 OTS News
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 | Supporting OTS
OTS' President and CEO, Elizabeth C. Losos speaks to friends of OTS about the importance of supporting our programs.
Become a member today
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Planned Giving
Planned giving is an increasingly popular means of providing significant support for charitable institutions while simultaneously providing the donor with significant tax benefits.
The benefits to the donor can include an immediate charitable income tax deduction, even though the charity may not receive the gift until a future date; deferral or avoidance of capital gains taxes on gifts of appreciated securities; retained increased income to the donor and/or their family; possible assistance in asset diversification, and most importantly, critical support for an organization which you know shares your values.
At OTS, this truly is a way to have a meaningful impact by providing excellent students in financial need with the unique opportunity to take our field-based courses and conduct research in the tropics. For more information, please contact Jonathan Giles by email at jgiles@duke.edu or call (919.684.6188).
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Outreach and Events
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Upcoming Travel -- New Orleans
Save the date! This fall, OTS will be in New Orleans. Join us on October 19-21 for a wonderful weekend exploring the botanical side of the Big Easy! We promise a few evening and late night treats too. Email sarah.clem@duke.edu for updates on our plans and pricing information as it becomes available. OTS members will receive discounts.
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Avon Great Green Macaw Campaign
OTS is developing a campaign for the conservation of the Great Green Macaw (Ara Ambiguus), in collaboration with Avon in Costa Rica. The Green Macaw goes to the Sarapiqu� region in search of mountain almond trees, which are their natural habitat. In addition, the seeds of the almond tree are the main feeding source for the Green Macaw. To help preserve and enhance their habitat, Avon will donate 100 colones for the sale of items identified by the stamp Done 100. The money raised will go to reforest the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor with almond trees.
In the following video OTS' Commercial and Public Relations Coordinator, Diana Maroto, explains the campaign.(in Spanish)
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Campana de conservacion de la Lapa Verde
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Notes From The Field - Neotropical Social Insects
By Dr. Sean O'Donnell - Drexel University
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Students hard at work exploring the ant and nematode faunas of Cecropia stem nodes in a field problem led by Dr. Paul Hanson. L-R: Natalie Lemanski, Max Winston, Arian Avalos, Sarah Lawson, Helen McCreery. Photo by Sean O'Donnell.
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The 2012 OTS graduate course on Neotropical Social Insects is winding down at the beautiful Las Cruces Biological Station. The weather continues to be dry and pleasant; giving us great field-work conditions for the two weeks of the course. Our students are busy with independent projects such as foragers attracted to fruits, paper wasp queen behavior, and defenses of social caterpillars. Our days and nights have been very full with the classic OTS jambalaya of orientation walks, faculty and student field problems, lectures, and
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Max Winston offers Laura Chavarria a boost up to a Protopolybia nest at Las Cruces station. Their independent project focused on colony responses to queen removals and introductions. Photo by Sean O'Donnell
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workshops. Last week at La Selva seems like an eon ago. Highlights include exciting discoveries about living bridge building and cooperative carrying of huge objects by ants, litter ant community structure, salt foraging by leaf cutters, and bee and wasp colony recognition. Several Ph.D. thesis projects have likely been inspired or solidified by the course. My co-coordinator Dr. Floria Mora-Kepfer and I feel fortunate to have led this easy-going group of students. We have benefited immensely from the special skills and perspectives of our resource faculty, and they, in return have been highly impressed by the keen intellectual insights and hard work the group brings and by their wonderful camaraderie. We will miss the students and the daily sense of adventure and discovery of the course, but I know many of the students will be close colleagues in the future. I am encouraged to see the study of social insects and tropical biology passing into such capable hands. This is the second offering of this highly successful course, and I hope to have the good fortune to teach it again.
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OTS South Africa Program Student Wins Photography Contest
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is dedicated to international education, research and engagement. With a strong commitment to international initiatives both at the campus level and within individual colleges, Illinois is committed to promoting and developing study abroad opportunities for its students.
Each year, UI-UC holds a photo contest for students who have participated in an international program. Claire Butkus participated in the Fall 2011 South Africa Semester Abroad program and submitted the picture (taken by OTS' own Laurence Kruger) below with the following description. Her submission won first place in the contest.
 "Making Friends with an Octopus"
By Claire Butkus
My semester abroad in South Africa consisted of countless incredible, hands-on experiences with nature and conservation. On our program we traveled to multiple national parks and reserves to conduct field work and research. Here we visited the Western Cape to learn about the marine ecosystem of the coast. During this day we suited up in our wet suits and explored tide pools to gather information about aquatic ecosystem dynamics and patterns. While counting anemones in one tide pool, I noticed a long, tentacled arm poking out of the rocks. After further investigation I realized it belonged to this incredible creature. I had never imagined that I would have the opportunity see an animal like this in the wild. Octopi are the most intelligent invertebrates and have the capability to solve puzzles and recognize different people. As an animal science major, it was an amazing experience to interact with such bizarre and interesting creature.
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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
Ecolog�a Tropical y
Conservaci�n (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
Sistem�tica 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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Station Updates
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Newly Formed Las Cruces Advisory Committee
One of objectives for the Las Cruces Biological Station over the past few year has been to reinvigorate the Las Cruces Advisory Committee. The new members of the committee represent a broad range of interests and viewpoints on the station's direction over the past few years. There is a mix of long-term researchers and people affiliated with the station as well as more recent researchers. In addition, two members (Susan Cordell and John Kress) were recently elected to the OTS Board of Directors, so we even have good representation at the organizational level!
Susan Cordell - US Forest Service (Hawai'i)
John Kress - Smithsonian Institution
Chase Mendenhall - Stanford University
Alison Olivieri - President, San Vito Bird Club
Chris Peterson - University of Georgia
Bob Tim - University of Kansas
Welcome!
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The Robert and Catherine Wilson Botanical Garden Celebrates 50th Anniversary
 On May 5, 2012 the Robert and Catherine Wilson Botanical Garden will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. In 1962, Robert and Catherine Wilson established the first collections of plants in what would be the Las Cruces Tropical Botanical Garden, whose initial aim was to offer for sale tropical plants, native and non-native to Costa Rica. Eventually, the Wilsons decided to sell the garden to the Organization for Tropical Studies for its administration and management. OTS purchased the property in 1975, annexing also some forested properties for the purpose of protection, research and training. In 1987, OTS recognized and dedicated the Garden to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for the collection of plants they had established and for their contribution to horticulture. The collection of plants protected here is world renowned and the subject of study by a variety of visitors.
Various commemorative activities are being planned to celebrate this important date for the garden, and the station is expecting the participation of many neighbors and friends.
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External Announcements
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Job Vacancies
The Alaska Regional Forester's Office, Juneau, Alaska, is looking for a highly motivated, dedicated, and committed professional to serve as Administrative Assistant. This is a permanent, full-time position. Click for announcement. Interested candidates should submit the form enclosed, to Rebecca Havens, Executive Assistant at rahavens@fs.fed.us or call 907-586-8863.
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The search for the next OTS AMIGO t-shirt is on! Vote today for your favorite design -- this survey will be open until midnight on April 30, 2012. 
