FSML: Improving research and education activities at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Duke University has been awarded a grant to complete the current remodeling and expansion of facilities at the Las Cruces Biological Station that will enhance education and research opportunities for students and scientists. Improvements will: 1) remodel and expand the current laboratory and increase long-term storage space; 2) complete the station-wide upgrade of cyberinfrastructure by overhauling IT in the laboratory; 3) remodel a former residential property to house additional researchers and construct a fourth researcher cabin to complement the series of three cabins built with funds from the 2007 NSF-FSML; and 4) remodel the herbarium to adequately house current specimens and allow for the future growth of collections. These upgrades would considerably improve facilities provided to visiting researchers and students, and fully reposition the station to account for the large increase in researcher visitation, and the surge in the number and length of stay of courses. Las Cruces was acquired in 1973 by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a US-based nonprofit consortium of 60 universities and research institutions from the United States, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia that is dedicated to providing leadership in education, research, and the responsible use of natural resources in the tropics. Over the years Las Cruces has established itself as a key mid-elevational field station focused on applied fields of research, and in particular forest fragmentation and its impacts on the conservation of flora and fauna and restoration ecology. The station protects 325 ha of mostly primary forest with exceptionally high plant diversity (~2000 species) and numerous endemic species. The improvements in this project will allow the Station to continue to serve as a leading institution for international education and research in tropical biology. Futher information on Las Cruces may be obtained from the OTS web site at http://www.ots.ac.cr/.