Flooding Creates New Habitat: How Barro Colorado Island Became a Biological Research Hub

In 1913, a flood occurred in central Panama that resulted in the formation of Barro Colorado Island. While conservationists typically do not support flooding habitats rich in species, this event led to the creation of Gatun, the largest artificial body of water in the world at that time, which served as the middle passage of the Panama Canal. Over time, Barro Colorado Island has become one of the most intensely studied tropical rainforests on the planet.

In 1924, a field station was established on the island and was taken over by the Smithsonian Institution in 1946 and named the 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. The STRI has a small team of 35 scientists but hosts around 1,200 visitors each year, including many regular researchers. Similar to physics facilities like CERN and home to the Large Hadron Collider, it is known as a hub for scientific research.