30 / GENERAL INFORMATION Caribbean, but Brazilian materials are being augmented rapidly. Other Activities.-The Center sponsors conferences and colloquia on Latin American topics, supports publication of scholarly books, monographs, and papers, and cooperates with other University units in conduct- ing developmental programs in Latin America. Inquiries about the various programs and activities of the Center should be addressed to the Director, Center for Latin American Studies, 319 Grinter Hall. The Center for Tropical Agriculture, within the Insti- tute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, seeks to stimulate interest in research and curriculum related to the tropical environment and its development. Minor in Tropical Agriculture.-An interdisciplinary minor in tropical agriculture may be planned at both the master's and doctoral levels by students majoring in agriculture, forestry, and other fields where knowledge of the tropics is relevant. The minor may include courses treating characteristics of the tropics: its soils, water, vegetation, climate, agricultural production, and the language and culture of tropical countries. Certificate Program.-The certificate in Tropical Agriculture (CTA) is available for any student enrolled at the University of Florida. The CTA requires a minimum of 27 hours of appropriately selected courses with some, and possibly all, of these hours in addition to the require- ments for the current degree sought by the student. Up to seven hours of research credit, or its equivalent, may be applied towards CTA requirements when this research and experience have a clear relationship to agriculture in developing countries. In addition, candi- dates must show a level of competence in an appropriate foreign language, although language hours will not be counted in the CTA. The 27 hours of requirements are divided between social sciences and agricultural sciences. Nine hours are needed in social sciences, five of which must be area- specific and four non-area-specific. The agricultural sciences require 18 hours, consisting of 13 hours in natural sciences and 5 in other agricultural sciences. Each student will be assigned to an interdisciplinary committee of three faculty members, one member being replaced each year. This committee is responsible for selecting the appropriate courses commensurate with the individual student's background. Students interested in this program should consult the Dean for Resident Instruction in the College of Agriculture. Research.-The Center provides research grants to faculty members and their graduate students and assists in the coordination of interdisciplinary research funded elsewhere. Development assistance contracts in agriculture and related fields frequently have research components. Student Support.-Students within the College of Agriculture and the School of Forest Resources and Con- servation pursuing a minor in tropical agriculture are eligi- ble for research grants awarded by the Center through academic departments. Other Activities.-The Center seeks a broad dissemina- tion of knowledge about tropical agriculture through the sponsoring of conferences, short courses, and seminars featuring leading authorities on the tropics; publication of books, monographs and proceedings; and through acquisition of materials for the library and the data bank. The Organization.for Tropical Studies (OTS) is a con- sortium of major educational and research institutions in the United States and abroad, created to promote understanding of tropical environments and their intelli- gent use by man. The University of Florida is a charter member. Graduate field courses in Central America are coordinated from the regional office in Costa Rica. Courses with varying content are offered in the agricul- tural sciences, earth sciences, forestry, geography, marine science, meteorology, and terrestrial biology during the spring and summer terms. Additional courses are being planned. Students are selected on a competitive basis from universities throughout the country. A University of Florida graduate student may register for eight credits in an appropriate departmental course cross-listed with OTS, e.g., PCB 6357C or GEA 6109. The University of Florida does not require tuition for OTS courses. OTS offers pilot-study research grants to junior faculty and graduate students who have had limited tropical experience. Further infor- mation can be obtained from the OTS campus office located in the Division of Biological Sciences, 223 Bartram Hall. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES The Division of Biological Sciences is organized within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to provide coor- dination in the biological sciences. The Division, with a staff from many disciplines, has organized graduate studies in ecology and population biology, physiology, tropical biology, evolutionary biology, marine biology, paleobiology, and systematics. Each faculty is responsi- ble for developing and supervising a core program in its special area. In addition to cross-department programs, the Division serves to coordinate biological science wherever it exists in the University and to operate marine research stations on the east and west coasts of Florida. It represents the University in the Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of 29 major U.S. univer- sities which operates three tropical field stations and an extensive field course program in Costa Rica. Many biology graduate students here are able to participate in these OTS graduate courses and expand their research projects from the courses into thesis or dissertation topics. The Departments of Zoology and Botany are the units composing the Division of Biological Sciences. The University of Florida Marine Laboratory at Seahorse Key is located 57 miles west of Gainesville on the Gulf Coast, 3 miles offshore, opposite Cedar Key. Facilities include a 20x40-foot research and teaching building, and a 10-room residence, with two kitchens and a dining-lounge, which provides dormitory accom- modations for 24 persons. The laboratory, which owns a 32-foot research vessel equipped for offshore work and several smaller outboard-powered boats for shallow water and inshore work, is used for research by graduate students from the various departments of the Division of Biological Sciences. The University of Florida Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Marine Laboratory is in the city of Marineland, 15 miles south of St. Augustine and 80 miles west of Gainesville. It is a research center dedicated to using marine organisms for solving basic problems in experi- mental marine biology and medicine. The Laboratory's research scope comprises three areas-neurobiology; membrane transport and xenobiotic toxicity; cell biology and biochemistry. The facility is particularly well equipped and situated for carrying out its mission. The members of the Whitney Laboratory are full-time resi- dent scientists; their faculty appointments are in biological science departments of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Medicine. Qualified graduate students in those departments may carry out their