First records of the family Scoloplacidae (Siluriformes, Loricarioidei) in Colombia, including a range expansion of Scoloplax baileyi Rocha, Lazzarotto & Py-Daniel, 2012

The Neotropical family Scoloplacidae is a monogeneric group of miniature freshwater catfishes that includes 6 species. Scoloplax dicra has the widest distribution across the Amazon basin, except in the western upper portions. We collected 3 specimens from localities close to Leticia in Colombia, corresponding to S. baileyi and S. dicra, constituting the westernmost records of the family for the Amazon basin and the first for Colombia

Domestic dog health worsens with socio-economic deprivation of their home communities

Dogs play an important role in infectious disease transmission as reservoir hosts of many zoonotic and wildlife pathogens. Nevertheless, unlike wildlife species involved in the life cycle of pathogens, whose health status might be a direct reflection of their fitness and competitive abilities, dog health condition could be sensitive to socio-economic factors impacting the well-being of their owners. Here, we compare several dog health indicators in three rural communities of Panama with different degrees of socio-economic deprivation. From a total of 78 individuals, we collected blood and fecal samples, and assessed their body condition. With the blood samples, we performed routine hematologic evaluation (complete blood counts) and measured cytokine levels (Interferon-γ and Interleukin-10) through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. With the fecal samples we diagnosed helminthiases. Dogs were also serologically tested for exposure to Trypanosoma cruzi and canine distemper virus, and molecular tests were done to assess T. cruzi infection status. We found significant differences between dog health measurements, pathogen prevalence, parasite richness, and economic status of the human communities where the dogs lived. We found dogs that were less healthy, more likely to be infected with zoonotic pathogens, and more likely to be seropositive to canine distemper virus in the communities with lower economic status. This study concludes that isolated communities of lower economic status in Panama may have less healthy dogs that could become major reservoirs in the transmission of diseases to humans and sympatric wildlife

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Sand Fly Fluctuations Are Associated with El Nino in Panama

BackgroundCutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical vector-borne disease. Sand fly vectors (SF) and Leishmania spp parasites are sensitive to changes in weather conditions, rendering disease transmission susceptible to changes in local and global scale climatic patterns. Nevertheless, it is unclear how SF abundance is impacted by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and how these changes might relate to changes in CL transmission.Methodology and FindingsWe studied association patterns between monthly time series, from January 2000 to December 2010, of: CL cases, rainfall and temperature from Panama, and an ENSO index. We employed autoregressive models and cross wavelet coherence, to quantify the seasonal and interannual impact of local climate and ENSO on CL dynamics. We employed Poisson Rate Generalized Linear Mixed Models to study SF abundance patterns across ENSO phases, seasons and eco-epidemiological settings, employing records from 640 night-trap sampling collections spanning 2000?2011. We found that ENSO, rainfall and temperature were associated with CL cycles at interannual scales, while seasonal patterns were mainly associated with rainfall and temperature. Sand fly (SF) vector abundance, on average, decreased during the hot and cold ENSO phases, when compared with the normal ENSO phase, yet variability in vector abundance was largest during the cold ENSO phase. Our results showed a three month lagged association between SF vector abundance and CL cases.ConclusionAssociation patterns of CL with ENSO and local climatic factors in Panama indicate that interannual CL cycles might be driven by ENSO, while the CL seasonality was mainly associated with temperature and rainfall variability. CL cases and SF abundance were associated in a fashion suggesting that sudden extraordinary changes in vector abundance might increase the potential for CL epidemic outbreaks, given that CL epidemics occur during the cold ENSO phase, a time when SF abundance shows its highest fluctuations

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

EVALUACIÓN DE BASES DE DATOS PARA LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE UN REPOSITORIO DE OBJETOS DE APRENDIZAJE

ResumenAnte la necesidad de tener acceso a materiales digitales utilizados en las materias que se imparten en la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, se plantea como solución un repositorio de objetos de aprendizaje, analizar y seleccionar una base de datos que permita la organización, almacenamiento y administración de la información. Este documento presenta un análisis y evaluación de las características principales de las bases de datos relacionales, orientadas a objetos y bases de datos en XML para determinar cual se adapta mejor a las necesidades del repositorio.Palabras clave: Bases de Datos relacionales, Bases de Datos Orientadas a Objetos, Bases de Datos en XML

Evaluación de bases de datos para la implementación de un repositorio de objetos de aprendizaje

Ante la necesidad de tener acceso a materiales digitales utilizados en las materias que se imparten en la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, se plantea como solución un repositorio de objetos de aprendizaje, analizar y seleccionar una base de datos que permita la organización, almacenamiento y administración de la información. Este documento presenta un análisis y evaluación de las características principales de las bases de datos relacionales, orientadas a objetos y bases de datos en XML para determinar cual se adapta mejor a las necesidades del repositorio

Variation of functional traits in trees from a biogeographycally complex Mexican cloud forest

Several studies have proposed a group of morpho-functional traits as determinants of the ecological strategy of species. Among these, four morpho-functional traits are considered to be relevant in determining a plant's ecological strategy: specific leaf area (SLA), height at maturity (Hmax), wood density (WD), and seed mass (SM). We examined the variation of these traits and attempted to identify functional groups among 33 tree species with different biogeographical affinities from a montane cloud forest. Covariation among the four traits was examined using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and species clustering. Bivariate trait relationships were evaluated through two methods: cross-species correlations, and evolutionary divergence correlations using phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs). Correlations between attributes were overall weak, the most obvious ones being between Hmax and SM, and between Hmax and WD; this latter trait pair was also correlated in PICs. In both analyses SLA was unrelated to all other traits. In the PCA ordination the first two axes explained 66.9% of the between-species variation. Despite a largely continuous between-species variation, species clustering allowed differentiation of two main groups. Observed trait correlations were consistent with those reported for other floras, with the important exception of the independent behaviour of SLA. This study indicates a variety of comparable successful life history strategies among the studied species. The effect of phylogeny in trait covariation was unimportant, in fact, a mixture of clades was represented in several groups among the species they contained, suggesting among-lineage convergence