Cofrin Center for Biodiversity

Save-the-Date for our annual CCB Student Grant Symposium with projects featuring work students have conducted in our natural areas and collections! Free and open to the public. April 10! These projects were generously funded by the Cofrin Family, Friends of Toft Point, Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation, the late Thomas Krischan, the late Ron Horn, and Professor Emeritus Keith White and his late wife Betty White.

Our very own graduate student Morley Remitz designed this beautiful artwork of a Northern Yellow Warbler that won a t-shirt design contest for the WI Society for Ornithology's (WSO) upcoming Convention!!!! Congratulations, Morley! You did such a fantastic job—we are proud of you!

And we have t-shirt art for the WSO Annual Convention!! Thanks to everyone who submitted a design - our members voted and Morley submitted the winning art! We can't wait to see it on everyone at the convention!!
Morley Remitz is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay studying Environmental Science & Policy. Her thesis research focuses on the ecology of long-jawed orb-weavers. She also assists with monitoring anuran and bird populations for the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity and curatorial assistance for the Richter Museum of Natural History.
Morley grew up creating art in Green Bay and has long been inspired by wildlife, especially birds. When she is not in class, in the field, or bird-watching, she enjoys experimenting with illustrations, digital art, and writing poetry. Her career goals focus on conserving and protecting native wildlife populations for future generations.

CCB’s Outreach Specialist for the Oneida Bird Monitoring Program, Joe Torres, is a Beacon of the Bay and shared his Two-Spirit story last night!!! The exhibit is currently at UW-Green Bay this week. The speech Joe gave yesterday was so moving and meaningful. We are very proud of you, Joe! Thank you for sharing your story.

CCB graduate student, Sarah Baughman, won the Best Student Poster Award at this week's Wisconsin Wetlands Association conference!!! Her poster features the work she is doing in collaboration with Dr. Keir Wefferling (Fewless Herbarium Curator and Professor), recent UW-Green Bay graduates, and others in building a peatland trailside guide (which features Sarah's original, beautiful paintings!). Congratulations, Sarah!

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢 (𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥: 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦-𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘢𝘸𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘭𝘺𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳)

Hi everyone! My name is Morley, and I am a graduate student at UWGB on the Panama trip. Since arriving in Panama, I have created a list of bird species and total counts utilizing a global database and app, eBird. eBird is a citizen science-based database allowing for individuals all around the world to provide scientists with bird observations. Participation only requires birdwatching and a count of birds seen in a particular location. Since our arrival, our list has added up to 125 different bird species! In 2025, Panama Audubon Society reported 1,030 unique bird species found in Panama. Though our count is over 100, in actuality, our group has only seen about 12% of Panama’s total bird biodiversity.
 
Panama’s high bird diversity is attributed to numerous factors. The isthmus serves as an essential migratory route between North and South America, and is a critical stopover point for these migratory birds. Panama is also in close proximity to the equator, creating a more stable and warm climate. This allows for many birds and other animal species to persist year-round and take advantage of more consistent resources. Additionally, there are many unique habitats with differing bird species such as rainforests, wetlands, and cloud forests. Due to Panama’s biogeography, climate, and diverse habitats, our class is lucky to have seen such incredible bird biodiversity!

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵

Hi, I’m Elaina Plankey, an undergraduate student studying Organismal Biology at St. Norbert College. I’ve been focusing my studies on botany, and the 2025–26 trip to Panama gave me a unique opportunity to study tropical biology. One of our class projects was taking elevational transects in the cloud forest of Cerro Gaital in Valle de Antón — this allowed us to see how elevation and other factors of the cloud forest impact plant life. We did this by sampling individual trees at varied elevations. Students were given jobs that suited their strengths, and we worked as a team to gather various pieces of information about each tree. Qualities such as percent epiphyte coverage, epiphytic morphospecies, diameter at breast height, canopy cover, and tree height were taken.

𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.

My name is Chloe Martin, and I’m an environmental science major at SNC. During our stay at Barro Colorado Island, we saw an almendro tree (𝘋𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘹 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴). This tree is known for its ability to survive lightning strikes and can even benefit from them. The almendro tree survives by absorbing lightning through its many branches and leaves, and the electrical energy is dispersed through nearby trees and vines, which can damage or kill them. By doing this, the almendro tree has lessened competition around it for sunlight.

Hi everyone! My name is Benjamin Whitaker. I’m a senior at UWGB who had the pleasure to attend the Tropical Ecology of Panama study abroad.

These are two photos of damselflies I found in Panama. Damselflies can be difficult to differentiate from dragonflies. A common telling trait is that dragonflies will be resting with their wings spread while damselflies will fold them flat against each other. But, as you can see from the photos, there are damselflies that also spread their wings. Damselflies have long slender bodies and widely spaced eyes that sit on the sides of the head. Dragonflies have bulkier frames and large eyes that touch or nearly touch. When flying, dragonflies will be strong and direct with a loud buzzing. While the damselflies flight is a more delicate flutter.

These colorful insects are important predators in and around freshwater systems. And they show off some of the beautiful biodiversity of Panama.

Emily, a student in our Tropical Biology Travel Course, shares one of her favorite experiences from Bocas del Toro:

“On an island along the Caribbean coast, there lies a cave opening covered by rainforest vines and deep green foliage. La Gruta Cave is considered a religious site for many people on Isla Colón, and it is believed that walking through the cave places you closer to the past. Home to several species of bats, this cave provides refuge for some of the island’s most important pollinators.

Among these inhabitants is the incredibly social greater spear-nosed bat (𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴), one of the largest bats in the Americas. Traversing La Gruta is mildly difficult, and tall rubber boots, along with a quality headlamp, are required. The outcome, however, is worth the journey, as hundreds to thousands of bats can be observed roosting among the stalactite formations above and fluttering past you, singing their echolocation harmonies.”