Barro Colorado Island

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RADIO EXPEDITIONS takes you to Barro Colorado Island in the middle of the Panama Canal system to study the diverse species of plants and animals and how they adapt to changing environmental conditions. We'll examine the large and varied genetic pool necessary for their survival.

Biologist Allen Herre shares his startling insight as he challenges the wisdom of scientists before him. At the Smithsonian Tropical research Institute, Herre has spent more than a decade studying the life cycle of the fig wasp. His field work demonstrates what some of the world's leading theoreticians say may be a fundamental principle of life on this planet: the more one species thrives, the more certain it is to be a target for pathogens will become.



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