Compelling new research deepens our understanding of the threats faced by tropical forests and wildlife. Emerging Threats to Tropical Forests, published by the University of Chicago Press, documents disruptions of ecological and ecosystem processes that are not mitigated simply by establishing reserves.

A new Web site at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute will serve as a clearinghouse for all available STRI scientific data. In addition, the site offers a range of tools including: a GIS make-your-own-map service and a Google-style species search engine. A map library offers maps, satellite images and aerial photographs of Panama and the region.

Higher tree species diversity leads directly to higher diversity of leaf-eating insects, researchers report in the July 13, 2006 early-online version of the journal Science. Understanding the drivers of the high diversity in tropical forests has been a major question since Darwin and Wallace visited tropical forests and even before, Smithsonian co-author Scott Miller writes, We found that higher tropical tree diversity explains why there are more leaf-eating insects in tropical than in temperate forests.

Reef fish share genetic connections across what Darwin termed an "impassable barrier," 5000km of deep ocean separating the eastern and central Pacific, according to a report by Smithsonian scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.