Organization for Tropical Studies
Encyclopedia
The Organization for Tropical Studies is a network of ecological
research station
s created in Costa Rica
in 1963. OTS is run by a non-profit consortium of 63 universities, based in the United States
, Australia
and Latin America
. The corporate headquarters of OTS are at Duke University
, in Durham, North Carolina
. OTS offers a variety of courses in Spanish
and English
for high school, university, and graduate students. Most of the coursework and research conducted at OTS stations focuses on tropical ecology
, and the three research stations are located in distinct ecozones.
Along with Cocha Cashu Biological Station
and the Manu Learning Centre
in Peru
, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
on Barro Colorado Island
in Panama
, the OTS research stations in general (and La Selva in particular) provide some of the most important and productive sites of original research on neotropical ecology.
OTS research stations in Costa Rica:
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
research station
Research station
A research station is a station built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. Research station sites might include outer space and oceans. Many nations have research stations in Antarctica; Showa Station, Halley and Troll are examples...
s created in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
in 1963. OTS is run by a non-profit consortium of 63 universities, based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The corporate headquarters of OTS are at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. OTS offers a variety of courses in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
for high school, university, and graduate students. Most of the coursework and research conducted at OTS stations focuses on tropical ecology
Tropical ecology
Tropical ecology is the relationship between plants and animals in a tropical environment , these mean the area between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn. Day and night last here approximately 12 hours. Characteristic for tropical zone is at least one day of right angle sun shining. High...
, and the three research stations are located in distinct ecozones.
Along with Cocha Cashu Biological Station
Cocha Cashu Biological Station
Cocha Cashu Biological Station is a tropical biological research station located at 11° 54'S and 71° 22'W in Manú National Park, Peru. It was established in 1969-70, predating the founding of its containing national park . Though only 10 km2 in area, the site has provided valuable research...
and the Manu Learning Centre
Manu Learning Centre
The Manu Learning Centre is located within the Fundo Mascoitania Reserve, a 643 hectare private nature reserve, encompassed within the cultural zone of the Manu Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the largest protected areas in Peru. It is home to a variety of rainforest...
in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside of the United States, is dedicated to understanding biological diversity. What began in 1923 as small field station on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone has developed...
on Barro Colorado Island
Barro Colorado Island
Barro Colorado Island is located in the man-made Gatun Lake in the middle of the Panama Canal. The island was formed when the waters of the Chagres River were dammed to form the lake. When the waters rose, they covered a significant part of the existing rainforest, and the hilltops remained as...
in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, the OTS research stations in general (and La Selva in particular) provide some of the most important and productive sites of original research on neotropical ecology.
OTS research stations in Costa Rica:
- La Selva Biological Station : lowland tropical rainforestTropical rainforestA tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
- Palo Verde Biological StationPalo Verde Biological StationThe Palo Verde Biological Research Station is located in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica, and is one of the three research stations operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies . The Biological Research Station is located inside Palo Verde National Park...
: tropical dry forest - Las Cruces Biological StationLas Cruces Biological StationThe Las Cruces Biological Station / Wilson Botanical Garden is located in the southern Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, and is the newest of the three research stations operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies...
: montane rainforest (including higher elevation cloud forestCloud forestA cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
) and site of the Wilson Botanical Garden
External links
- official OTS website
- La Selva Protected Zone at Costa Rica National Parks