Plants use toxic chemicals to protect themselves from insects, herbivores, and pathogens. But they also need to attract animals to carry their seeds. Here's how researchers are exploring those needs.

Utah State University researchers are collaborating with other institutions to solve the ecological mysteries of seed dispersal in tropical ecosystems.

A century of research on Barro Colorado Island has contributed to our understanding of forest ecology. Researchers from Utah State University and the University of Utah rely on the island for their plant research.

UPR takes you back into the tropics on our second episode of Secret Beyond the seed, a series investigating why there is such an amazing diversity of chemicals that have evolved in plants. Journeying to a remote island in Panama, UPR’s science reporter Colleen Meidt and news director Sheri Quinn are documenting the quest of these scientists from Utah State University and other institutions.

We visited the captivating tropical forest of Panama's Barro Colorado Island to learn about USU research into the astounding diversity of chemicals plants produce.