FSML: Improving the Research and Education Infrastructure at the Palo Verde Biological Station

热带研究组织(OTS)是设在杜克大学的一个由60多所学院、大学和研究机构组成的非营利性联盟，该组织获得了一笔赠款，用于改善哥斯达黎加帕洛维德生物站的研究和教育基础设施。有了这笔赠款，OTS将通过以下方式改善空间站设施：1)建设一个淡水和湿地研究实验室，以促进和支持淡水和湿地生态的研究和教育；2)建设一个新的教育中心，以应对越来越多的学生团体访问空间站；3)升级网络基础设施和连接？特别是增加带宽和无线覆盖，安装IP电话；以及4)升级与气象站相关的设备。拟议的变化将促进扩大研究和教育的空间和时间规模的机会，并促进生物生态系统之间的区域和全球比较。跨学科和不同地点的科学家之间的合作将鼓励共享和访问数据库，为科学问题和挑战提供新的方向。OTS预计每年将有50多门教育课程，45名年轻研究人员将直接受到拟议改进的影响。升级实验室和教室设施将缓解拥挤，并为参观空间站的不同群体的科学家和学生提供更丰富的研究和教育体验。帕罗维德生物站由OTS拥有和运营。它位于帕洛维德国家公园的中心，该公园由哥斯达黎加环境部作为坦皮斯克保护区的一部分进行管理。超过3万公顷的荒地位于野外考察站20公里范围内，形成了一个丰富的季节性低地栖息地综合体，覆盖了里约热内卢坦皮斯克下部盆地的大部分。帕洛维德？S盐碱地和淡水湿地与尼科亚湾的海洋和河口生态系统交织在一起。它于1991年被宣布为拉姆萨尔湿地，定期接待超过20,000只水禽。

The Organization for Tropical Studies, (OTS) a non-profit consortium of more than 60 colleges, universities and research institutions based at Duke University is awarded a grant to improve the research and education infrastructure at the Palo Verde Biological Station in Costa Rica. With this grant, OTS will improve station facilities by 1) constructing a freshwater and wetland research laboratory to foster and support research and education on freshwater and wetland ecology; 2) building a new education center to handle a growing number of student groups visiting the station; 3) upgrading cyberinfrastructure and connectivity? and, in particular, increasing bandwidth and wireless coverage, installing IP telephones; and 4) upgrading equipment associated with the meteorological station. The proposed changes will foster opportunities for expanding spatial and temporal scales of research and education and facilitate regional and global comparisons among biological ecosystems. Collaborations among scientists across disciplines and different locations will encourage sharing and access of databases, providing new directions for scientific questions and challenges. OTS anticipates more than 50 educational courses and 45 young researchers each year will be directly affected by the proposed improvements. Upgrading laboratory and classroom facilities will ease congestion and provide for a more enriching research and educational experience for diverse groups of scientists and students visiting the station.The Palo Verde Biological Station is owned and operated by OTS. It is situated in the heart of Palo Verde National Park that is managed as part of the Tempisque Conservation Area by the Ministry of Environment of Costa Rica. More than 30,000 ha of wildlands lie within 20 km of the field station and form a rich complex of seasonal lowland habitats that cover much of the lower basin of the Rio Tempisque. Palo Verde?s salt and fresh wetlands interdigitate with the marine and estuarine ecosystems of the Gulf of Nicoya. It was declared a Ramsar Site in 1991 and hosts on a regular basis a population of over 20,000 waterfowl.