Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, Spanish: Instituto Smithsoniano de Investigaciones Tropicales) is the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside of the United States, in Panama. It is dedicated to understanding biological diversity. What began in 1923 as a small field station on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone has developed into one of the world's leading tropical research institutions. STRI’s facilities provide a unique opportunity for long-term ecological studies in the tropics, and are used extensively by some 600 visiting scientists from academic and research institutions in the United States and around the world every year. The work of resident scientists has allowed STRI to better understand tropical habitats and has trained hundreds of tropical biologists.

The history of STRI began with the construction of the Panama Canal from 1904 to 1914. Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Charles Doolittle Walcott reached an agreement with Federico Boyd to conduct a biological inventory of the new Canal Zone in 1910, and this survey was subsequently extended to include all of Panama. Thanks largely to their efforts, the Governor of the Canal Zone declared Barro Colorado Island (BCI) a biological reserve in 1923, making it one of the earliest biological reserves in the Americas. During the 1920s and 1930s BCI, in Gatun Lake, became an outdoor laboratory for scientists from US universities and the Smithsonian Institution. At this time it was referred as the Canal Zone Biological Area (CZBA). By 1940, more than 300 scientific publications described the biota of BCI, and in the "Government Reorganization Act of 1946", BCI became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. BCI was renamed the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in 1966.

After the name change, permanent staff scientists were hired and fellowship programs were initiated to support aspiring tropical biologists. The first director after the name change was Martin Humphrey Moynihan. A strong relationship with the Republic of Panama, STRI's host nation, was formalized in the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977. This relationship was renewed and extended in 1985 when Panama granted STRI the status of International Mission, and again in 1997 when the country offered custodianship of STRI facilities beyond the termination of the Panama Canal Treaties. STRI's relationship with the Republic of Panama continues to be of central importance.

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