Scientific American Frontiers: Expedition Panama

  1. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is located on Baro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone. The island was formed during the building of the canal. It is @ 2 by 3 miles. The research station is the largest of its type in the world. The canal was dug in the first decade of the 20th century. Many dies from yellow fever and malaria during the process. A series of locks raise ships over the Isthmus of Panama to the other side from Pacific to Caribbean. Each lock raises the water lever @ 28 feet.
  2. Dr Elisabeth Calco is a major researcher of bats. She studies bat communication and the use of sonic pulses to hunt for prey by coordinating high speed photography and sound recordings. Bats echo locate their prey and then use rapids bursts of sound to track their prey as they attack.
  3. Native peoples use slash and burn agricultural techniques to clear the land to grow crops. Asian grass was introduced to prevent erosion. Now the species is a pest that is being fought to restore the land. Native fruits and animals are routinely used for foods.
  4. Dr. David Ruben is a scientist that works on the problem of bee communication. Bees communicate by both sound and movement. They can communicate complex ideas like type, location, distance, and height of food sources.
  5. It is now know by sampling insects in the rain forest canopy that there may be as many as 30 million species on earth. Atta (Leaf Cutting Ants have using agriculture for @ 18 million years. Man has only been doing the same thing for @ 10 thousand years.
  6. As the isthmus of Panama was formed it blocked off the passage of warm water from Pacific to Caribbean. It also isolated animal species and allowed for migrations between North America and South America. The norther species did very well in the south but the reverse was not true.
  7. The warming of the Atlantic cause by the new currents that developed by the isthmus brought about the warming of Europe and the warming of central Africa. This may had a major impact on the evolution of man.