Redes sociales como espacio de aprendizaje: codiseño de estrategias de enseñanza para abordar la Pandemia

El presente trabajo presenta una investigación de métodos mixtos, centrada en el análisis de dos ediciones de una Unidad Curricular de la carrera de Licenciatura en Enfermería, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, periodos 2020 y 2021. La Unidad fue codiseñada en el marco del contexto sanitario mundial, enfocada en la educación como un derecho humano a mantener. El escenario de pandemia ha volcado a las personas en las redes sociales como espacio de interacción social. Estas se convirtieron en ambiente de aprendizaje y cooperación tanto para los estudiantes universitarios como para la comunidad. En el estudio se destacan las habilidades específicas de la profesión enfermera como su esencia profesional: las habilidades blandas y el cuidado. Se entiende que las y los estudiantes evidencian solvencia para desarrollar actividades colaborativas enfocadas en su rol profesional, en un contexto de crisis. Los resultados obtenidos confirman las posibilidades de aplicación del aprendizaje colaborativo mediado como enfoque para evaluar actividades de enseñanza y aprendizaje complejas en entornos virtuales en el ámbito universitario

Splendid oddness: revisiting the curious trophic relationships of South American Pleistocene mammals and their abundance

The South American Pleistocene mammal fauna includes great-sized animals that have intrigued scientists for over two centuries. Here we intend to update the knowledge on its palaeoecology and provide new evidence regarding two approaches: energetics and population density and relative abundance of fossils per taxa. To determine whether an imbalance exists, population density models were applied to several South American fossil faunas and the results compared to those that best describe the palaeoecology of African faunas. The results on the abundance study for Uruguay and the province of Buenos Aires during the Lujanian stage/age reveal that bulk-feeding ground sloths (Lestodon and Glossotherium) were more represented in the first territory, while the more selective Scelidotherium and Megatherium were more abundant in the second. Although the obtained values were corrected to avoid size-related taphonomic biases, linear regressions of abundance vs. body mass plots did not fit the expected either for first or second consumers. South American Pleistocene faunas behave differently from what models suggest they should. Changes in sea level and available area could account for these differences; the possibility of a floodplain in the area then emerged could explain seasonal changes, which would modify the calculations of energetics and abundance

Splendid oddness: revisiting the curious trophic relationships of South American Pleistocene mammals and their abundance

The South American Pleistocene mammal fauna includes great-sized animals that have intrigued scientists for over two centuries. Here we intend to update the knowledge on its palaeoecology and provide new evidence regarding two approaches: energetics and population density and relative abundance of fossils per taxa. To determine whether an imbalance exists, population density models were applied to several South American fossil faunas and the results compared to those that best describe the palaeoecology of African faunas. The results on the abundance study for Uruguay and the province of Buenos Aires during the Lujanian stage/age reveal that bulk-feeding ground sloths (Lestodon and Glossotherium) were more represented in the first territory, while the more selective Scelidotherium and Megatherium were more abundant in the second. Although the obtained values were corrected to avoid size-related taphonomic biases, linear regressions of abundance vs. body mass plots did not fit the expected either for first or second consumers. South American Pleistocene faunas behave differently from what models suggest they should. Changes in sea level and available area could account for these differences; the possibility of a floodplain in the area then emerged could explain seasonal changes, which would modify the calculations of energetics and abundance

Could saber-toothed cats form groups? Optimal group size based on foraging and competition for carcasses

Inferring social behavior from fossil remains has always been a difficult and controversial task. Previous works on the topic included assessing family structure among dinosaurs based on nest remains, and assessing social behavior based on surmised sexual dimorphism of cranial morphology. For some saber-toothed cats, social grouping has been supported based upon healed broken bones and high remain densities in Rancho La Brea tar pits. In contrast, some authors casted doubts on these arguments. Furthermore, given the relatively small brain size found in such saber-toothed cats, it has also been stated that they were unable to socialize. In the present work we intend to assess whether Smilodon populator Lund could have formed groups based on Optimal Foraging Theory and competition for carcasses. We developed a mathematical model in which net energy gain is a function of group size, carcass competition intensity, individual hunting costs and gross food intake. When applied to African lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus), a likely modern analog of saber-toothed cats, the model correctly predicted observed group sizes, ranging from two to fifteen individuals. In the case of Smilodon populator group size, it strongly depended on competition for carcasses, hunting costs and gross food intake. It was found that optimal group size should have varied from one to four individuals. For instance, optimal group size tends to be minimal when competition for carcasses is low, and it tends to be maximal at high hunting costs, high competition for carcasses and intermediate gross food intake. Given that hunting costs escalate with prey size and that it has been proposed that competition for carcasses was high during the Pleistocene, it is plausible that average group size of Smilodon populator was closer to four individuals. The model was validated through counting of specimens with appropriate stratigraphic control.Sesiones libresFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse