La Selva Biological Station: Integration of Research and Training in a Changing Tropical Ecosystem

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This award provides partial support for the improvement and operation of the La Selva field station in Costa Rica, one of three stations in Costa Rica owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a U.S. nonprofit consortium of 60 plus universities and research institutions in the United States, Costa Rica, Peru and Australia. The La Selva station encompasses 1,515 hectares of classic lowland tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica where it adjoins Braulio Carrillo National Park. This allows the station to offer access to protected forests from near sea level within the La Selva reserve to the summit of Barba Volcano (2,906 m) within the park. La Selva is one of the two major field stations in the neotropics in research productivity and the top field station in student participation. In 2005 alone, the station logged over 33,000 user days of visitation, 150 research projects, 110 college courses, and 120 scientific publications. Every year more than 100 college courses from the U.S. run programs at La Selva and nearly 2,000 students visit the station. The La Selva bibliography currently boasts nearly 3,000 references, including 260 Masters and Ph.D. theses. Nine hundred of these publications are available as pdf files as are several thousand references on general themes in tropical biology. The cornerstone of education programs at La Selva has been the opportunity for students to engage in field-based, critical thinking in the tropics. Since 1999, La Selva has aggressively sought to reach more students from under-served and under-represented groups. In order to address emerging scientific issues as well as facilitate a broad range of researchers and their projects working at the station, La Selva will continue to improve the multi-user platform that provides quality services, modern facilities, well-kept trails, electronic connectivity, and advanced laboratory equipment.