No photo available	Debra DeRosier, Conservation Biologist, Monteverde, Costa Rica -- Debra has been working in the Monteverde zone since 1992. Along with several collaborating scientists, she has studied diversity of understory birds and the use of agricultural windbreaks as biological corridors for birds moving between forest fragments. She is currently involved in a long-term study of the Three-wattled Bellbird, an endagered species in Costa Rica. This work has included investigations of migratory patterns, population locations and sizes, and the possible impact of climate change on Bellbird populations. This project also includes a major effort to protect remaining Bellbird habitat. For more information about Bellbird conservation, contact Debra at derosier@sol.racsa.co.cr.
	Humberto Jimenez Saa, Tropical Forester, San Jose, Costa Rica -- I have academic studies and experience in Forestry (Dendrology and Plant Ecology) and in the management of technical and scientific information, including the production of video programs.I have experience as Professor both at undergraduate and graduate levels, and have written project proposals and conducted special projects for international institutions. I keep good relationships with persons involved with agriculture, forestry, natural renewable resources and technical information. I have experience at local level in ecological and scientific tourism. Web Site
	Richard Laval, Tropical Biologist, Monteverde, Costa Rica -- Richard began his Monteverde research on bats in 1973, initially looking mostly at species diversity and reproductive cycles. He continues to collect data to the present, repeating much of the initial study in 1998-1999 with the goal of searching for correlations between changes in bat populations and documented global warming/climate change. He is currently planning a new study of the distribution of insectivorous bats in Costa Rica.
	Robert O. Lawton, Ecologist, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama, USA -- Robert's research focuses on the impact of natural disturbances - such as storms, landslides, fires, etc. - on species-rich forests like the Monteverde cloud forest. Treefalls due to wind are common in Monteverde, and the gaps they create are exploited by tree species specialized for growth on fallen logs, in disturbed soil, etc. This observation has led to more specific work on the evolution of hemiepiphytes (plants which grow in trees but have some connection to the ground), lianas (vines), and stanglers (such as the strangler fig). Robert and his collaborators are also investigating whether certain tree species are more likely to serve as hosts for these mechanically parasitic plants.
	K. Greg Murray, Ecologist, Hope College, Holland, MI USA -- Greg has been working in and around the Monteverde Preserve since 1980. Most of his research concerns the roles played by seed disperers, seed predators, and natural disturbances in structuring plant communities in Monteverde. This has included studies of regeneration of early pioneer plants, feeding behavior and digestive physiology of fruit-eating birds and consequences for plant reproductive success, forest regeneration on abandoned cattle pastures, and regeneration of native plant plant species in windbreaks and reforestation projects dominated by exotic trees. He is currently collaborating with an organic chemist to examine chemical seed defenses.
	Nalini Nadkarni, Forest Ecologist, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, USA -- Nalini began her work in Monteverd in 1980. In general, she studies the ecological roles that canopy dwellers play in the cloud forest. This includes the role of canopy plants in nutrient cycling, use of canopy plants by birds, ecosystem dynamics, epiphyte colonization rates, etc. Recently, she has been focusing on the effect of human activities on canopy systems, including the potential impact of global warming. She regularly brings undergraduate and graduate students to Monteverde to participate in the research, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Nalini is president of the International Canopy Network, which was formed to promote canopy research worldwide.
No photo available	Alan Pounds, Ecologist, Monteverde, Costa Rica -- Alan, an adjunct professor with the University of Miami, has been working in Monteverde since 1981. His early work focused on community ecology of reptiles in the cloud forests of Monteverde. Recently, he has collaborated with other scientists in an investigation which linked declines of local amphibian populations (such as the now-extinct Golden Toad) to altitudinal shifts of bird populations. These changes in local communities seem to be driven by an increasingly dry climate over the last several decades. Alan continues to investigate the relationship of global warming/climate change to amphibian declines and extinctions.
	Kathy Winnett-Murray, Behavioral Ecologist, Hope College, Holland, MI, USA -- Kathy has been conducting research in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve since her doctoral dissertation on the behavioral ecology of neotropical wrens. Along with her husband, K. Greg Murray, and numerous undergraduate students, Kathy has been studying fruit choice of local frugivorous birds as it relates to seed dispersal since 1988. She has also been involved in research on factors influencing rate of abandoned pasture regeneration, as well as a recently-begun study of parasite-diet relationships in local birds.