Tupper 4pm seminarTuesday, June 17, 4pmseminar speaker will AnneMeylan, Florida Fish andWildlife ConservationCommissionBiology and conservation ofmarine turtles in Bocas delToro Province and theNgäbe-Buglé Comarca

Bambi seminarThursday, June 19, Bambiseminar speaker will be JohnAvise, University ofCalifornia, IrvineThe phylogeographicrevolution in populationgenetics

Bocas'FairTalks (English and Spanish)during the week-end of theBocas' Fair at the STRIStation, on Isla Colón. OnSaturday, June 14, 6pm,Maurice Thomas, Palm BeachAtlantic University willpresentThe ecology and theimportance of bats in Bocasdel Toro. La ecología y suimportancia de losmurciélagos de Bocas delToro

On Sunday, June 15, thesecond Bocas' Fair speakerwill be Peter Meylan, EckerdCollege, 6pm, STRI StationPlaya Larga: anotherimportant sea turtle nestingbeach. Playa Larga: otrositio importante para elanidamiento de tortugas

Bocas TalkThursday, June 19, Bocas delToro talk speaker will beAndrew Kratter, University ofFlorida, 7pm IPAT’s CEFATIBuilding, Isla ColonThe birds of Bocas historymeets island biogeography

STRI newsSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá www.stri.org June 13, 2008

HSBC and STRI celebrate WorldEnvironment DayAs part of the HSBC Climate Partnership, STRI and HSBClaunched a series of activities tocelebrate World EnvironmentDay and to raise awareness andimprove understanding ofenvironmental issues.

On June 5, the exhibit"Smithsonian Institution GlobalEarth Observatories" (SIGEO)was officially inaugurated atHSBC's headquarters by itsexecutive president ErnestoCarlos Fernandes (center) andSTRI's acting deputy director,William Wcislo (to Fernandes’right in the photo) as well asother representatives fromSTRI and HSBC. This exhibitwill travel to other corporate

buildings in the Republic ofPanama and abroad. The photobelow shows Mónica Alvarado,director of Public Informationand Media Relations who iscurrently serving as liaison withthe HSBC in Panama,introducing the concepts of theexhibit to Chris Levy, HSBCchief financial officer.

On June 8, a group of 50 employees and families of HSBC andBanistmo branches in Colón visited the Galeta Point Marine Laboratory (photo inpage 2, where they toured the facilities and trails

accompanied by Galeta's natureguides. These and futureactivities are intended toincrease HSBC's employees'awareness and engagement onthe HSBC Climate Partnershipas well as to promote STRImission and projects, especiallythe SIGEO.

BCI 85 anniversaryth

The 85 anniversary of Barro Colorado Island will be celebratedth

on the Island, on Friday, June 20. Smithsonian Institution actingsecretary Cristián Samper will attend the event. Boats to BCIwill leave STRI's Gamboa dock at 11am. Boats will leave BCI at3:40 and 6pm. Contact Oris Acevedo for reservations.

El 85 aniversario de la Isla de Barro Colorado se celebrará en laIsla, el viernes 20 de junio. El secretario interino delSmithsonian Institution Cristián Samper asistirá al event. Losbotes hacia BCI saldrán del muelle de STRI en Gamboa a las11am. Los botes saldrán de BCI a las 3:40 y a las 6pm. Póngase en contacto con Oris Acevedo para reservaciones.

Colon talkThursday, June 19 Colonmonthly talk speaker will beDonald M. Windsor, STRI, at7pm, Hotel Meliá PanamáCanalLos microbios y los isectospanameños

ArrivalsReina Heinz, University ofCalifornia - Santa Cruz, toconduct the project "What arethe relative roles of mammals,insects, and pathogens in seedremoval and seed survival atthe pre-dispersal stage?" inGamboa.

Nikki Strong, postdoctoralfellow from the University ofMinnesota, to study thesedimentology of theCenozoic of Panama, at theCTPA.

Andrew Park, University ofWinnipeg, Canada, to join thePRORENA project, atTupper and Gamboa.

Lucas Cernusak, STRIpostdoctoral fellow, to studythe water-use efficiency oftropical trees: mechanisms atmultiple scales, at Tupper.

Luis Piacentini, MuseoArgentino de CienciasNaturales, Argentina, to studythe Application of the DNAbarcode technique to the rapidestimation of megadiversegroups in biodiversity hotspots: the arthropods of theIsthmus of Panama, at Naos.

Willie Tobin. University ofCalifornia - Santa Cruz, toconduct studies of brainminiaturization, at Tupper.

Karin Akre, University ofTexas at Austin, to join thestudies of the female choice intungara frogs, in Gamboa.

Como parte del ClimatePartnership del HSBC, STRI yel HSBC dieron inicio a unaserie de actividades para celebrarel Día Mundial del Ambiente ypara elevar la conciencia ymejorar el conocimiento deasuntos ambientales.

El 5 de junio, la exhibibión deSTRI “Smithsonian InstitutionGlobal Earth Observatories”(SIGEO, por sus siglas eninglés) fue inauguradaoficialmente en la sede delHSBC por su presidenteejecutivo, Ernesto CarlosFernandes (centro, en la primerafoto de la primera página) y elsubdirector interino de STRIWilliam T. Wcislo (a la derechade Fernades), al igual que otrosfuncionarios de HSBC y STRI.Esta exhibición viajará a otroscentros corporativos en laRepública de Panamá y en el

extranjero. En la foto de abajo,Mónica Alvarado, directora de laOficina de Divulgación yMedios da una introducción delos conceptos de la exhibición aChris Levy, director en jefe deFinanzas.

El 8 de junio, un grupo de 50empleados y familiares de lassucursales del HSBC y Banistmoen Colón, visitaron elLaboratorio Marino de Galetadonde fueron recibidos por losguías naturalistas de Galeta yconducidos a conocer lasinstalaciones y senderos del área(foto de arriba). Estas y otrasactividades futuras tienen comoobjetivo aumentar la concienciade los empleados del HSBCsobre el Climate Partnership, asícomo promover la misión y losproyectos de STRI,especialmente SIGEO.

More arrivalsKristin McElligott and KyleMeyer, University ofWisconsin - Milwaukee, toconduct the project "Dolianas cause chronicdisturbance and altersuccessional trajectories intropical forests?" on BCI.

Fabiany Herrera, Universityof Florida, to study thegeologic history of theNeotropical forest, at theCTPA.

Lainy Day, University ofMississippi, to study brainand behavior relationships inbirds, in Gamboa.

Daniella Schweizer,University of California -Santa Cruz, to study thephylogenetic signal in theperformance and health oftree species in mixedplantations, in Gamboa.

Ellen Suurmeyer, short-termfellow from the Universityof Arizona, to investigatemechanisms of gallinduction in the fig-fig waspsystem, on BCI.

Verena Hammes, Universtiyof Heidelberg, Germany, tostudy tree diversity as acontrol of whole tree wateruse in experimentallyassembled mixtures inPanama (Sardinilla), atTupper.

Tina Barbasch, CornellUniversity, to study tadpoleschooling and parental carein an aquatic-breedingtropical frog, Leptodactylusinsularum in Gamboa.

Peter Vorpahl, University ofPotsdam, Germany, to studywater, energy, andbiogeochemical budgets inthe humid tropics, inGamboa and BCI.

More arrivalsBrent Frey, Yale University, tostudy the regeneration ecologyand enrichment potential ofslower growing tropical treespecies across anenvironmental gradient inPanama, at Tupper.

Ingrid Parker, University ofCalifornia - Santa Cruz, tocontinue studies on thegeographic origin andrecruitment patterns inChrysophyllum, in Gamboa.

Julie Worley, Portland StateUniversity, to study theevolution of reproductivemode: phenotypic plasticityand selection on aquatic andterrestrial breeding in aneotropical treefrog, inGamboa.

Gregory Gilbert, University ofCalifornia in Santa Cruz, tostudy the phylogeneticstructure of plant pathogenhost ranges, in Gamboa.

Justin Cummings, Universityof California - Santa Cruz, tostudy the response of invasiveSaccharum spontaneum undervarying light intensities intropical rain forests ofPanama, in Gamboa.

Gün Koleoglu, Middle EastTechnical University, to studythe stress behavior and socialorganization in leaf-cutterants, on BCI.

Cristián Samper, SI, toparticipate at the 85 BCIth

anniversary.

DeparturesFernando Pascal toWashington DC, on officialbusiness at STRI.

New STRI video Punta Galeta:“Muchos sitios en un solo lugar”STRI's Office of PublicInformation produced anddirected a new video “PuntaGaleta: “Muchos sitios en unsolo lugar” [Galeta Point:“Many places in a single site”]realized by Enrique Castro andnarrated by Galeta's directorand promoter StanleyHeckadon-Moreno, WayneSousa, professor at theUniversity of California atBerkeley and othercollaborators. This video is partof the EDAVIS project and issupported by Senacyt andSTRI's Public InformationOffice.

Sousa

The video features long andshort-term research projectsconducted at Galeta, educationefforts and extension programswith the Colon community. Italso highlights how scientificinformation and itsinterpretation to the locals canturn around unhealthy practicesinto sustainable activities likecontrolled fisheries, wiser usesof the soils, the rational use ofall natural resources, and the

protection of what is left of themangroves in the province ofColon, most vital environmentof the coastal Caribbean line ofPanama.

Alfredo Lanuza

The 25-minute video will salefor $12 at STRI’s mini-bookstores. Interested docentsand school officials mayacquire the video consultingJulia Vejas, Office ofCommunications and PublicPrograms at 212-8169, or IlliaGrenald at the Galeta MarineLaboratory, at 212-8191.

La Oficina de Divulgación yMedios de STRI produjo ydirigió el nuevo video “PuntaGaleta: “Muchos sitios en unsolo lugar”, con la realizaciónde Enrique Castro, narrado porStanley Heckadon Moreno,director y promotor de Galeta,Wayne Sousa, profesor de laUniversidad de California enBerkeley, y otros

colaboradores. Este video esparte del proyecto EDAVISque cuenta con apoyo deSenacyt y fondos de la Oficinade Divulgación y Medios delSmithsonian.

El video muestra proyectos deinvestigación a corto y largoplazo realizados con base enGaleta, los esfuerzos deeducación y los programas deextensión con las comunidades

Heckadon

de Colón. También hace énfasisen cómo la informacióncientífica y su interpretación alos locales, pueden convertirprácticas poco saludables enactividades sustentables como lapesca controlada, un mejor usode los suelos, el uso racional detodos los recursos naturales, yla protección de lo que quedade los manglares de Colón, elambiente número uno enimportancia y vital de la líneacostera del Caribe de Panamá.

El video de 25 minutos sevenderá por $12 en las mini-librerías de STRI. Docentesinteresados y funcionarios deescuelas pueden adquirirlollamando al 212-8169 o al 212-8191.

Docent & Lidia de Valencia

R, R & RWith a little help from our friends

at ANAM

Reduce• Be a responsible shopper. Buyonly what you need. Buy for thecontents, not the presentation.Read the labels. Stop buyingdisposable everything. Buy whitetoilet paper. Colored paper willcontaminate the rivers.

Reduce• Shower for five minutes. Butwhile water is warming up, it canbe collected in a bucket. Thiswater can later be used to cleanyour bathroom. Remember thatdrop by drop, water is gone. Andwhile you are brushing your teeth,or shaving, turn off the faucet.

Reuse• Reuse plastic bags to dispose offof organic matters. You willreduce the use of extra garbagebags if you keep your garbage canodorless.

Reuse• Are you sure nobody else canuse that? Don't just toss it away!Donate it to the poor. Leave oldclothing, sheets, shoes, inside atransparent plastic bag at thedoors of a church. They knowexactly what to do with it, if it isnot garbage.

RecycleAt the end, when nothing can bedone with that soda can, or thatold battery you bought whenrechargeable batteries where notavailable, toss them away in theSTRI recycling cans!

Help to R, R, & RGet used to transparent plasticbags and classify your garbage. InPanama, poor people make theirliving by selling what arrives toCerro Patacón. Facilitate theirwork.

Con un poco de ayuda de nuestrosamigos de ANAM

ReduzcaSea un comprador responsable.Compre sólo lo que necesite.Compre por el contenido, no lapresentación. Lea las etiquetas.Deje de comprar todo desechable.Compre papel higiénico blanco. Elde color contaminará los ríos.

ReduzcaBáñese por cinco minutos. Peromientras el agua sale tibia, puederecogerla en una cubeta. Luegopuede usarla para limpiar su bañoo trapear. Recuerde que gota agota, el agua se agota. Y mientrascepilla sus dientes o se afeita,cierre el grifo.

ReuseReuse las bolsas plásticas paradeshacerse de basura orgánica.Usted reducirá la cantidad debolsas de basura extra si su tanquede basura no huele mal.

Reuse¿Está seguro que nadie más puedeusar eso? ’¡No lo bote! Dónelo alos pobres. Deje su ropa vieja,sábanas, zapatos dentro de bolsasplásticas transparentes a laspuertas de cualquier iglesia. Ellossabrán que hacer con ellas si no esbasura.

RecicleAl final, cuando no se puede hacermás nada con esa lata de soda, oesa vieja batería que comprócuando no había bateríasrecargables ¡échelas en losdepósitos RRR de STRI!

Ayude a R, R, & RAcostúmbrese a usar bolsasplásticas transparentes y clasifiquesu basura. En Panamá, muchagente pobre vive de vender lo quellega a Cerro Patacón. Facilíteles eltrabajo.

With information from: • Con información de:“Consejos útiles para cuidar el medio ambiente desde el hogar.”Programa Instrumentos de Gestión Ambiental y Participación

Empresarial en Producción + Limpia.Autoridad Nacional del Medio Ambiente, Panamá

More departuresOris Sanjur to San Diego,CA, to participate in theConsortium for the Barcodeof Life (CBOL) LeadingLabs Network Meetings thatwill launch 2008-2010program work.

New publicationsBerghoff, Stefanie M.,Kronauer, Daniel J.C.,Edwards, Keith J., & Franks,Nigel R. 2008. "Dispersaland population structure ofa New World predator, thearmy ant Eciton burchellii."Journal of EvolutionaryBiology 21(4): 1125-1132.

Cooke, Richard G., &Jimenez, Maximo. 2008."Pre-Columbian use offreshwater fish in the SantaMaria biogeographicalProvince, Panama."Quaternary International185(2008): 48-58.

Hampe, Arndt,Garcia-Castano, Juan L.,Schupp, Eugene W., &Jordano, Pedro. 2008."Spatio-temporal dynamicsand local hotspots of initialrecruitment invertebrate-dispersed trees."Journal of Ecology 96(4):668-678.

Heckadon Moreno, Stanley.2008. "El naturalista WatsonPerrygo en Las Perlas yJaqué, 1946." "Épocas"Tercera Era (Supplement toEl Panamá América) 23(4):10-11.

Heckadon Moreno, Stanley.2008. "Explorando lossuelos de la Costa Abajo yLago Gatún." "Épocas TerceraEra (Supplement to ElPanamá América) 23(1): 2-3.

More publications

Heckadon Moreno, Stanley.2008. "W.M. Perrygo: Lasaves del Jaqué e Imamadó,1947." "Épocas Tercera Era(Supplement to El PanamáAmérica) 23(5): 10-11.

Miglietta, Maria Pia, &Lessios, Harilaos A. 2008."A silent invasion." BiologicalInvasions Online at:http://springerlink.metapress.com/content/81747575j2707j4g/fulltext.html.

Jones, Frank Andrew, &Muller-Landau, Helen C.2008. "Measuringlong-distance seed dispersalin complex naturalenvironments: an evaluationand integration of classicaland genetic methods."Journal of Ecology 96(4):642-652.

Muller-Landau, Helene C.,Wright, S. Joseph, Calderon,Osvaldo, Condit, Richard, &Hubbell, Stephen P. 2008."Interspecific variation inprimary seed dispersal in atropical forest." Journal ofEcology 96(4): 653-667.

Turner, Benjamin L. 2008."Resource partitioning forsoil phosphorus: ahypothesis." Journal of Ecology96(4): 698-702.

STRI in the news“Second chance forrainforest biodiversity” byErik Stokstad. 2008. Science13 June 2008: Vol. 320. no.5882, pp. 1436-1438.DOI:10.1126/science.320.5882.1436.