{"id":3786,"date":"2024-02-21T06:47:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T06:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sfs.local\/program\/tropical-island-biodiversity-studies\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T19:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T19:20:11","slug":"tropical-island-biodiversity-studies","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/center\/panama\/program\/tropical-island-biodiversity-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On Isla Col\u00f3n in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, coral reefs, mangroves, and tropical forests form one of the most biodiverse seascapes in the Caribbean. Students scramble from reef transects to frog choruses, from leaf-cutter ant trails to mangrove mapping. During surveys, students may spot parrots moving between forest and coast, reminders of the ecological connectivity linking these systems. Yet this closeness is fragile under relentless development. Each project sharpens the dilemma: connectivity celebrated globally, fragmentation lived locally. Students leave with both data and a sharper sense of how conservation and livelihoods must be balanced on islands under global pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Assist with coral nursery maintenance at the Caribbean Coral Restoration Center, surveying nearby reefs for coral health and recruitment rates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trek mangrove islands and rainforest trails, collecting species data and linking habitat health to local policy impacts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Record plant uses and agroforestry practices on cacao farms, sampling products and documenting cultural narratives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chart waste flows and coastal pressures during inter-island field trips, from fishing docks to seagrass beds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conduct Directed Research: frame a stakeholder-driven question, collect and analyze field data with faculty guidance, and present actionable findings to local partners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spend a semester in the dynamic community of Bocas del Toro, where you will experience everything from underwater ecosystems to rich green rainforests. Go behind the scenes of this \u201cparadise\u201d as you study the impacts of tourism and development on the unique habitats of this island system. Evaluate local and national environmental policies and study the principles of sustainability and conservation as part of an in-depth field research project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23162,"template":"","location":[97],"class_list":["post-3786","program","type-program","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-panama"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program\/3786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/program"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstudies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=3786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}