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Published Articles

Click on the titles below to view or download articles:

"On Top of the World at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve in Ecuador"  (2.1 mb).
Orchids 74(10): 748-757. October 2005. By Philip Seaton.
(Reproduced with permission from the American Orchid Society and the author).

"Andean Orchid Conservation and the Role of Private Lands: A Case Study from Ecuador" (117 kb).
Proceedings of the 2nd International Orchid Conservation Congress, Sarasota, FL, May 14-17 2004. Selbyana 26(1,2). 2006. By Joe E. Meisel & Catherine L. Woodward.
(Reproduced with permission from Allen Press and the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens).

Online Features

Tamanduas:  A Vested Interest in Ants

Tamanduas occur widely throughout the tropics, but are rarely seen by visitors.  Spending about half of their time up in the trees, these attractively attired animals -- their coats look as if they are wearing black vests -- comb the forest in search of ants and termites, their favorite food.  Their long snout sheathes an even longer tongue, coated with sticky hairs that help them delve deep within ant nests to eat the nutritious and abundant larvae found within.  Often they can be found by listening for the characteristic sound of dirt raining out of a tree, when they tear vigorously into termite mounds high in the branches.  Read more.  By Joe E. Meisel

Sloths:  Chew your Food Slowly

Did you say they can swim?  That's right, sloths are excellent swimmers, even though you might have to see it to believe it.  Sloths also regularly cross open ground in search of new trees where they can feed themselves on tender young leaves.  A mother sloth will accompany her offspring for the first year of its life, teaching the youngster the array of plants it can eat and those that are to be avoided.  Sloths are true folivores, eating only leaves; because of the low protein content of their diet, they cannot afford to move rapidly and must conserve their energy at all times.  Read more.  By Joe E. Meisel