BOCAS
DEL TORO RESEARCH STATION, ISLA COLON, PANAMA.
The Bocas del
Toro research station is one of a network of research stations operated by the
Smithsonian Institute in
During the first
two weeks of my work on the station I’ve concentrated on gaining a perspective
on the ongoing research and education programs.
The Educational Outreach coordinator and I drafted a concept paper for
an Interpretive Walking Tour of the facility and presented it to the
Director. I’m identifying plant species
found on the station and creating a database to use with the education
program.
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The main building at the Bocas del Toro
research station combines laboratories, offices and teaching rooms. The building roof is made up of solar
panels that generate electricity to power the facility. |
Research scientists from across the
globe contract to use the Bocas facility.
In 2005, 440 scientists conducted research on topics such as coral
reef ecology, bat behavior, poison-dart frogs and mangroves. |
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On the grounds of the facility is a
brackish water lake. The lake is one
of four ecosystems that we are featuring in an interpretive walking tour of
the site. Other ecosystems included on
the tour are mangrove, agriculture, and forest. |
Equipment for controlled experiments
and a marine species “touch tank” are protected under this roof. The touch tank is one stop on the
interpretive walking tour. |
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A false-coral species kept for public
viewing in the touch tank. The touch
tank allows tour guides to introduce visitors to species that reside in coral
reefs. |
A sea cucumber moves across the bottom
of the touch tank gathering food. |
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Boats of various sizes are used by
researchers and staff for accessing research sites and monitoring water
quality. |
Red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle, are the predominant species lining the islands
coast line. This species has the
ability to grow with its roots submerged in salt water. |
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While collecting data on water quality,
Plinio Gondola, Deputy Scientific Coordinator, describes changes to the coral
reef ecosystems of the area. Coral
reefs are deteriorating due to a number of biological and environmental
factors. Increasing water temperature causes
a condition known as bleaching which is fatal to corals. Soil erosion increases water turbidity,
reducing the depth of light penetration and depriving the photosynthetic
algae of energy. |
Tito uses a Secchi Disk to measure the
clarity of the water. Clarity varies
with the amount of organic and inorganic matter suspended in the water
column. Data collected on this day
showed water clarity ranging from 30 to 40 feet. Light penetration influences the depth of
water that coral can inhabit. |
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Water samples are collected, filtered
and sent to a lab in |
Plinio records salinity, water
temperature and conductivity.
Monitoring water temperature provides important data for scientists
tracking trends in the global environment. |
For more
information about the topics describe above click on the links below.
The Secchi Disk
is a simple tool used for measuring turbidity.
For a description of the tool click on the link.
http://www.mlswa.org/secchi.htm
CARICOMP is an
international organization dedicated to the ecology of the
http://www.ccdc.org.jm/frontpage.html
Information via this link describes all aspects of the Bocas station.
http://stri.org/english/research/facilities/marine/bocas_del_toro/index.php
A summary of on-going research topics supported by the Bocas station is available on-line.
http://stri.org/english/research/facilities/marine/bocas_del_toro/research_projects.php
Real time meteorological data is available from the Smithsonian monitoring station on Bocas.
http://striweb.si.edu/esp/physical_monitoring/data/mesp/realtime/bocas_24hr_autorefresh.htm