"The known diversity in Bocas looks very good in comparison with other places in the Caribbean" explains Collin. "Sponges and some brittlestars are much more abundant on reefs here, and after only ten days of snorkel sampling, Bocas has already become the most diverse site for Nemerteans (unsegmented marine worms) and the second most diverse site for tunicates. Diversity is expected to increase with more intensive sampling." Collin found funds from the Smithsonian Marine Science Network and the Smithsonian Women's Committee to invite a host of experts on different taxonomic groups to conduct marine surveys in 2003 and 2004, and to set up a baseline species inventory for the station.
Collin encourages interested researchers to contact STRI: "I hope that scientists and students will find the organisms they work with in our online database and decide to visit the station. We already have documented more than 3000 species." (see links)
Comparable to Dan Janzen's Natural History of Costa Rica or Egbert Leigh's The Ecology of a Tropical Forest, the book-length CJS volume provides a geographic, geological and environmental context for the station and sets the stage for future work in the region. Focusing in like a pirate's spyglass, initial chapters describe Bocas del Toro's geology, physical environmental monitoring program, and salt- water communities. Lat
'"/>
Contact: Rachel Collin
collinr@si.edu
202-7-862-094-8766
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
27-Dec-2005