A newly discovered species of amphibian that is related to the notorious Brazilian 'penis snake' has been named after President Donald Trump in a charity auction benefiting the Rainforest Trust,…
Peruvian palm oil, orca attacks on humpback whales, and mining in an Amazon national park are among the recent top stories from Mongabay Latam, our Spanish-language service. Orcas attack young…
Tropical forests are incredibly diverse ecosystems, and ecologists have long wondered why. New research studying a specific Panamanian tree – the yellow-flowering Handroanthus guayacan – has provided an answer. But…
NUSA DUA, Indonesia — In a bid to beef up fisheries security, Panama and Namibia have announced their intentions to make information on the location of fishing boats in their…
Frogs in a tropical forest in Panama are doing better than scientists believed after a devastating fungus slashed population numbers and wiped out entire species about a decade ago. In…
Marine ecologists have described a bright-red species of coral from Panama that’s new to science. The researchers found the coral growing at a depth of 45 to 50 meters (148…
Life is not easy for seeds. Avoiding ending up as food for animals and finding the right time and spot to germinate are two common problems. Until recently, scientists studying…
New research finds that the canopies of tropical forests get significantly hotter than the surrounding air. As global warming ups temperature extremes around the world, scientists worry that this means…
Indigenous communities occupying four territories in eastern Panama are taking their nearly five-year land-titling battle with the government to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C. Their move…
A researcher has identified a colorful tree frog as a new species and named the amphibian Sylvia’s tree frog, Cruziohyla sylviae, after his 3-year-old granddaughter. Andrew Gray, Curator of Herpetology…
Areas rich in wildlife and human vehicle traffic rarely make for good news — think of the number of rare and endangered species killed on highways every year. But when…
For the past few decades, scientists have known of six species of fast-flying, insect-eating bats with dog-like faces — collectively called the dog-faced bats. Now, a group of researchers has described…
A brief legal battle related to the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project in western Panama concluded late last month in a rare triumph for the impacted indigenous communities who have opposed…
DARIÉN PROVINCE, Panama - David Ramos’ ranch is in the community of Salodio, in Darién Province, in the eastern part of Panama. From there, one can observe Darién National Park,…
During the UN climate talks in December 2015 that would ultimately produce the Paris Climate Agreement, indigenous leaders from Africa, Asia and Latin America presented a fairly simple proposition: give…
The contentious Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam is set to begin operations within the next few weeks, defying both the relentless opposition by affected communities and the rejection last September by…
Biodiversity in tropical forests is particularly high — and, it appears, particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change. Understanding how tropical species will fare in a warming world requires…
he fate of the contentious Barro Blanco dam in western Panama remains uncertain after the Ngäbe-Bugle General Congress voted down a month-old agreement reached between the country’s President and Silvia…
A rare tree frog species is believed to be extinct after the death of its last living member. “Toughie,” the last-known Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog, was found dead in his…
merita Sánchez, a member of the Naso indigenous group in northwestern Panama, had never really thought about the dietary changes her community has made over the past few decades. That…
anolo Miranda, frustrated and tired, sits quietly on a wooden bench at the school in Kiad, a small indigenous community on the shores of the Tabasará River in western Panama.…
n Monday, indigenous Ngäbe protestors opposing the controversial Barro Blanco dam in western Panama disrupted a ceremony marking the project’s completion deal, leading to violent clashes with police. The deal…
Clumps of frog eggs are often easy meals for snakes and wasps. But some baby frogs have evolved a strategy to avoid being eaten. Take the red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas)…
If you were to fly over Central America on a small plane, from north to south, starting in Guatemala and ending in Panama, you'd be able to see isolated yet…
Using sophisticated software to analyze images from drone-mounted cameras could provide cheap, timely and detailed information on tree growth, seasonal forest dynamics and other key metrics.
The Critically Endangered pygmy sloth. Photo by: Bryson Voirin. There may be more pygmy sloths than believed, according to a new paper in the Journal of Mammalogy. Scientists originally estimated…
CAO lasers easily penetrate forest canopies to reveal minute variations in ground elevation associated with soils. This images shows a ground elevation map in dense tropical forest of western Amazon.…
An interview with George Angehr Photograph of newly built Biomuseo biodiversity museum in Panama City, Panama. Photo by: Fernando Aldo, September, 2014. Biomuseo, designed by internationally renowned architect, Frank Gehry,…
Click charts to enlarge Loss of tropical forests accelerated roughly 60 percent during the 2000s, argues a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The findings contradict previous research…
An ocelot in Colombia. Photo by: Brodie Ferguson. By comparing camera trapping findings with genetic samples taken from feces, biologists have determined that the density of ocelots on Barro Colorado…
