In 1913, a flood occurred that led to the creation of Barro Colorado Island in central Panama. The flood resulted in the formation of Gatun, the largest artificial body of water in the world at that time, which served as the middle passage of the Panama Canal. Despite their initial reluctance to support flooding habitats rich in species, conservationists eventually embraced this development due to its scientific benefits.
Over the years, Barro Colorado Island has become one of the most intensely studied tropical rainforests on the planet. A field station was established on the island in 1924 and taken over by the Smithsonian Institution in 1946, named as Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). Today, under STRI’s stewardship, the island and surrounding areas on the mainland have become a hub for biological research. Similar to physics facilities like CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider, STRI hosts around 1,200 visitors each year including many regular researchers. Despite having a small team of only 35 scientists, STRI’s impact is far-reaching and its work continues to contribute significantly to our understanding of tropical ecosystems.
