This award provides partial support for the improvement and operation of the La Selva field station in Costa Rica, one of three stations in Costa Rica owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a U.S. nonprofit consortium of 60 plus universities and research institutions in the United States, Costa Rica, Peru and Australia. The La Selva station encompasses 1,515 hectares of classic lowland tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica where it adjoins Braulio Carrillo National Park. This allows the station to offer access to protected forests from near sea level within the La Selva reserve to the summit of Barba Volcano (2,906 m) within the park. La Selva is one of the two major field stations in the neotropics in research productivity and the top field station in student participation. In 2005 alone, the station logged over 33,000 user days of visitation, 150 research projects, 110 college courses, and 120 scientific publications. Every year more than 100 college courses from the U.S. run programs at La Selva and nearly 2,000 students visit the station. The La Selva bibliography currently boasts nearly 3,000 references, including 260 Masters and Ph.D. theses. Nine hundred of these publications are available as pdf files as are several thousand references on general themes in tropical biology. The cornerstone of education programs at La Selva has been the opportunity for students to engage in field-based, critical thinking in the tropics. Since 1999, La Selva has aggressively sought to reach more students from under-served and under-represented groups. In order to address emerging scientific issues as well as facilitate a broad range of researchers and their projects working at the station, La Selva will continue to improve the multi-user platform that provides quality services, modern facilities, well-kept trails, electronic connectivity, and advanced laboratory equipment.
The La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical studies, a not-for-profit consortium of academic institutions incorporated in the US and administered through Duke University. La Selva has been a safe, stable, and intellectually dynamic site for tropical research for the past 50 years. Every year more than 250 scientists and 100 undergraduate courses from around the world engage in cutting-edge investigations and learning experiences at this rainforest installation. The facilities include modern dormitories, a full-service dining hall, air-conditioned laboratories, broad-band internet connection, canopy research towers, a world-class weather station, library, herbarium, and computer room. The rainforest holds exceptionally high biodiversity, including more than 2,000 species of plants, 450 birds, and 70 mammals, including jaguars and tapirs. A large library of satellite images from the past 50 years provides valuable information about the history of land use in the area. More than 3,500 scientific publications have resulted from the efforts of these scientists and students—justly earning La Selva the reputation as one of the most productive tropical research sites in the world. Support for the research station comes from user fees, donations, and grant support. We maintain the highest standards in all aspects of our operations in order to facilitate the scientific, educational, and outreach activities of our users, more than 60% of whom are from the US. Everyone from the most senior NASA scientist to the youngest community college undergraduate has full access to the facilities and to the expert consultation of our 12 member scientific staff. We have earned several awards for our sustainability and community outreach efforts and we are currently in the midst of an ambitious effort to become carbon neutral through the use of solar power and "green building" design. We serve as a training center for several courses aimed at K-12 science teachers in the US. We also coordinate research efforts with other tropical field stations around the world and with nation-wide US programs on biodiversity and ecological monitoring. Funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation through its Field Station and Marine Laboratories Program within the Division of Biological Infrastructure of the Directorate for Biological Sciences has been instrumental in maintaining La Selva’s core operations for U.S. researchers and students.
