Residents' perceptions of airport construction impacts: a negativity bias approach

Airports have significant implications for regional and local tourism development, so their impacts need to be assessed. Based on in-depth interviews with local residents, this study examined the effects of an airport development project in Mexico. Negativity bias theory was adopted as a theoretical framework to gain a fuller understanding of host communities’ perceptions. In accordance with this theory, even though the economic impacts of the airport’s construction are recognised as positive, its environmental and social effects on locals’ everyday lives are perceived more negatively. As a result, most locals interviewed do not support the airport project. This is because, in line with negativity bias theory, when perceived negative impacts outweigh positive ones, a holistic evaluation that integrates negative and positive events will ultimately be unfavourable. Practical implications in terms of public consultation, perceived impacts and tourism development are discussed

ECOLOGÍA Y SITUACIÓN ACTUAL DE LA FAMILIA COLUMBIDAE EN LA RESERVA DE LA BIOSFERA LOS TUXTLAS, VERACRUZ

RESUMEN Analizamos la presencia y abundancia de palomas tropicales residentes en la Reserva de la Biosfera Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México durante las épocas reproductivas de 2010 y 2011. Se emplearon distintos métodos de conteo para maximizar el registro del mayor número de especies y superar las dificultades del terreno y la vegetación. Muestreamos principalmente a través de transectos y puntos de conteo en bosque tropical perennifolio, bosque mesófilo de montaña, bosque de pino‐encino y áreas agropecuarias, y registramos 512 individuos de 12 de las 17 especies reportadas históricamente. Las especies registradas en el presente fueron: Patagioenas cayennensis, P. speciosa, P. flavirostris, P. nigrirostris, Columbina inca, C. talpacoti, Claravis pretiosa, Geotrygon montana, Leptotila verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, Zentrygon carrikeri (endémica) y Zenaida asiatica. La mayor riqueza se observó en el bosque tropical perennifolio, en donde la especie más abundante fue L. verreauxi. La abundancia varió significativamente entre tipos de vegetación para L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps y Z. carrikeri, posiblemente debido a los diferentes niveles de tolerancia a la perturbación. El bosque mesófilo de montaña fue el hábitat utilizado en mayor proporción a lo esperado para la mayoría de las especies examinadas como: P. flavirostris, C. pretiosa, L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps y Z. carrikeri. Las preferencias de hábitat más amplias correspondieron a P. flavirostris, C. pretiosa y L. verreauxi. Tres especies fueron exclusivas a un tipo de vegetación (P. cayennensis y P. nigrirostris en bosque tropical perennifolio; P. speciosa en bosque mesófilo de montaña). El volcán San Martín Pajapan, una de las áreas núcleo de la Reserva de la Biósfera fue muestreada por primera vez, y registramos a L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, al igual que a una importante población de Z. carrikeri, especie endémica cuyas poblaciones conocidas están limitadas a otras tres áreas montañosas de la región. Las poblaciones de palomas que habitan en interior de bosque se encuentran ubicadas en fragmentos de bosque primario aislados, por lo que deben establecerse corredores para evitar el aislamiento de las poblaciones remanentes de especies de palomas en riesgo. ABSTRACT ∙ Ecology and status of pigeons and doves (Columbidae) in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, MexicoWe analyzed the presence and abundance of tropical resident pigeons and doves (Columbidae) in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, Mexico, during the breeding seasons of 2010 and 2011. We used different survey methods to maximize the detection of different species and overcome terrain and vegetation limitations. We surveyed the area mostly through transects and point counts in evergreen tropical forest, cloud forest, pine‐oak forest, and agricultural areas, including the Reserve core areas, recording 512 individuals of 12 out of 17 columbid species reported historically for the area. We were able to confirm Patagioenas cayennensis, P. speciosa, P. flavirostris, P. nigrirostris, Columbina inca, C. talpacoti, Claravis pretiosa, Geotrygon montana, Leptotila verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, Zentrygon carrikeri (endemic), and Zenaida asiatica. The tropical evergreen forest is the vegetation type with the highest species richness, and the most abundant species was L. verreauxi. Abundance varied significantly among vegetation types for L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, and Zentrygon carrikeri, possibly due to differences in their tolerance to disturbance. Cloud forest stood out as the most important habitat as it was used more than expected by species such as P. flavirostris, C. pretiosa, L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, and Z. carrikeri. The species with the broadest habitat preferences were P. flavirostris, C. pretiosa, and L. verreauxi. Three species were exclusive to a single vegetation type (P. cayennensis and P. nigrirostris to evergreen tropical forest; P. speciosa to cloud forest). The volcán San Martín Pajapan, one of the Bio‐ sphere Reserve core areas was surveyed for the first time, and we recorded L. verreauxi, L. plumbeiceps, as well as an important population of Z. carrikeri, the latter endemic species being previously only known from three other Mexican mountain ranges. The populations of doves and pigeons inhabiting the forest interior are mostly located in isolated primary forest fragments, therefore corridors should be established to avoid the isolation of the remaining endangered dove populations

Human-Horse Relationships, Horse Welfare, and Abuse in Mexico: A Social Representation Approach

Drawing on social representation theory, this study explored horse handlers’ understandings of “good” treatment, abuse, and human-horse relationships in tourism, leisure, and sport events in Mexico to examine the ways in which attitudes toward horse welfare are shaped by both national and cultural discourses and wider norms of the global equestrian community. Based on in-depth interviews, the study revealed that national and subcultural norms of the equestrian social world shape people’s attitudes to what is deemed “good treatment” and what is “abuse.” It suggests the need to understand better how cultural factors shape different people’s attitudes to those standards and look for ways to safeguard horse welfare while valuing local heritage

Spring Break travel: Motivations and behaviour in a Mexican destination

Spring break travel is a growing market and has become a relevant research object. Specifically, binge drinking, illicit drug use and high-risk sexual behaviour have become the focus of academic attention. Identifying such behaviour is relevant in designing policies for tourism management, particularly for the reduction of negative implications of such behaviours. This descriptive study aimed to identify the motivations, alcohol consumption, drug use and sexual behavioural patterns of spring break travellers in Acapulco, Mexico. Based on a quantitative approach, a total of 173 male and 112 female North American students were surveyed during spring break 2010. The study revealed that the party reputation of a destination is one of the main reasons for spring break travel. Binge drinking and the use of illegal drugs were reported by a significant number of students. Furthermore, high-risk sexual behaviour and the students’ self recognition of being at high risk of acquiring STDs appeared as relevant issues during the study

Social representations and community attitudes towards spring breakers

Social representations theory has been adopted for explaining tourism impacts and local attitudes. However, its usefulness in segmenting local population in terms of their attitudes towards specific types of tourists has not been tested. This study identifies the attitudes of local people towards spring break, a North American young tourist phenomenon in the context of the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco. Although residents perceive an increase in alcohol consumption, drug use, noise and litter during the spring break season, they largely recognise economic benefits and are thus generally supportive for the phenomenon. Based on these attitudes, three clusters were identified: spring break supporters (identified by their high appreciation of spring break benefits), ambivalents (who are uncertain about both benefits and costs) and realistics (characterised by recognising both benefits and costs). The main contribution of this study lies in the confirmation of the usefulness of social representations theory in explaining residents’ attitudes towards a very specific type of tourists whose hedonist behaviours are a common characteristic

Carboxymethyl cellulose coated magnetic nanoparticles transport across a human lung microvascular endothelial cell model of the blood–brain barrier

Sustained and safe delivery of therapeutic agents across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is one of the major challenges for the treatment of neurological disorders as this barrier limits the ability of most drug molecules to reach the brain. Targeted delivery of the drugs used to treat these disorders could potentially offer a considerable reduction of the common side effects of their treatment. The preparation and characterization of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@CMC) is reported as an alternative that meets the need for novel therapies capable of crossing the BBB. In vitro assays were used to evaluate the ability of these polysaccharide coated biocompatible, water-soluble, magnetic nanoparticles to deliver drug therapy across a model of the BBB. As a drug model, dopamine hydrochloride loading and release profiles in physiological solution were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Cell viability tests in Human Lung Microvascular Endothelial (HLMVE) cell cultures showed no significant cell death, morphological changes or alterations in mitochondrial function after 24 and 48 h of exposure to the nanoparticles. Evidence of nanoparticle interactions and nanoparticle uptake by the cell membrane was obtained by electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) analyses. Permeability through a BBB model (the transwell assay) was evaluated to assess the ability of Fe3O4@CMC nanoparticles to be transported across a densely packed HLMVE cell barrier. The results suggest that these nanoparticles can be useful drug transport and release systems for the design of novel pharmaceutical agents for brain therapy

Negotiating stigmatisation of deviant behaviour: an exploration of locals’ perceptions of nude tourists

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Depredación de Ctenosaura pectinata (Squamata: Iguanidae) por Lynx rufus (Carnivora: Felidae) en el Estado de Michoacán de Ocampo, México

The wild cat or red lynx (Lynx rufus), is a medium-sized feline with a wide distribution in Mexico and North America, for which its diet has been documented throughout its entire range, being lagomorphs and rodents. its main prey. Through camera monitoring, the first evidence of the presence of the black iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata) in the diet of the wild cat is documented. In addition to the presence of wild cats, five feline species were recorded; cougar (Puma concolor), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), tigrillo (Lepoardus wiedii), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and jaguar (Panthera onca). Subsequent studies must evaluate the overlap of niche and preference of feeding habits of the cats present in this region of the country, where the six species of cats that live in Mexico coexist.El gato montés o lince rojo (Lynx rufus), es un felino de talla mediana con una amplia distribución en México y Norteamérica, para el cual se ha documentado su dieta a lo largo de toda su área de distribución, siendo los lagomorfos y los roedores sus principales presas. Mediante un monitoreo con cámaras trampa, se documenta la primera evidencia de la presencia de la iguana negra (Ctenosaura pectinata) en la dieta del gato montés. Además de la presencia de gato montés se registraron cinco especies de felinos; puma (Puma concolor), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), tigrillo (Lepoardus wiedii), ocelote (Leopardus pardalis) y jaguar (Panthera onca). Estudios posteriores, deben evaluar el traslape de nicho y preferencia de hábitos alimenticios de los felinos presentes en esta región del pais, donde coexisten las seis especies de felinos que habitan en México

The Guadiaro-Baños contourite drifts (SW Mediterranean). A geotechnical approach to stability analysis

Two Quaternary plastered contourite drifts, with terraced and low-mounded morphologies, make up the continental slope and base-of-slope in the northwestern Alboran Sea, respectively, between the Guadiaro and Baños turbidite systems, close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Considering their significant lateral extent, the link between the contourite drift deposits and landslides may be particularly important for hazard assessment. The physical properties, composition and geometry of contourite drifts have been proposed as key factors in slope stability, although this relationship still needs to be better constrained. In this work, new in-situ geotechnical data (cone penetration tests; CPTu) has been combined with morphostratigraphic, sedimentological, and (laboratory) geotechnical properties to determine the stability of the Guadiaro-Baños drifts. For the depositional domains of both drifts, the resulting sedimentary and geotechnical model describes low-plasticity granular and silty sands on the erosive terraced domain that evolve seawards to silty and silty-clay deposits with a higher plasticity and uniform geomechanical properties. For the shallower coarse-grained contourite sediments, the cohesion (c') and internal friction angle (ϕ') values are 0–9 kPa and 46–30°, respectively, whereas for the distal fine contourites the undrained shear strength gradient (∇Su) is 2 kPa/m. These properties allow us to establish high factors of safety for all the scenarios considered, including seismic loading. Slope failure may be triggered in the unlikely event that there is seismic acceleration of PGA > 0.19, although no potential glide planes have been observed within the first 20 m below the seafloor. This suggests that the contourite drifts studied tend to resist failure better than others with similar sedimentary characteristics. The interplay of several processes is proposed to explain the enhanced undrained shear strength: 1) the geometry of the drifts, defined by an upper contouritic terrace and lower low-mounded shapes; 2) recurrent low-intensity earthquakes with insufficient energy to trigger landslides, favouring increased strength due to dynamic compaction; and 3) cyclic loading induced by solitons/internal waves acting on the sediment.En prens

New records of Peters squirrel Sciurus oculatus (Peters 1863) for Michoacán and first molecular genotyping of the species

Capturamos tres ejemplares de la ardilla de Peters (Sciurus oculatus), especie listada en protección especial y endémica del centro de México. Las capturas ocurrieron en fragmentos de bosque de encino del municipio de Huandacareo, Michoacán. Con el registro de esta población se confirma la presencia actual de la especie en el estado, ya que su último registro es de 1986 de un ejemplar colectado en Contepec. La localidad de Huandacareo extiende la distribución conocida de la especie hacia el oeste en 48 km aproximadamente con respecto a su registro más reciente. Al revisar los pocos registros de la especie para el estado, se observó que el registro más occidental de la especie, el de Ziracuaretiro (cerca de Uruapan), no se incluyó en la delimitación de su distribución, por lo que el mapa de distribución conocida debe actualizarse incluyendo todas las localidades, lo que modificaría de forma importante su distribución. Revisando la base de datos de GeneBank, notamos la inexistencia de secuencias de ADN mitocondrial de S. oculatus. En este estudio presentamos las dos primeras secuencias del gen de citocromo b (cytb) provenientes de dos individuos de S. oculatus. Las secuencias fueron comparadas en análisis filogenético con ocho especies del género Sciurus disponibles en GeneBank. En el análisis de las secuencias y árbol de UPGMA que incluyó especies de Norteamérica y de Sudamerica, S. oculatus se agrupó con S. aestuans y S. stramineus de Sudamérica, siendo S. oculatus la especie basal. Es importante que en el futuro se investigue con mayor detalle la relación de la especie en el género Sciurus. Desde la perspectiva de  conservación debe evaluarse su distribución actual en el país. Actualmente se desconoce cuántas poblaciones existen en áreas protegidas de México. La población registrada en Huandacareo parece estar aislada y su hábitat rodeado de agricultura.We captured three individuals of Peter’s squirrel (Sciurus oculatus), species listed under special protection and endemic for central Mexico. The captures occurred on oak forest fragments from Huandacareo municipality, Michoacán. With the record of this population, we confirm the species actual presence for the state, because the last record corresponded to a specimen collected in Contepec in 1986. This locality extends the species known distribution to the west approximately in 48 km from its last known record. When we reviewed the species historical records for the state, we notice that the western-most record of the species, a record from Ziracuaretiro (near to Uruapan), was not included to outline the species global distribution, therefore we consider that the present distributional map should be updated including all the localities, which will modify its distribution considerably. After surveying the GeneBank international database, we noticed that mitocondrial DNA sequences from S. oculatus were inexistent. In this work we presented the first two cytochrome b gene (cytb) sequences from two S. oculatus individuals. The sequences were compared with eight species of the Sciurus genus available in GeneBank. In the sequences analysis and UPGMA tree, which included Sciurus species from NorthAmerica and South America, S. oculatus was clustered with S. aestuans and S. stramineus from South America, resulting S. oculatus the basal species. From the conservation perspective, the species actual presencein the historical localities should be verified. No protected areas in the country are known toinclude Sciurus oculatus populations, and the Huandacareo recorded population seems to be relatively isolated, and its habitat surrounded by agriculture