Analysis of Representativeness of the Paramo Ecosystem in the Conservation Modalities of the Chimborazo Province

The paramo ecosystem has ecological, social, cultural and economic importance due to the ecosystemic services of supply, regulation, support and culture that it provides to local populations for their well-being, therefore, it needs to be conserved and managed from an ecosystemic approach. The objective of this work is to analyze the conservation modalities that protect the paramo ecosystem in the Chimborazo province. To conduct the research, a systematic review of 30 cartographic sources was carried out, and documentary information on 7 variables of the paramo ecosystem was made, provided by institutions in charge of managing the province's natural resources, and found in articles consulted in scientific and academic databases. Additionally, gray literature has been included through manual search. The results indicate that the Chimborazo province has 17.93% of its extension under conservation modality, through 121 protected natural spaces, distributed in 3 modalities. The paramo ecosystem represents 36.40% of the province's size, and is made up of 9 vegetation formations. 15.10% of this ecosystem are under conservation modality, however, only 3 of the 121 spaces have planning documents for the management of these spaces. Keywords: paramo ecosystem, ecosystem services, conservation modalities. Resumen El ecosistema páramo tiene importancia ecológica, social, cultural y económica por los servicios ecosistémicos de abastecimiento, regulación, soporte y culturales que suministra a las poblaciones locales para su bienestar, por tanto, requiere ser conservado y manejado desde un enfoque ecosistémico. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las modalidades de conservación que protegen el ecosistema páramo en la provincia de Chimborazo. Para llevar a cabo la investigación se realizó una revisión sistémica de 30 fuentes de información cartográfica y documental sobre 7 variables del ecosistema páramo, facilitadas por instituciones encargadas del manejo de los recursos naturales de la provincia, y encontradas en artículos consultados en bases de datos científicas y académicas, adicionalmente se ha incluido literatura gris mediante la búsqueda manual. Los resultados indican que la provincia de Chimborazo tiene 17,93% de su extensión bajo modalidad de conservación, a través de 121 espacios naturales protegidos, distribuidos en 3 modalidades. El ecosistema páramo representa el 36,40% de la extensión de la provincia y está conformada por 9 formaciones vegetales. El 15,10% de éste ecosistema se encuentran bajo modalidad de conservación, sin embargo, únicamente 3 de los 121 espacios poseen documentos para el manejo de estos espacios. Palabras clave: ecosistema páramo, servicios ecosistémicos, modalidades de conservación

A new species of the genus \u3cem\u3eCentruroides\u3c/em\u3e Marx, 1890 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Guatemala

A new species of the genus Centruroides Marx, 1890 is described from northeastern Guatemala on basis to an adult male. By its general pattern and slight sexual dimorphism, the new species looks like C. flavopictus (Pocock, 1898), a larger species from Veracruz, Mexico, with higher pectinal tooth count (males: 21 to 24 teeth) and stronger subaculear tubercle. It also resembles Centruroides chamulaensis Hoffmann, 1932, from Chiapas, Mexico, a smaller species with small to obsolete subaculear tubercle, stronger metasomal carinae, pedipalp chelae narrower than patella, and anterior margin of carapace almost straight (V-shaped in the new species)

A new species of \u3cem\u3eDiplocentrus\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpionidae: Diplocentrinae) from western Izabal, Guatemala

Diplocentrus izabal sp. n. is herein described on basis to one male (holotype) and two females from El Estor municipality, Izabal department, eastern Guatemala. It seems to be a close relative of Diplocentrus lachua Armas, Trujillo & Agreda, 2012, from which it differs by having carapace almost smooth, with anteromedian notch V-shaped; pectines with 11 teeth in both sexes, and carapace clearly longer than pedipalp manus and metasomal segment V (D. lachua has carapace minutely granulate, with anteromedian notch U-shaped; pectines with 13 teeth in the males (female unknown), and carapace as long as both pedipalp manus and metasomal segment V)

A new species of \u3cem\u3eCentruroides\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Quiché, northwestern Guatemala

A new species of the genus Centruroides Marx, 1890 is described from Sotzil Village (15.61775°N, -91.09745°W, 1173 m a.s.l.), Chajul Municipality, Quiché Department, Guatemala, on basis of one female and one male. It closely resembles Centruroides caral Armas et Trujillo, 2013 from northeastern Guatemala (240 Km southeast of Chajul), but male differs by having a most globose pedipalp manus, as well as metasoma clearly more attenuate (len-gth/width ratio: segments II–IV = 2.4, 2.7 and 1.4, respectively; 1.7, 2.2 and 2.5 in the holotype of C. caral, the only known specimen of this taxon). Data on its habitat and some biogeographical comments are also given

Nova espècie cactofílica de Drosophila descoberta a l'Equador

Ha sido descubierta en Ecuador una nueva especie de mosca endémica con manchas en el tórax, Drosophila machalilla, cuyo nombre específico hace referencia a una cultura prehispánica que habitó la región. Esta especie habita en cactus columnares y tiene una alta tolerancia a alcaloides tóxicos para otras especies. La futura secuenciación de su genoma permitiría buscar los genes implicados en la depuración de alcaloides tóxicos, así como la evolución de caracteres sexuales en dípteros.Ha estat descoberta a l'Equador una nova espècie de mosca endèmica amb taques al tòrax, Drosophila machalilla, el nom específic de la qual fa referència a una cultura prehispànica que va habitar la regió. Aquesta espècie habita en cactus columnars i té una alta tolerància a alcaloides tòxics per a altres espècies. La futura seqüenciació del seu genoma permetria buscar els gens implicats en la depuració d'alcaloides tòxics, així com l'evolució de caràcters sexuals en dípters

\u3cem\u3eCentruroides thorellii\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae): traveling from Guatemala to England without a passport

We recorded a pregnant female of the Central American bark stripped scorpion Centruroides thorellii (Kraepelin, 1891), which arrived to England as a stowaway in the bag of a woman that previously visited the Departments of Sacatepéquez, Sololá and San Marcos, Guatemala. On January 2, this C. thorellii female had a litter of three off-spring and three infertile eggs, but she has eaten them, probably as consequence of the stress caused by the hard travel and the environmental changes. We provide a map with the geographical distribution of this species and photos of the female detected in a British train

Derivation of the blackfold effective theory

We study fluctuations and deformations of black branes over length scales larger than the horizon radius. We prove that the Einstein equations for the perturbed p-brane yield, as constraints, the equations of the effective blackfold theory. We solve the Einstein equations for the perturbed geometry and show that it remains regular on and outside the black brane horizon. This study provides an ab initio derivation of the blackfold effective theory and gives explicit expressions for the metrics near the new black holes and black branes that result from it, to leading order in a derivative expansion.Comment: 20 pages. v4: Typo corrected in eq. (6.11) -- erratum in the published versio

Sentencia Kareda v Benkö: ¿continuidad interpretativa (en materia de competencia judicial internacional respecto a acciones de repetición entre codeudores) o exceso de coherencia jurisprudencial por parte del TJUE?

In its ruling in Kareda v Benkö, the Court of Justice of the European Union reasserts certain interpretative criteria that tend to run constantly through its case-law on international jurisdiction on contractual matters. However, by doing so, the ECJ sacrifices the principle of “close connection between the court and the action”, which, in theory, should play a significant role in that field