica as both organizations celebrate their 50th anniversaries. Please plan to join us at the Herradura Convention Center in San Jose, Costa Rica, June 23-27, 2013. Details of the meeting will be posted on the ATBC/OTS websites as they become available. Nos vemos!
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New Consortium Members
OTS is pleased to announce the addition of two new Institutional Members of the consortium. At the recent Annual Meeting, the board officially accepted the applications of George Washington University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, research in tropical countries and ecosystems is a common theme. At least 19 faculty members at UN-L are involved in tropical research and education. The initial delegates for UN-L are Dr. Gregory Snow and Dr. Sabrina Russo.
 At George Washington University's faculty of the Biological Science Department voted unanimously to pursue membership with OTS, reflecting their renewed commitment to teaching and research in evolution, ecology and conservation biology. The deaprtment has a number of researchers actively engages in conducting field-based research in the topics. The initial delegates are Dr. Gustavo Hormiga and Dr. John Lill.
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Outreach and Events
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Promoting OTS to the European Market
 On February 29, the Commercial and Public Relations Department participated in Futuropa, a fair dedicated to promote tourism options offered by Costa Rica to the wholesalers and agencies of the European market. Important wholesalers and agencies participated in the activity such as Swiss Travel, Costa Rica Horizontes Nature Tours, Costa Rican Trails, Costa Rican Sun Tours and Veragua Rainforest, as well as big suppliers like Toyota, ICT and Oasis Nature Tours.
In addition to strengthening the bond of OTS with the participating companies, the event provided an opportunity to give them a disc with the Biological Stations rates for 2013, the OTS video and presentations and images for them to promote the Organization and our three Stations.
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Graduate Program Fair Promotes OTS Programs
 OTS participated in the Second International Fair of Graduate Studies Scholarships, offered by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MICIT) from February 23 -25. The event was an excellent opportunity to promote our graduate courses and we even provided information on OTS undergraduate courses and BioCursos program. Other participants of the fair included academic institutions such as CATIE and the embassies of Switzerland, Holland, China, France, Brazil, Japan and USA, among many others. About 300 people came to the OTS table and 150 of them asked to join our the OTS mailing list.
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Graduate Program Deadlines
 Traditional Courses 2012 and 2013
(5-8 week courses)
Tropical Plant Systematics
June 6 - July 9, 2012
*Application Deadline: March 22, 2012
Ecología Tropical y
Conservación (in Spanish)
January 10 - February 19, 2013
*Application Deadline: June 15, 2012
Tropical Biology:
An Ecological Approach
June 7 - July 29, 2013
*Application Deadline: October 1, 2012
Sistemática de Plantas
Tropicales (in Spanish)
June 28 - July 31, 2013
*Application Deadline:
November 1, 2012
Specialty Courses 2012
(2 week courses)
Tropical Lichens and Forest
Health: a Multidisciplinary
Approach
May 21 - June 1, 2012
*Application Deadline:
February 7, 2012 + open enrollment
Diversity and Systematics
of Coleoptera (Beetles)
June 6 - 19, 2012
*Application Deadline:
February 13, 2012 + open enrollment
Inquiry in Rainforests: an
in-service program for teachers
July 11 - 24, 2012
*Application Deadline:
April 12, 2012 + open enrollment
Tropical Fungi and Fungal-likes
August 3 - 13, 2012
*Application Deadline:
April 16, 2012 + open enrollment
*All courses will maintain open enrollment past the original deadline date until filled.
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Tropical Biology 12-1 - Notes from the field
 After almost eight weeks in the field, we are wrapping up the OTS 12-1 graduate Tropical Biology course at our final site, Las Cruces Biological Station. Here, within the Wilson Botanical Garden and accompanied by numerous agoutis, palms, and Heliconias, students are finishing their final analyses, presentations, and reports. We recently returned from a short three-night stint in the rustic splendor of Las Alturas, the 10,000 ha satellite station to Las Cruces, which abuts the 500,000 ha Parque Internacional La Amistad, spanning the borders of Costa Rica and Panama.
We have traveled extensively throughout the country; from the beautiful dry forests of Guanacaste to the coastal moist forest of Cabo Blanco followed by the (currently not-so-wet) lowlands of La Selva and Bijagual then the oak-bamboo forested mountain and sub-alpine páramo habitats of Cerro de la Muerte. Along the way, this group of 15 students, accompanied by a diverse array of resource faculty, has designed hypothesis-driven research projects spanning the fields of ecology, animal behavior, climate change biology, and forestry. In conjunction with their research projects, students have participated in a variety of workshops and symposia led by experts in the fields of: plant ecophysiology, GIS technology, ecosystems biology, DNA barcoding, community phylogenetics, and integral projection modeling (IPM). The OTS 12-1 Tropical Biology course is providing these graduate students with the advanced skill sets needed for them to become the next generation of tropical biologists.
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Undergraduate Application Deadlines
 Undergraduate Applications for Fall 2012 Global Health Issues in South Africa are due April 1, 2012. Should there be openings after this date, late applicants will be considered.
Please contact Enrollment Management if you have any questions or are aware of an interested student at otsadmissions@duke.edu. We appreciate your assistance!
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Station Updates
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World Wetlands Day Recognized at Palo Verde
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In commemoration of World Wetlands Day - February 2nd, OTS developed several activities in order to make people aware of the importance of these ecosystems. We started the month with an interview on the radio magazine ADN Hoy with the director of the Palo Verde Biological Station, Dr. Mahmood Sasa. Meanwhile, Channel 9 broadcast a report on the wetlands recorded on the Station.
 Through Facebook, we broadcasted a talk (click to view) given by Dr. Sasa and we also share throughout the month a series of informative capsules on wetlands, which can still be found on our Facebook fan page. The Palo Verde Biological Station also developed various activities as part of their Environmental Education Program. During the meeting of the Network of Environmental Educators in Bagaces (REAB for its acronym in Spanish) they watched a video about the importance of wetlands; toured the trails and visited Puerto Chamorro. A presentation of the scientific studies performed in these wetlands was given on the banks of the Palo Verde Lagoon.
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