Organization For Tropical Studies Research Articles

Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero: humanist, botanist and conservacionist

Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero was a humanist, botanist, and conservationist. He graduated simultaneously with a Bachelor of Science, from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and with a Master of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1948. And he graduated with a Ph. D. in Botany, also from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1953. He founded the School of Biology of the University of Costa Rica. There he carried out a monumental work: with a great genius for teaching science, he trained several generations of top-level biologists; he trained and recruited world-class teachers to increase the quality of the School; and he conducted research that draws attention to the present, both for its scope, and for the quality of his illustrations. He was the founder or co-founder of the UCR University Choir, the College of Biologists, and the Organization for Tropical Studies (OET). He supported the Revista de Biología Tropical for decades, and enthusiastically supported the Central American Institute for Cultural Extension (ICECU) and the Costa Rican Institute for Radio Education (ICER), as well, for decades. In addition, he orchestrated the creation of the Lankester Garden, which initially rescued Charles Lankester's magnificent living collection of orchids, and is now a center of international caliber for orchidology. He won numerous and diverse national and international distinctions, some of them even after his death in 1981.

In remembrance of Victor Rico Gray (1951‐2021): An astonishing tropical ecologist

AbstractIn this remembrance, we have brought together some of Victor Rico‐Gray’s friends and collaborators to recall his many contributions to tropical ecology and his influence on so many young scientists. Victor’s research ranged from Mexican ethnobotany to the evolutionary ecology of complex interactions between ants and plants. His research was highly collaborative, forming strong bonds among those who shared his interests in how the web of life is organized. He inspired students through his mentoring in tropical ecology, mainly his lectures at the Instituto de Ecología AC (INECOL), and later at the Universidad Veracruzana (UV), his courses organized by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), and his talks at meetings, including the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC). Victor’s story is not over. It will continue to be traced through countless scientists who were inspired by Victor’s life and work.

The Organization for Tropical Studies: History, accomplishments, future directions in education and research, with an emphasis in the contributions to the study of plant reproductive ecology and genetics in tropical ecosystems

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) has played a pivotal role in our understanding of tropical ecosystems' structure and function. For more than fifty years, OTS has contributed to the training of three generations of tropical biologists and facilitated, supported, and promoted leading-edge research in its field stations. Plant reproductive ecology and genetics have been a significant focus of OTS research since the early 1960s, and Dr. K.S. Bawa made a significant contribution to the advancement of this field. His work improved our understanding of the diversity and evolution of breeding systems in tropical forests, their phenology and pollination ecology, and their mating and genetic structure. We argue that his work inspired other tropical biologists' work and used the work of one of the authors for illustration when appropriate. We point out the need for research in critically important topics to slow down biodiversity loss, prevent the collapse of tropical systems in a changing climate, and the emergence of zoonotic disease. We suggest future research topics for the OTS field stations, including in plant reproductive biology.

Quantification of the Evaporation Rates from Six Types of Wetland Cover in Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

The hydrology of tropical seasonal wetlands is affected by changes in the land cover. Changes from open water towards a vegetated cover imply an increase in the total evaporation flux, which includes the evaporation from open water bodies and the transpiration from vegetated surfaces. This study quantified the total evaporation flux of six covers of the Palo Verde wetland during dry season. The selected wetland covers were dominated by Neptunia natans (L.f.) Druce, Thalia geniculata L., Typha dominguensis Pers., Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, a mixture of these species, and open water conditions. The plants were collected from the wetland and placed in lysimeters (59.1 L) built from plastic containers. The lysimeters were located in an open area near the meteorological station of the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). The evaporated water volume and meteorological data were collected between December 2012–January 2013. A completely randomized design was applied to determine the total evaporation (E), reference evaporation ( E ref , Penman-Monteith method) and crop coefficient ( K c ) for all the covers. T. geniculata (E: 17.0 mm d − 1 , K c : 3.43) and open water (E: 8.2 mm d − 1 , K c : 1.65) showed the highest and lowest values respectively, for daily evaporation and crop coefficient. Results from the ANOVA indicate that E. crassipes and N. natans were statistically different (p = 0.05) from T. dominguensis and the species mixture, while the water and T. geniculata showed significant differences with regard to other plant covers. These results indicate that the presence of emergent macrophytes as T. geniculata and T. dominguensis will increase the evaporation flux during dry season more than the floating macrophytes or open water surfaces.

Luis Alejandro Yáñez‐Arancibia 1944–2016

Luis Alejandro Yáñez‐Arancibia 1944–2016

Bibliometry of the Revista de Biología Tropical / International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation: document types, languages, countries, institutions, citations and article lifespan.

The Revista de Biología Tropical / International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, founded in 1953, publishes feature articles about tropical nature and is considered one of the leading journals in Latin America. This article analyzes document type, language, countries, institutions, citations and for the first time article lifespan, from 1976 through 2014. We analyzed 3 978 documents from the Science Citation Index Expanded. Articles comprised 88 % of the total production and had 3.7 citations on average, lower than reviews. Spanish and English articles were nearly equal in numbers and citation for English articles was only slightly higher. Costa Rica, Mexico, and the USA are the countries with more articles, and the leading institutions were Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and Universidad de Oriente (Venezuela). The citation lifespan of articles is long, around 37 years. It is not surprising that Costa Rica, Mexico, and Venezuela lead in productivity and cooperation, because they are mostly covered by tropical ecosystems and share a common culture and a tradition of scientific cooperation. The same applies to the leading institutions, which are among the largest Spanish language universities in the neotropical region. American output can be explained by the regional presence of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Organization for Tropical Studies. Tropical research does not have the rapid change typical of medical research, and for this reason, the impact factor misses most of citations for the Revista, which are made after the two-year window used by the Web of Science. This issue is especially damaging for the Revista because most journals that deal with tropical biology are never checked when citations are counted for by the Science Citation Index.

Evaluación del Sistema de Bibliotecas de la Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET)

<p class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span>En este artículo se muestran los principales resultados del Trabajo Final de Graduación titulado "</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em><span>Diagnóstico del Sistema de Bibliotecas de la Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET), periodo 2013: Propuesta para el mejoramiento de sus servicios y productos de información</span></em></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span>", el cual formó parte esencial del proyecto de investigación "</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em><span> Propuesta de diseño de servicios y productos virtuales especializados en el campo de la biodiversidad</span></em></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span> ", inscrito en la Escuela de Bibliotecología y Ciencias de la Información de la Universidad de Costa Rica.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Esta investigación es de tipo cuantitativo y se define como descriptiva. Se realizó un diagnóstico para conocer el perfil de las personas usuarias del sistema de bibliotecas de la OET, así como sus necesidades de información, por medio de seis cuestionarios dirigidos a diferentes poblaciones usuarias del sistema. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span>El periodo de estudio fue de marzo a julio del 2013</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Entre los principales resultados se aprecia que el Sistema de Bibliotecas es de gran importancia para la comunidad científica al que está dirigido; sin embargo, sus servicios y productos requieren de una mayor proyección en el área para poder aprovechar la riqueza documental que alberga en sus cuatro bibliotecas.</span></span></span></p>

Una experiencia de colaboración entre la OET y la EBCI: la información común denominador

This article systematizes the collaborative experience between two specialized institutions, such as the School of Library and Information Science (EBCI) at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). The experience was performed in the context of the cooperation agreement signed between the two entities, and developed through research projects within the specialized library at OTS during the years 2012 to 2014. Teachers and students of the EBCI participate in both projects as well as the professionals working in the area of Information Management at OTS. The most important result of this relationship was a mechanism that allows the exchange of experiences, transfer of knowledge and horizontal cooperation between the two organizations, which can be replicated with other internal or external institutions at the University.

Subject and authorship of records related to the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) in BINABITROP, a comprehensive database about Costa Rican biology

BINABITROP is a bibliographical database of more than 38000 records about the ecosystems and organisms of Costa Rica. In contrast with commercial databases, such as Web of Knowledge and Scopus, which exclude most of the scientific journals published in tropical countries, BINABITROP is a comprehensive record of knowledge on the tropical ecosystems and organisms of Costa Rica. We analyzed its contents in three sites (La Selva, Palo Verde and Las Cruces) and recorded scientific field, taxonomic group and authorship. We found that most records dealt with ecology and systematics, and that most authors published only one article in the study period (1963-2011). Most research was published in four journals: Biotropica, Revista de Biología Tropical/ International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, Zootaxa and Brenesia. This may be the first study of a such a comprehensive database for any case of tropical biology literature.

Scientific Journals can Advance Tropical Biology and Conservation by Requiring Data Archiving

DATA ARE THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS. While researchers often report statistical summaries of the data they collect in their publications, there is widespread recognition that the raw data themselves are increasingly useful for meta-analyses, to address novel questions, or as baselines for studies evaluating temporal changes in biological processes (Clark 2007, Whitlock et al. 2010). In many fields, the archiving of raw data as a precondition for publication of research papers has been common practice for decades. For instance, many journals require that the DNA sequences used in evolutionary or genomic studies be deposited in archives such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) or The Arabidopsis Information Resource (http://www.arabidopsis.org), making them publicly available to other researchers. Similarly, fields such as oceanography and atmospheric sciences also have a well-developed tradition of data sharing (e.g., the British Oceanographic Data Center [http://www.bodc.ac.uk]). Despite admirable efforts to promote data archiving by several international research consortia (e.g., the Center for Tropical Forest Science and the Large-Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Program) and academic societies (e.g., the Ecological Society of America’s Data Registry program), this practice has yet to become widespread among ecologists (Nelson 2009). Consequently, many datasets are unavailable to the scientific community even years after they were last used by the researchers that collected them. Most of these datasets are eventually lost permanently—they are stored on media that are outdated or unreliable (e.g., punch cards, floppy disks, hard drives, cassette tapes) or are discarded as investigators pursue new avenues of research, change careers, retire, or die (Michener et al. 1997). Even datasets that are still accessible can be effectively lost because they are poorly organized or lack the metadata necessary for their interpretation (Michener et al. 1997, Borer et al. 2009). The loss of these datasets—usually collected at considerable expense and great personal effort—is an impediment to scientific progress that could be avoided if researchers placed datasets and associated metadata in permanent digital data repositories. Awareness of this problem has led to an increasingly loud call for researchers to clarify where and how the data used in their publications are archived, as well as for funding agencies and journals to develop mechanisms to promote this practice (e.g., Clark 2007, Anonymous 2009, Schofield et al. 2009). Now a suite of prestigious journals that includes Evolution and The American Naturalist has taken the bold step of requiring that data used in papers they publish be archived and made freely available in a digital data repository (Whitlock et al. 2010). The editors of these journals argue that in addition to minimizing the loss of priceless data, archiving advances the field because it encourages novel studies or meta-analyses, promotes a culture of transparency, and makes it easier for others to verify results (Whitlock et al. 2010). I propose that the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) consider adopting a similar policy for papers published in Biotropica. In addition to the potential benefits highlighted by Whitlock et al. (2010), the archiving of data on which Biotropica’s papers are based will bring with several other tangible benefits. First, tropical ecosystems are undergoing myriad, rapid, and unprecedented environmental changes. The data collected by Biotropica’s authors could provide an invaluable resource to the scientists and decision-makers studying global change phenomena and designing conservation and management strategies. For example, Clark et al. (2010) used publicly available datasets of tree growth (Clark & Clark 2006), atmospheric CO2 levels (Keeling et al. 2005, available at http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu), and local climate (available from the Organization for Tropical Studies at http://www.ots.duke.edu) to study wood production in tropical forests; it is only because they were able to integrate these archived datasets that they were able to conclude that wood production in lowland rain forests may be severely reduced in future climates that are only slightly drier or warmer than present-day ones. Second, archived data could play a critical role in capacity building—undergraduates and graduate students will be able to use previously inaccessible datasets to conduct novel studies or meta-analyses for their theses. Because research using publicly available data requires no expenditure beyond stipends and the purchase of computers, they are also a very costefficient means of increasing a country’s scientific productivity and developing a cadre of highly trained and productive postdoctoral scientists (sensu the postdoctoral fellows of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu). Third, publicly archiving data could help assuage concerns regarding the export of intellectual property, biopiracy, and the failure to include local scientists in data collection efforts that often plague foreign scientists working in tropical countries (Stocks et al. 2008). Finally, it is the policy of many government agencies—as stated in a recent request for proposals of the United States Department of Received 18 March 2010; revision accepted 28 March 2010. Corresponding author; e-mail: embruna@ufl.edu BIOTROPICA 42(4): 399–401 2010 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00652.x

Resolution of Respect

Resolution of Respect

Announcements

Announcements

New Perspectives in Comparative Ecology of Neotropical Rain Forests: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future

ABSTRACTIn an effort to understand variations in ecological patterns among lowland tropical rain forests, Alwyn Gentry and colleagues synthesized data sets from four of the premier Neotropical field stations–La Selva (Costa Rica), Barro Colorado Island (Panama), Cocha Cashu (Peru), and the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragmentation Project (Brazil). To promote the kind of geographically comparative tropical ecology advocated in the 1990 Gentry book, the Organization for Tropical Studies and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute organized a course in 2001 that visited each of these field stations. Papers from some of the studies resulting from this course are highlighted in this special section. These studies are notable for the consistent methods applied across forests, and they underscore the acute need and bright future for comparative tropical ecology. Key site characteristics for each of the field stations are summarized here.RESUMENEn un esfuerzo de entender las variaciones en patrones ecológicos entre selvas tropicales de bajura, Alwyn Gentry y colegas sintetizaron bases de datos en las cuatro principales estaciones biológicos del Neotrópico: La Selva (Costa Rica), Barro Colorado Island (Panamá), Cocha Cashu (Perú), y el Proyecto de Dinámica Biológica de Fragmentación de Bosque (Brasil). Con el fin de promover el estudio ecologico tropical comparativa a nivel geográfico recomendada por Gentry en 1990 la Organización para Estudios Tropicales y el Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution organizaron un curso en el año 2001, el cual visitó cada una de éstas estaciones. Los artículos científicos de algunos de los estudios producto de este curso se presentan en esta sección especial. Estos estudios son notables debido a la consistencia en los metodología aplicada a través de los cuatro sitios. Asimismo, estos estudios denotan la necesidad y el potencial de Uevar a cabo mas investigación a nivel de ecología tropical comparativa. Caracteristicas importantes para cada una de las estaciones de campo son resumidos en esta sección.

New Perspectives in Comparative Ecology of Neotropical Rain Forests: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future1

In an effort to understand variations in ecological patterns among lowland tropical rain forests, Alwyn Gentry and colleagues synthesized data sets from four of the premier Neotropical field stations—La Selva (Costa Rica), Barro Colorado Island (Panama), Cocha Cashu (Peru), and the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragmentation Project (Brazil). To promote the kind of geographically comparative tropical ecology advocated in the 1990 Gentry book, the Organization for Tropical Studies and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute organized a course in 2001 that visited each of these field stations. Papers from some of the studies resulting from this course are highlighted in this special section. These studies are notable for the consistent methods applied across forests, and they underscore the acute need and bright future for comparative tropical ecology. Key site characteristics for each of the field stations are summarized here.

Nonprofit World

Canopy of troubles. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), an international consortium of more than 60 research institutions, is looking for new leadership to pull it out of a financial quagmire.

Organization for Tropical Studies:Science for the 21st Century

Organization for Tropical Studies:Science for the 21st Century

Two new methods of rapid detoxification in opioid dependence: what does general anaesthesia really add to the effect?

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) has played a pivotal role in our understanding of tropical ecosystems' structure and function. For more than fifty years, OTS has contributed to the training of three generations of tropical biologists and facilitated, supported, and promoted leading-edge research in its field stations. Plant reproductive ecology and genetics have been a significant focus of OTS research since the early 1960s, and Dr. K.S. Bawa made a significant contribution to the advancement of this field. His work improved our understanding of the diversity and evolution of breeding systems in tropical forests, their phenology and pollination ecology, and their mating and genetic structure. We argue that his work inspired other tropical biologists' work and used the work of one of the authors for illustration when appropriate. We point out the need for research in critically important topics to slow down biodiversity loss, prevent the collapse of tropical systems in a changing climate, and the emergence of zoonotic disease. We suggest future research topics for the OTS field stations, including in plant reproductive biology.

New Species of Sapranthus B. C. Seemann and Unonopsis R. E. Fries (Annonaceae) from Mesoamerica

Two new species of Annonaceae, Sapranthus viridiflorus G. E. Schatz and Unonopsis stevensii G. E. Schatz, are described from Mesoamerica. Color photographs of the new species can be accessed over the World Wide Web by searching the name in WZTROPICOS at http://www.mobot.org/ Pick/Search/pick.html. RESUMEN. Se decriben dos especies nuevas de Annonaceae, Sapranthus viridiflorus G. E. Schatz y Unonopsis stevensii G. E. Schatz, de Mesoambrica. Fotograffas a color de las especies nuevas son accesibles buscando el nombre en las piginas de Internet de WZTROPICOS en la siguiente direcci6n: http://www.mobot.org/Pick/Search/pick.html. In anticipation of the upcoming publication of the Flora de Nicaragua, I provide here names and descriptions for two undescribed species of Annonaceae from Mesoamerica. Sapranthus viridiflorus G. E. Schatz is the southernmost of seven species in a genus extending from the states of Sinaloa and Veracruz, Mexico, to the province of Los Santos, Panama. In contrast to the other species of Sapranthus B. C. Seemann, which occur in seasonally dry deciduous forest and possess membranaceous reddish to deep purple petals with evident venation, S. viridflorus occurs in moist to wet evergreen forest and exhibits thick, fleshy green petals lacking venation at maturity. Unonopsis R. E. Fries is a genus of ca. 40 species distributed from Belize to Bolivia in wet, evergreen forest, with 6 species currently known from Mesoamerica, and an additional 4-5 new species awaiting description. Although not yet known from Nicaragua, Unonopsis stevensii G. E. Schatz is to be expected in the southeastern region of the country along the Rio San Juan just to the north of Cerro Coronel and Barra del Colorado in Costa Rica, the sole locality for the new species. Sapranthus viridiflorus G. E. Schatz, sp. nov. TYPE: Costa Rica. Heredia: La Selva Biological Station of the Organization for Tropical Studies, 4 km S of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, 10026'N, 84001'W, 35 m, 15 Feb. 1984 (fl), G. E. Schatz 963 (holotype, MO; isotypes, CR, WIS). Figures 1, 2, and http://hoya.mobot.org/ mobot/research/image/01602308O001.jpg, http: //hoya. mobot. org/mobot/research/image/ 01602308002.jpg A speciebus aliis Sapranthi petalis enervibus carnosis viridibus et carpellis 2-5 differt. Tree to 12 m tall, the young branches brownish gray tomentose. Leaves membranaceous, the petiole 0.4-1.0 cm long, shallowly canaliculate, brownish gray tomentose; lamina elliptic to oblong-obovate, 5.6-29.8 cm long, 2.7-12.1 cm broad, the base cuneate to rounded and somewhat truncate, the apex acuminate to cuspidate, the upper lamina surface sparsely white velutinous, the lower surface white velutinous, the margins finely ciliate; venation weakly brochidodromous with 8-15 lateral veins per side, the midrib slightly impressed and densely white velutinous above, especially toward the base, prominently elevated and short white hirsute below, drying purplish black, the slender lateral veins elevated and short white hirsute below. Flowers solitary, pendent, terminal but appearing leaf-opposed (or rarely cauliflorous and borne on older wood), with a fruity fragranice, albeit with a slightly fetid component; pedicel 1.0-1.7 cm long, sparsely tomentellous, bearing a lanceolate-ovate to rounded bract near the base to 0.8 cm from the base, 0.50.9 cm long, 0.3-0.5 cm broad, the apex acute to obtuse, the base decurrent along the pedicel, the margins revolute. Sepals triangular, 0.7-0.8 cm long, 0.5-0.7 cm broad, the apex acute, slightly reflexed, the base truncate, tomentellous outside. Petals 6, in 2 subequal imbricate whorls, membranaceous and with venation evident in bud, becoming fleshy and lacking any evident venation at anthesis when fresh, revealing faint venation when NovoN 8: 436-440. 1998. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.128 on Wed, 07 Sep 2016 05:04:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Volume 8, Number 4 Schatz 437 1998 New Species of Annonaceae ,,? ?r:: ~ r. r r??

A Treatise on Tropical Forestry

EcologyVolume 78, Issue 6 p. 1933-1933 Book Review A Treatise on Tropical Forestry Gary S. Hartshorn, Gary S. Hartshorn Duke University, Organization for Tropical Studies, P.O. Box 90630, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0630Search for more papers by this author Gary S. Hartshorn, Gary S. Hartshorn Duke University, Organization for Tropical Studies, P.O. Box 90630, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0630Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 September 1997 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[1933:ATOTF]2.0.CO;2Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume78, Issue6September 1997Pages 1933-1933 RelatedInformation

Early species selection for tropical reforestation: A consideration of stability

Third year growth data from a species screening trial established by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) at the La Selva Biological Station in Puerto Viejo, Heredia, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica from 1987 to 1990 serve as the basis for analysis. Both exotic and native timber species were tested for survival, growth, and form. The species x site sum of squares was partitioned in order to identify high yielding species that are generalists and high yielding species that may be specialists. The contribution of each species to the species x site interaction term was determined: four species were found to contribute 61% of the interaction ( Ochroma pyramidale, 26.5%; Gmelina arborea, 13.1%; Terminalia superba, 11.2%; and Acacia mangium, 10.3%). If three additional species are added ( Pseudobombax septenatum, 9.4%; Terminalia amazonia, 8.7%; and Terminalia ivorensis, 7.4%) 86% of the species x site interaction effect is explained. If each species contributed equally to the variance, each would have an ecovalence of 4.55%. Three stable species with above average tree volume ( Vochysia guatemalensis, Jacaranda copaia, and Goethalsia meiantha) show potential for reforestation over large regions where plantation maintenance is minimal. The identification of several high yielding unstable exotic species helps to explain their uneven success in plantations in Costa Rica. Some lower yielding, but more stable, native species may offer greater yields where site conditions are poor and maintenance limited.