PASI on Patterns and Mechanisms of Change in Neotropical Forests: La Selva as a Case Study, Costa Rica, April-May 2009

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This Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes (PASI) award, jointly supported by the NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE), will take place April-May, 2009 at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. Organized by Dr. Elizabeth Losos of Duke University, the PASI will address patterns and mechanisms of changes in neotropical forests. More specifically, this PASI will focus on current and future research directions related to identifying and documenting forest change, including forest and stream dynamics, animal populations, remote sensing and GIS-based inquiry, climate change, and carbon balance, the role of altitudinal transect reserves as buffers against species loss in a time of global warming, soil and microbial ecology, and the use of embedded sensor arrays.The activity will provide a diverse group of students selected by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) with opportunities to participate in field-based educational programs in tropical biology at one of the world?s major research stations. Expected outcomes in this PASI will include the development of a core group of practitioners with essential information, who know how to generate knowledge and can communicate their knowledge to the larger population. The PASI results will be disseminated through a PASI website which will be linked to the OTS and other websites.