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Technical Personnel
The field work, lab experiments, and data management for this project are being conducted by an excellent team of experienced biological technicians.
David Brassfield. Brassfield is pursuing a licensiado in biology from the University of Panama and has previously worked on the tree census of the Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro Colorado Island. He is responsible for identifying the seeds collected in the seed traps, for collecting data on the reproductive status of individual trees and lianas of wind-dispersed species, and for censusing lianas in the areas around the towers with seed traps.
Julio Cesar. Cesar recently started assisting with meteorological data collection at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Together with Villareal, he now collects seeds from the vertical seed traps, and assists with other field work as needed.
Milton Garcia. Milton has a licenciado in biology and a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Panama, and over 20 years experience as a biological technician at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Milton designed the seed traps on the towers, and the apparatus for the seed release experiments, and is providing critical assistance in the experiments on seed release.
Steve Paton. Paton has a bachelor’s degree in biology from McMaster University masters degree in zoology from the University of British Columbia, and over 10 years experience as a database manager at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Paton directs the installation and maintenance of the sonic anemometers, radiometers, and other meteorological equipment, and maintains the ever-growing database of meteorological data and its web portal.
Mirna Samaniego. Samaniego has a licenciado in biology from the University of Panama, a master’s degree in forest engineering from the University of São Paolo in Brazil, and over 15 years experience as a biological technician at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Samaniego is assisting with the collection and preparation of seed samples for the aerodynamic measurements, with the performance of experiments on seed release and with budget preparation and accounting.
Paulino Villarreal. Villareal has experience assisting with meteorological data collection at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He collects seeds from the vertical seed traps with the assistance of Cesar, regularly inspects and cleans the meteorological sensors, and assists with other field work as needed.
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