Panama-USA Dimensions of Biodiversity Workshop - Panama City, Panama, April 9-10, 2013

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Biological diversity is critical to the function of the Earth's ecosystems, however our understanding of how that diversity evolved, how it is maintained, and the links between biodiversity and the services that ecosystems provide is still woefully incomplete. The Dimensions of Biodiversity program was established in 2010 with the goal of transforming our understanding of the scope and role of life on Earth. This workshop will bring together scientists and students from Panama and the United States to learn about the Dimensions of Biodiversity program and establish international collaborations that will lead to the development of proposals that are appropriate for submission to that program. Panama is a strong candidate to be a partner in the Dimensions of Biodiversity Program because it harbors tremendous biological diversity and because there is scientific and institutional support for research in this area. There will be strong broader impacts of this workshop because it will include Panamanian post-doctoral researchers and graduate students and because it will develop new international collaborations between scientists in the United States and Panama. This award is being co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering.