Research Summary
La Selva Biological Station and Tirimbina Rainforest Center, Costa Rica — Caterpillars have developed an impressive repertoire of defenses to protect themselves from predators and parasites. Some eat plant toxins to keep parasites off, others “bungee-jump” out of harm's way. Understanding why one caterpillar is a diner and the other is dinner is an important part of learning how to conserve forests and other habitats. Working in one of the world's richest tropical rainforests, you can help sort out the tangle of offense and defense in Costa Rica.
Meet the Scientists
Dr. Lee Dyer
Tulane University
Lee Dyer, Ph.D., is an ecologist who has worked with a variety of organisms in the tropics for more than a decade and in temperate areas for the past 15 years. He received a B.S. in Biochemistry and English from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After four years of research on the effects of water diversions on the Mono Lake ecosystem, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he received a Ph.D. in ecology. His thesis work examined interactions between plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies and included work in Costa Rica, Colorado, and California. Dyer was a professor for 5 years at Mesa State College in Colorado where he established the Western Colorado Center for Tropical Research and received the distinguished faculty scholar award. Dr. Dyer has been a faculty member in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Tulane University since 2001.