Conservación De La Biodiversidad

As the effects of the Global Climate Changes on the costal regions of Central and South Americas advance, there is proportionally little research being made to understand such impacts. This commentary puts forward a series of propositions of strategies to improve performance of Central and South American science and policy making in order to cope with the future impacts of the Global Climate Changes in their coastal habitats.

La crisis socioecológica ha reforzado discursos y políticas sobre la sostenibilidad ambiental global, que en el ámbito de la conservación se expresan en llamados a incrementar la cantidad de áreas naturales protegidas, incluyendo aquellas ubicadas en entornos urbanos. Pero, ¿qué desafíos se presentan para generar reservas naturales en tramas urbanas desiguales y ambientalmente degradadas? ¿Basta con crear zonas delimitadas para proteger lo que sucede allí dentro únicamente? Se presenta un abordaje de experiencias de reservas naturales en la cuenca media del Río Matanza-Riachuelo. Desde la ecología política, planteamos que la creación y gestión de estas áreas debe situarse en el marco general de las disputas por acceso al suelo urbano. De allí la importancia de analizar, en tanto elementos espaciales del territorio, el proceso de urbanización y aspectos de la normativa urbana y ambiental vigente. Finalmente, se efectúan propuestas de conservación como parte de la planificación territorial socio-ecológica.

The analysis of factors that determine the distribution of top-scavengers at large scales can provide clues to understanding important ecological processes and may be useful in establishing conservation and management strategies. Here, we conducted a large-scale survey to study the distribution of the threatened Andean Condor Vultur gryphus in relation to environmental factors in southern Patagonia. This area has undergone the settlement of livestock and the introduction of exotic wildlife, although to a lesser extent than in the distribution of Condors in northern Patagonia. The aim of this study was to determine the relevance of different factors such as the availability of food resources, the availability of suitable nesting and roosting places and the presence of humans on largescale condor distribution. Our results show that the presence of meadows was the primary factor shaping Andean Condor distribution, despite the fact that this habitat occupies only 4% of the Patagonian landscapes. However, this habitat has a high probability of herbivore presence, so Condors seem to optimize their searching. The availability of nesting and roosting cliffs also contributed to explaining the observed distributions. Our results suggest that Condor distribution in southern Patagonia is a compromise between the spatial locations of two low-frequency habitatsmeadows and cliffs. A successful Condor conservation strategy in southern Patagonia should include the protection of these habitats and the regulation of farming expansion, including the recovery of meadows.

Bird-window collisions are one of the main causes of avian mortality worldwide, with estimations reaching up to almost one billion of dead individuals annually due to this cause in Canada and the USA alone. Although this is a growing conservation problem, most of the studies come from North America, evidencing the lack of knowledge and concern in countries with high biodiversity and growing population development. Our objectives were: (1) to estimate the current situation of bird-window collisions in Argentina, a country with around 10% of the world’s avian biodiversity, and, (2) to identify drivers of bird-window collisions at a national and local scale, focusing on a city surrounded by a protected area. We used a citizen science project called “Bird-Window Collisions in Argentina” that consisted of an online survey that collected data on collision metrics and risk factors. We found that more than half of participants reported at least one collision during the last year, suggesting...

Apparent competition is an indirect interaction that can strongly influence ecosystem functioning, altering species populations within the same trophic level. As a new resource, an introduced species can generate strong apparent competition in invaded communities, and even stronger if it becomes the primary resource for consumers. We explore how the European hare (Lepus europaeus), an introduced species in Patagonia, could be generating these stronger effects since many native predators shifted their diets towards them. We constructed and compared two food webs, one in which this primary prey role is played by a native species (the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, in Spain) and another in which it is played by an introduced one (the European hare, in Patagonia), to explore their effects in the generation of this indirect interaction. Both were the primary prey in their respective food web and caused the strongest cases of potential apparent competition in each region. Potential apparent competition generated by introduced European hares in Patagonia double that produced by the European rabbit in Spain and was several times higher than any other native prey species. This strong potential apparent competition in an invaded ecosystem highlights the threats that some exotic species may produce, even indirectly.

Vultures and condors (hereafter vultures) make up one the most threatened avian guilds in the world due to a variety of human-mediated impacts and disturbances. In fact, 70% of vulture species are currently suffering impacted by significant conservation threats, with lead contamination being particularly important. Unfortunately, lead contamination in vulture species remains poorly studied in many regions of the world. We reviewed the existing scientific knowledge about this threat to vultures. We found 62 scientific articles studying lead contamination in vultures. Seventy-two percent of these articles were from North America and Europe, with the rest corresponding to Asia (13%), South America (8%), and Africa (7%). Most (92%) were published recently (2001-2018). Published articles included information on 13 vulture species out of a total of 23 from both the Old (9) and New World (4). Eighty-eight percent of the articles showed individuals with lead concentrations above threshold levels in some tissues sampled, with New World (Cathartidae) vultures more affected than Old World vultures (Accipitridae). The most suspected but rarely probed source of lead was lead ammunition, but other sources such as pollution or industry were also reported. It is concerning that lead contamination is considered a major threat for just 8% (2/23) of the vulture species categorized by the IUCN Red list. Our review shows that lead contamination is an important threat for several vulture species worldwide, but remains undiagnosed and not well-recognized in some species and geographical areas. The effect of this contaminant on vulture demography is not well known but merits particular attention since it may be leading to population declines in several species.

This book presents current research from across the globe in the study of the identification, conservation, and restoration of native species. Topics discussed include soil microbiology influencing biodiversity conservation of natural ecosystems; the native breed of domestic cattle in Southwest England; native plants of northeastern Mexico and their potential in the restoration of damaged ecosystems; Berberis buxifolia, a native fruit species of Patagonia; the contribution of the native earthworm species of Assam state in northeast India and a review of the native species of salt steppes in Algeria.

Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large-scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystembased management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales.

La biodiversidad, entendida como el conjunto de elementos vivos que forman la variedad natural de la tierra y que, por lo tanto, conforma su riqueza biológica, se ha convertido en el principal parámetro de evaluación medioambiental. Tanto es así que puede decirse que, en gran medida, el resto de políticas, instrumentos y acciones ambientales sobre los ecosistemas (agua, aire, tierra), tienen como testigo de su eficacia precisamente el estado ecológico de especies y de espacios naturales. Este libro pretende mostrar cuáles son los fundamentos éticos y, sobre todo, jurídicos sobre los que se sustenta esta protección, analizar cuáles son los principales instrumentos legales y administrativos que existen en nuestro ordenamiento y evaluar, por último, cómo funcionan y cuáles son sus puntos fuertes y débiles. A tal fin, se abordan en primer lugar los principios generales del Derecho ambiental y se recorre a continuación la regulación jurídica de la protección de espacios y de especies en sus distintas vertientes (instituciones e instrumentos administrativos, penales, responsabilidad, etc.). Todo ello se aborda desde la perspectiva jurídico- administrativa de la protección del patrimonio natural y la biodiversidad en la regulación internacional, de la proveniente de la Unión Europea y especialmente las normas nacionales, estatales y autonómicas. Finalmente, se dedica un capítulo a la protección internacional de los polos como reservas naturales globales.

Biodiversity, understood as the set of living elements that make up the natural variety of the earth and that, therefore, make up its biological wealth, has become the main parameter of environmental evaluation. So much so that it can be said that, to a large extent, the rest of environmental policies, instruments, and actions on ecosystems (water, air, land), bear witness to their effectiveness precisely the ecological status of species and natural spaces. This book aims to show what are the ethical and, above all, legal foundations on which this protection is based, analyze what are the main legal and administrative instruments that exist in our system, and evaluate, finally, how they work and what are their points strong and weak. To this end, the general principles of environmental law are addressed first and then the legal regulation of the protection of spaces and species in its different aspects (administrative and criminal institutions and instruments, liability, etc.) is reviewed. All of this is addressed from the legal-administrative perspective of the protection of natural heritage and biodiversity in international regulations, those from the European Union and especially national, state, and regional regulations. Finally, a chapter is devoted to the international protection of the poles as global nature reserves.

The white mullet, Mugil curema, is a widely distributed euryhaline species, the migratory behaviour of which is poorly understood. The objective of this work was to study the large-scale habitat use of this species for the first time. Several environments were considered, such as euryhaline and hypersaline lagoons, the sea, and a river, distributed in the Central Pacific (Mexico) and Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea-Venezuela, and north-eastern Brazil). Otolith core-to-edge Sr/Ca ratios of 163 fish, determined by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, were used to study the salinity-habitat migration history of the fish. Fish from Mexico (Tamiahua Lagoon, n = 4; Alvarado Lagoon, n = 2), Venezuela (n = 1), and Brazil (n = 12) (11.1% of the total) showed high Sr/Ca values at early life stages and were classified as marine estuarine opportunists. Two specimens (from Alvarado Lagoon and Balsas River, Mexico) showed Sr/Ca values consistently below the high salinity guide value (salinity < 33.5). For the rest of the fish (87.1%), the Sr/Ca ratio suggested a displacement from the estuary towards the sea or hypersaline environments, and so these fish were classified as estuarine migrants. A change-point analysis identified six individuals with a single stable otolith Sr/Ca signature through ontogeny (three from Brazil, one from Venezuela, and two from Tamiahua Lagoon, Mexico), suggesting limited displacement between environments with different salinities. The rest of the individuals showed between two and 10 changes in stable Sr/Ca signatures (mean = 4.07 ± 1.85). The highest number of changes in Sr/Ca ratio (4.87 ± 1.1) was found in fish from Laguna Madre (Mexico) and the lowest was found in fish from Brazil (3.27 ± 1.70) (H = 19.8, p = 0.002). Otolith Sr/Ca time series suggest that the migratory estuarine pattern is the most common throughout the study area. This work highlights that the sustainable use of M. curema depends on the conservation of estuaries and the corridors between them and other environments such as lagoons, rivers, mangroves and the sea.Fil: Avigliano, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Ibañez, Ana. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; MéxicoFil: Fabré, Nidia. Universidade Federal de Alagoas; BrasilFil: Callicó Fortunato, Roberta Glenda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Méndez, Ana. Universidad de Oviedo; EspañaFil: Pisonero, Jorge. Universidad de Oviedo; EspañaFil: Volpedo, Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; Argentin

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food chains and is associated with adverse effects in both humans and wildlife. We used feather samples from bird scavengers to evaluate Hg concentrations in two different areas of Northern Patagonia. Hg concentrations were analyzed in feathers obtained from turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus), and southern crested caracaras (Caracara plancus) from the two areas of Northern Patagonia (Argentina): Bariloche and El Valle. Hg was detected in all the samples analyzed, but the concentrations can be considered low for the three species in both sampling areas. The mean concentration of Hg in Bariloche was 0.22 ± 0.16 mg/kg dry weight (d.w.) in black vulture, 0.13 ± 0.06 mg/kg d.w. in turkey vulture, and 0.13 ± 0.09 mg/kg d.w. in southern crested caracara; in El Valle, the mean concentration of Hg was 1.02 ± 0.89 mg/kg d.w. in black vulture, 0.53 ± 0.82 mg/kg d.w. in turkey vulture, an...

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

This study summarises the diversity of living macroinvertebrates and seaweeds from the intertidal and subtidal rocky shores along Ecuadorian continental coast. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities and seaweeds were quantified over quadrants (50 × 50 cm) randomly placed on transects of 50 m length. A checklist of 612 species was generated: 479 species of macroinvertebrates and 133 species of seaweeds. Groups recorded were Mollusca (184 species), Cnidaria (70), Arthropoda (68), Annelida (60), Echinodermata (42), Chordata (18), Bryozoa (13), Porifera (22), Sipuncula (2), Brachiopoda and Platyhelminthes (only identified as morphotypes). The seaweeds were represented by Rhodophyta (78), Chlorophyta (37), Ochrophyta (13), Cyanobacteria (5) and 19 biotic complexes. Furthermore, 22 new taxa and six alien species were recorded from the intertidal zone. This study provides the first large scale report of benthic communities in different marine coastal ecosystems in mainland Ecuador, covering...

El archipiélago cubano presenta gran biodiversidad, con alta riqueza y variedad florística. Ejemplo de ello son los ecosistemas que se desarrollan sobre suelos serpentiníticos, donde existen 920 especies exclusivas de ellos, que representan la tercera parte de la flora cubana. Los matorrales xeromorfos espinosos sobre serpentina (cuabales) se consideran entre las formaciones vegetales destacadas para la conservación de la biodiversidad cubana, por sus especies endémicas. En Santa Clara existen varios espacios donde se desarrolla esa formación vegetal, ejemplo de ello es el Callejón de Los Patos, que muestra evidencias de relictos de cuabal, aunque
presenta un elevado nivel de deterioro, debido a la actividad antrópica. La presente investigación se centró en implementar acciones para el desarrollo de la Educación Ambiental Comunitaria, con énfasis en la conservación del cuabal, en la población del Callejón de Los Patos. Para el proceso de intervención se utilizó la Metodología del Autodesarrollo Comunitario, que tiene su génesis en la Investigación Acción Participación Transformación y es cualitativa por excelencia. Los principales resultados de la investigación son: el diagnóstico e implementación de acciones
diseñadas colectivamente, desde el proceso de Educación Ambiental Comunitaria que se desarrolló en la Escuela Nacional Rural Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, de dicho asentamiento. Durante el proceso de intervención se constató, en los escolares, desarrollo de saberes en lo cognitivo, procedimental y actitudinal para la conservación del cuabal. Esto contribuyó al fortalecimiento de la escuela como centro cultural más importante de la comunidad, como se aspira en el perfeccionamiento del Sistema Nacional de Educación cubana.

En este capítulo se revisan las abejas y las avispas de la Ciudad de México. Se han registrado 269 especies y subespecies de abejas y avispas (123 de abejas y 146 de avispas), que son 5.0% de las que se registran en el país. Las familias que contienen el mayor número de especies y subespecies de abejas son Apidae, Andrenidae y Halictidae, con 54, 25 y 23 especies, respectivamente; en tanto que las familiasmás importantes de avispas son Ichneumonidae, Vespidae y Aphelinidae, con 58, 20 y 14 especies, respectivamente

As the effects of the Global Climate Changes on the costal regions of Central and South Americas advance, there is proportionally little research being made to understand such impacts. This commentary puts forward a series of propositions of strategies to improve performance of Central and South American science and policy making in order to cope with the future impacts of the Global Climate Changes in their coastal habitats.

The objective of this research is to study the social representations of rural teachers in Mendoza (Argentina) regarding the incorporation of students' traditional knowledge in the teaching of biodiversity and its conservation. The theoretical framework is based on the idea of social representations and the pedagogical gesture. The methodology used is qualitative. The results show that the teachers adopt different positions on incorporating into their practice the knowledge coming from the cultural diversity in which they are immersed. It is concluded that, although they have a critical attitude towards the exclusion of cultural diversity, their perspectives on the cultural and historical nature of science must be strengthened.El objetivo de esta investigación versa sobre las representaciones sociales de los docentes rurales de Mendoza (Argentina) acerca de la incorporación de los saberes tradicionales de los estudiantes en la enseñanza sobre la biodiversidad y su conservación. ...

Despite global conservation crises, widespread and poorly regulated toxic pesticides still cause preventable tragedies. Carbofuran, a carbamate pesticide, is the most implicated globally ([ 1 ][1]). In January, the latest and most shocking known poisoning incident in South America took place in

The article discusses the relationships between the Ashaninka people from Peruvian Amazonia and the domesticated sedges (Cyperus spp.) cultivated in almost every Ashaninka home garden, and mostly exchanged within family circles. An over-differentiation phenomenon is observed, in which four species of Cyperus correspond to 86 folk species. The names of folk species are formed by secondary lexemes, composed of a semantically active constituent and a generic suffix (i)benki. The names contain mnemonic cues to differentiate otherwise morphologically similar plants, and their meanings correspond to Ashaninka ontological categories, thus revealing many levels of connectivity between them and non-humans. The wide scope of specific uses (approx. 60 registered) assigned to Cyperus spp. is only partly supported by phytochemicals and ergot alkaloids in the fungus-infested sedges. The key to understanding the ibenki’s (Cyperus) agency lies in local cosmologies, in which domesticated sedges are ...

Regarding amphibians, Costa Rica exhibits the greatest species richness per unit area in Middle America, with a total of 215 species reported to date. However, this number is likely an underestimate due to the presence of many unexplored areas that are difficult to access. Between 2012 and 2017, a monitoring survey of amphibians was conducted in the Central Caribbean of Costa Rica, on the northern edge of the Matama mountains in the Talamanca mountain range, to study the distribution patterns and natural history of species across this region, particularly those considered as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The results show the highest amphibian species richness among Middle America lowland evergreen forests, with a notable anuran representation of 64 species. The greatest diversity in the study area occurred in the mature forest on the basal belt. Of the 68 amphibian species found, seven (10%) are endemic to the Atlantic versant and eight (11.6%) are threatened. This survey includes the first record of Gastrotheca cornuta in Costa Rica since it was last reported 21 years ago. New populations of Agalychnis lemur (Critically Endangered) and Duellmanohyla uranochroa (Endangered) are reported, and Ecnomiohyla veraguensis (Endangered) is reported for the first time in Costa Rica. These findings show that this locality is a high priority conservation area for a large number of amphibian species, which are often threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.

-En France, la réglementation autorise que les insecticides ou acaricides portant une mention « Abeilles » soient appliqués sur des plantes en fleurs, à condition d'absence de butineuses sur les parcelles à traiter. Mais aujourd'hui, aucun critère n'est disponible pour que l'agriculteur puisse s'assurer de l'absence d'abeilles sur la culture. Pour combler ce manque, le ministère de l'Agriculture a engagé une réflexion sur les facteurs environnementaux et climatiques qui influencent la présence des butineuses sur les parcelles agricoles. Cette revue établit l'inventaire des données disponibles sur les facteurs liés à l'environnement et au climat, qui déterminent l'activité de butinage des abeilles. Des règles de décision basées sur de tels critères apparaissent inappropriées. Seule une pulvérisation une fois le soleil couché réduirait significativement le risque d'exposition des butineuses aux produits.

Different cultures have different relationships with nature, and these relationships have many dimensions which shape people’s perceptions towards nature. Therefore, perceptions may vary between different cultures within the same territories. Understanding each culture ́s relationship with the surrounding environment is of extreme importance for the correct allocation of conservation resources, and for the development of efficient conservation actions. In this study, we discuss the perceptions of two different cultures regarding large and mediumsized mammal conservation in an endangered region of Argentina, called the Dry Chaco. These two cultures are peasants, or Criollos, and the indigenous Wichís; we assessed and compared their perceptions on local extinctions, conservation problems, conflicts with wildlife and possible solutions for these issues. We found that although both cultures inhabit the same territory and report local extinctions, their perceptions on which species were ...

Background Fire is an important driver of ecosystem dynamics worldwide. However, knowledge on broad-scale patterns of ecosystem and organism responses to fires is still scarce. Through a systematic quantitative review of available studies across South America, we assessed fire effects on biodiversity and abundance of different organisms (i.e., plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates), plant fitness, and soil properties under four climate types, and time since the last fire (i.e., early and late post fire). We addressed: (1) What fire effects have been studied across South America? (2) What are the overall responses of biodiversity, abundance, fitness, and soil properties to fires? (3) How do climate and time since fire modulate those responses? Results We analyzed 160 articles reporting 1465 fire responses on paired burned and unburned conditions. We found no effect of fire on biodiversity or on invertebrate abundance, a negative effect on woody plant species and vertebrate ab...