The USDA Forest Service
renewed ITES special use permit to administer and
conduct research at El Verde Field Station. The permit includes:
- Use and administration of facilities and structures at El Verde Field
Station and conduct research at El Verde Research Area. Individual
researchers still need to obtain their own permits from USDA Forest Service.- Improvements to the exiting facilities (e.g., rehabilitation of the
current dormitory, a historic building; construction of sidewalks;
improvements to the drinking water supply).- Construction of a dormitory building, a laboratory building, and two shade
houses. Construction of the new dormitory could start as soon as July 1st,
2003.
Mari Ito has begun a UPENN sponsored
Post-doctoral position with Fred
Scatena and is working on the analysis of long-term environmental data from
Bisley. She has a BS and MS in chemistry from Sophia University of Japan, a
MPA from Indiana University, and a Phd in nutrient cycling from SUNY College
of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse New York. Her email is
mariito@sas.upenn.edu <mailto:mariito@sas.upenn.edu> .
NSF just awarded University of Georgia
PhD student, Effie Greathouse, a
Dissertation Improvement Grant (DIG: $11,520) for her research in Puerto
Rico on "Indirect ecosystem effects of dams: the consequences of migratory
fauna extirpation in tropical streams"
Rishi Kalwani, my former
REU student, is visiting me to work up data on soil
nutrients in the abandoned coffee plantation around El Verde. The data show
that a histroy of liming and cultivation of Inga has altered the soil
chemistry (lower pH, higher N-mineralization) such that differences in tree
and shrub composition between abanonded coffee and adjacent secondary forest
(non-coffee) are maintained,at the border between land use types. We are
preparing a manuscript for submission to Ecological Applications.
I spent the past month in Panama working with Joe Wright on phenology data
collected at El Verde and Barro Colorado Island. We are preparing a
manuscript on the phenologies of over 300 species of tree, shrub, and lianas
from both sites that will, among other things, test the idea that seasonal
changes in light availability can be a major determinant of phenological
timing.
Compiled by Jody Potter, University
of New Hamshire
Web-published by Eda C. Meléndez-Colom
(emelend@sunites.upr.clu.edu)
March 27, 2003