An anteater climbs a tree on Barro Colorado Island in Panama.
Scientists say there are about 100 kinds of mammals and nearly as many reptiles on the island.
Tony Coates says tropical areas are a sea of life.
TONY COATES: “The vast majority of all species of plants and animals live in the tropics. The vast majority of all the technical knowhow, political will, education and financing is in the temperate world. How to get those two realms together is one of the great issues facing global conservation.”
MARIO RITTER: The headquarters of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is in Panama City. Its library on tropical biology is considered one of the world’s best.
TONY COATES: “It follows the same system as the Library of Congress.”
MARIO RITTER: In nearby Culebra, a Smithsonian educational center is open to the public. Thousands of children visit each year.
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TONY COATES: “That is our biggest educational contribution to our host country, Panama.”
MARIO RITTER: The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama is celebrating its hundredth year. It is also launching a new research center in Gamboa.
Private donors want the institute to study subjects of growing concern today. These include how forest's control erosion and capture carbon from the air. They also want to know how to protect this important ecosystem.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25