The "Emerging Frontiers in Tropical Science" competition draws together scientists across a range of disciplines, institutions, and geographies to advance multi-disciplinary, multi-scale research that has the ability to transform tropical science.

Emerging Frontiers in Tropical Science -Working Groups Competition funds workshops for the collaborative development of proposals to test cutting-edge theories or for conducting analyses of existing data. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, global climate change impacts on tropical ecosystems, water sustainability and governance, restoration and adaptation, and biosafety related to invasive species and emerging diseases.

Expected products are research proposals to the US National Science Foundation or similar funding organizations, curricular materials for field courses, and manuscripts and synthesis papers to be published in peer reviewed journals.

OTS will support a workshop of 8-10 scientists or educators to work collaboratively for 4-5 days at one of OTS research stations. Researchers of all nationalities working on tropical issues may apply. Awards are made on a competitive basis. Read more...

Workshops are expected to be held between August 2014 and May 2015.
To download a pdf with the full information click here.

 

Last month,  Dr. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), accompanied by her husband Toshihisa Iida and OTS' longtime friend Dr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez (former Costa Rican Minister of the Environment and Energy and currently Senior Vice-President on Conservation policy for Conservation international) packed a diverse and thorough visit to La Selva. Over the span of a three days, they toured La Selva's facilities and forests, including participating in early morning birdwatching and several nature trips with OTS' Naturalist Guide, Lenin Duarte, and (pictured below) ventured high above the canopy on our MRI towers with station director Dr. Carlos de la Rosa.   

 

Throughout the three-day visit, many topics were discussed, including the importance of research and education for biodiversity conservation.  In her own words "Toshi and I are so thankful for... helping us understand the importance of bio-literacy, science based solutions and educating policy makers. We are so impressed with enormous resources created by the center at La Selva which lay out the foundation for the next stage of nature based solutions. It opened my eyes to many important issues."

 

Dr. Ishii, an economist by training, leads the GEF, a partnership between 183 countries and many international private and government institutions that address global environmental issues and support national sustainable development initiatives, providing grants for projects dealing with biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants.  Since its creation in 1991, GEF has invested over $11.5 billion (leveraged by $57 billion in co-financing) in over 1,215 projects in over 165 countries.  Additionally, GEF has made more than 16,000 small grants exceeding $653 million.

 

It was a great pleasure to share with Dr. Ishii the accomplishments, goals, and mission of OTS.  We feel honored to have her visit La Selva and thankful to Dr. Rodriguez for coordinating this visit. 

In addition to learning how to conduct research, the students are producing a video project, a student blog, and a course podcast.  You can keep up with the latest posts by following them:

The Enrollment  Team L-R: Bethany Giglio, Ed Stashko, Patty Kustron, Kala Wolfe, and Patrice Barley

The OTS recruitment team spends much of their time on the road looking for qualified applicants to participate in OTS' undergraduate courses. Below is a tentative list of the schools the enrollment team will visit this spring.  

Austin College Bennett College* Bucknell University Claremont McKenna College Colgate University Columbia University Cornell University Davidson College Duke University Elon University Emory University Florida International University George Washington University Georgetown University Hampton University* Howard University Ithaca College Johnson C. Smith University* Livingstone College* Louisiana State University Loyola University New Orleans Morehouse College Norfolk State University* North Carolina A&T State University* North Carolina Central University* Occidental College

Palm Beach Atlantic University Rice University Sewanee: The University of the South St. Augustine's University* Shaw University* Skidmore College State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse University Tulane University Tuskegee University Union College University of Houston University of Miami University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame Vanderbilt University Villanova University Westmont College Xavier University of Louisiana Yale University *Tentative, but not scheduled at this time.

If your school is listed above, please contact us at otsadmissions@duke.edu to:

Five years ago, we began the arduous process of  uploading images and data of our Herbarium samples and other flora of each  of our three biological stations (La Selva, Las Cruces and Palo Verde). In 2013, the Las Cruces Biological Station recorded the discovery of a new species of plant, Miconia povedae, whose image and features are now available online through the OTS Digital Flora database.

The existence of Miconia povedae plant was registered in the scientific journal Phytotaxa in 2013, thanks to an investigation by Ricardo Kriebel (NY Botanical Garden) and Federico Oviedo.

While traditional herbarium samples will always have a place, the additional benefits of providing digital images and data on species are numerous. Researchers are able to retrieve data almost immediately, view actual color images rather than relying upon the description of another researcher, and the ability to enlarge images to see greater detail. Five years ago, we began the arduous process of  uploading images and data of our Herbarium samples and other flora of each  of our three biological stations (La Selva, Las Cruces and Palo Verde).

To view more images, please visit the Digital Flora of Las Cruces. (keyword: Miconia povedae)

NEW- Tropical Conservation & Sustainable Development: Law, Policy & Professional Practice