Laboratory Facilities for Ecological Research in Tropical Rain Forest

La Selva生物站是哥斯达黎加的一个低地热带雨林遗址。它由热带研究组织拥有和运营，该组织是一个由30多所美国和拉丁美洲大学组成的联盟，在西半球科学家的生态培训和研究中发挥着关键作用。自1983年开始改进实验室设施并于1986年完成扩大居住条件以来，La Selva已进入研究尖端和专业知识的更高平台，涉及的生物科学家范围比以往任何时候都要广泛。目前生理生态学家、种群生物学家、社区生态学家、生态系统研究人员和系统学家之间的合作努力已经产生了令人兴奋的协同方法，有望实现对热带雨林生态系统的新水平的理解。La Selva的合作研究活动也不可避免地扩大了对分析设施的需求，以解决有关热带雨林的基本生物学问题。该项目将通过为一个4000平方英尺的有空调的研究实验室提供资金来满足部分需求，以便进行植物化学和大规模土壤分析。由于La Selva与热带研究社区越来越大的比例联系在一起，该设施将使用户受益于特别广泛的地理和学科范围。

La Selva Biological Station is a lowland tropical rainforest site in Costa Rica. It is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of over 30 US and Latin American universities, and plays a key role in the ecological training and research of the scientists of the Western hemisphere. Since the initiation of improved laboratory facilities in 1983 and the completion of expanded living accommodations in 1986, La Selva has moved to a higher plateau of research sophistication and expertise that is involving a far wider spectrum of biological scientists than ever before. Current collaborative efforts between physiological ecologists, population biologists, community ecologists, ecosystem researchers and systematists have resulted in exciting synergistic approaches that promise to achieve a new level of understanding about the tropical rainforest ecosystem. Collaborative research activities at La Selva have also inevitably led to an expanded need for analytical facilities to address fundamental biological questions about the tropical rainforest. This project will address part of that need by providing funds for a 4000-square-foot, air-conditioned research laboratory to permit plant chemistry and large-scale soil analyses. Because of La Selva's ties to an increasingly larger proportion of the tropical research community, this facility will benefit users from an exceptionally broad geographic and disciplinary spectrum.