FSML: Improving the Research and Education Infrastructure at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica

杜克大学（Duke University）获得一笔拨款，用于改善哥斯达黎加拉斯克鲁塞斯生物站（Las Cruces Biological Station）的设施：1)为研究人员建造四座新小屋，以缓解拥堵，尤其是在高峰时段；2)通过改造Wilson house的旧办公室，增加学生住宅空间，同时容纳两门课程；4)升级网络基础设施，特别是增加带宽和无线覆盖，并安装IP电话；5)更换实验室和新落成的植物标本室的过时设备。这些变化将缓解住宿问题，提高台站的多功能性，并使LCBS的设施能够满足学生和研究人员的需求。杜克大学是热带研究组织（OTS）的成员，该组织由来自美国、拉丁美洲、南非和澳大利亚的62所大学和研究机构组成。OTS成立于1963年，其使命是在热带地区的教育、研究和负责任地利用自然资源方面发挥领导作用，在哥斯达黎加拥有并经营三个生物实地站：拉斯克鲁塞斯（热带山地前雨林）；Palo Verde（季节性干燥的低地森林）；和La Selva（潮湿的低地雨林）。Las Cruces生物站（LCBS）由OTS于1973年购买，多年来已成为一个重要的中海拔热带研究站。

Duke University is awarded a grant to improve facilities at the Las Cruces Biological Station, Costa Rica by 1) constructing four new cabins for researchers to ease congestion, especially during peak periods; 2) increasing student residential space to simultaneously accommodate two courses by remodeling former offices in the Wilson house; 4) upgrading cyberinfrastructure - and in particular increase bandwidth and wireless coverage, and install IP telephones; and 5) replacing outdated equipment in the laboratory and the newly re-inaugurated herbarium. These changes will ease accommodation problems, improve the versatility of the station, and bring the facilities at LCBS up to date with student and researcher needs. Duke University is a member of the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a consortium of 62 universities and research institutions from the United States, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia. Founded in 1963 with a mission to provide leadership in education, research and the responsible use of natural resources in the tropics, OTS owns and operates three biological field stations in Costa Rica: Las Cruces (tropical premontane rainforest); Palo Verde (seasonally dry lowland forest); and La Selva (wet lowland rainforest). The Las Cruces Biological Station (LCBS) was purchased by OTS in 1973 and over the years has established itself as a key mid-elevational tropical research station.