Theoretical reflections on ethnobiology in the third millennium

Com en d'altres camps de l'activitat científica, l'etnobiologia s'ha diversificat considerablement al tombant del nou mil·lenni. A pesar dels esforços fets durant els últims anys, la disciplina encara dóna la impressió de trobar-se en la necessitat d'establir la seva identitat respecte camps d'estudi millor definits. Amb la intenció de reduir aquestes mancances, la present revisió analitza breument els fonaments multidisciplinaris de l'etnobiologia i la seva diversificació paradigmàtica, teòrica i conceptual en dècades recents. Aquest camp d'estudi és caracteritzat en aquest text com a “la investigació de les interrelacions materials i simbòliques entre els humans i la resta d'organismes vius”. Es proposen i delimiten bàsicament les principals perspectives etnobiològiques, possibles subdivisions, principals focus de recerca, i temes preponderants, així com també les aproximacions paradigmàtiques primordials i les finalitats polièdriques comunes en aquesta branca del coneixement. Les relacions i hibridacions entre l'etnobiologia i l'ecologia política amb una perspectiva crítica conclouen la revisió, oferint unes conjectures finals sobre els passos i reptes futurs entre els professionals de l'etnobiologia.As in several other scientific endeavors, ethnobiology has greatly diversified around the turn of the millennium. Despite several efforts being made during recent years, the discipline still gives the impression of being in needs to establish its identity among better defined fields of study. Trying to contribute to fill this gap, this review succinctly discusses the multidisciplinary foundations of ethnobiology and its paradigmatic, theoretical and conceptual diversification during recent decades. This field of study is characterized along these lines as “the investigation of the material and symbolic interrelationships between human beings and the rest of existing organisms.” Major ethnobiological perspectives, putative subdivisions, main research foci, and preponderant subjects are proposed and roughly outlined, in addition to the foremost dualistic paradigmatic approaches and multifaceted aims common in this branch of knowledge. The relationships and hybridizations between ethnobiology and political ecology in a critical perspective conclude the review, with a final speculation on supplementary future steps and challenges amongst ethnobiology practitioners. [Contrib Sci 10:49-64 (2014)

Wild food plants and minor crops in the Ripollès district (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula): potentialities for developing a local production, consumption and exchange program

16 p., gráf., tablasBackground Wild food plants (WFP) have always been consumed by humans, first as the main basis of their food and, since the origins of agriculture, as ingredients of normal diets or as an alternative during situations of scarcity. In contemporary industrialized societies their use is for the most part being abandoned, but they may still play an important role. With the purpose of advancing in the ethnobotanical knowledge of one region of the Catalan Pyrenees, the present study reports the findings of a research project conducted in the Ripollès district (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula), concerning ethnobotanical knowledge and use of wild and semi-wild vascular plants as foods, along with minor crops. Methods From August 2004 to July 2014, we performed 104 interviews (93 of which yielded data on food plants) with 163 informants, using the method of semi-structured ethnobotanical interview. We identified the plants quoted and kept herbarium vouchers. Results We detected 967 use reports for 80 wild or naturalized taxa, which are or have been consumed in the Ripollès district, the most cited being Taraxacum dissectum, Cynara cardunculus and Origanum vulgare. Certain frequently reported species such as Molopospermum peloponnesiacum and Taraxacum dissectum have only been rarely cited previously or indicated as food plant in very restricted geographical areas. Most cited families included Asteraceae and Lamiaceae, followed by Rosaceae and Apiaceae. Preferred consumed plant parts included leaves, followed by aerial parts, along with fruits and infructescences, while most wild food plants are eaten raw or used as condiments. Demographic factors such as age and locality of informants seem to be more relevant to wild food plant knowledge than gender. Middle-aged people and inhabitants from the Higher Freser River Valley seem to have a greater knowledge of WFP, both in relation to the number of species elicited, as well as the diversity of uses and preparations. To a lesser degree, women seem to have a slightly higher WFP knowledge than men. The consumption of these resources is still fairly alive amongst the populace, yet changes affecting younger generations–in most cases abandonment–have been reported by various participants. Conclusion The information provided by this kind of research permits the detection of those traditional species that could constitute the basis for the future development and management of wild edible plant resources along with minor crops. It also helps to determine the factors affecting their use, as well as the distinct target groups that such programmes could be addressed to.This research was supported by projects 2005ACOM00024, 2009ACOM00013, 2009SGR00439 and 2014SGR00514 from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan government), project AP07/07 from the Institut Ramon Muntaner, and project CSO2014-59704-P from the Spanish government.Peer reviewe

Is contrast-enhanced US alternative to spiral CT in the assessment of treatment outcome of radiofrequency ablation in hepatocellular carcinoma?

Purpose: The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound with low mechanical index in evaluating the response of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma by comparing it with 4-row spiral computed tomography. Materials and Methods: 100 consecutive patients (65 men and 35 women; age range: 62 – 76 years) with solitary hepatocellular carcinomas (mean lesion diameter: 3.7cm± 1.1cm SD) underwent internally cooled radiofrequency ablation. Therapeutic response was evaluated at one month after the treatment with triple-phasic contrast-enhanced spiral CT and low-mechanical index contrast-enhanced ultrasound following bolus injection of 2.4 ml of Sonovue (Bracco, Milan). 60 out of 100 patients were followed up for another 3 months. Contrast-enhanced sonographic studies were reviewed by two blinded radiologists in consensus. Sensitivity, specificity, NPV and PPV of contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination were determined. Results: After treatment, contrast-enhanced ultrasound identified persistent signal enhancement in 24 patients (24%), whereas no intratumoral enhancement was detected in the remaining 76 patients (76%). Using CT imaging as gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, NPV, and PPV of contrast enhanced ultrasound were 92.3% (95% CI = 75.9 – 97.9%), 100% (95% CI = 95.2 – 100%), 97.4% (95% CI = 91.1 – 99.3%), and 100% (95% CI = 86.2 – 100%). Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound with low mechanical index using Sonovue is a feasible tool in evaluating the response of hepatocellular carcinoma to radiofrequency ablation. Accuracy is comparable to 4-row spiral CT

Cuestión de gusto: ¿Qué explica el consumo de plantas silvestres? Estudio en los Pirineos catalanes y las Islas Baleares

14 p., tablas, mapas -- versión online previa sin paginación -- post-print del artículo publicado en Economic Botany. Versión revisada y corregida.[EN] Previous research has documented different trends in the consumption of wild food plants but has rarely analyzed the motivations behind their continued (or lack of) consumption. In this article, we use empirical data to explore the factors driving the consumption of a selected set of wild food plants. We start by analyzing the different trends (i.e., abandonment, maintenance, and valorization) across 21 selected species with different food uses. We then explore the reported motivations that drive such trends using data collected among 354 respondents in three Catalan-speaking rural areas. The consumption of wild food plants is decreasing in the three study areas and across the categories of food use analyzed. Respondents listed sociocultural factors, rather than environmental or economic factors, as more prominent determinants of consumption trends; taste preferences seem to be the most relevant motivation for those who continue to consume wild food plants, whereas a myriad of motivations related to changes in lifestyle were provided by those who explain the abandonment of their consumption.[ES] Se han documentado diferentes tendencias en el consumo de plantas silvestres comestibles, pero raramente se han analizado las razones que explican por qué algunas plantas se siguen consumiendo y otras no. En base a una selección de plantas silvestres comestibles, en este artículo exploramos los factores que explican las tendencias en el consumo de plantas silvestres. En la primera parte analizamos las tendencias de consumo (abandono, mantenimiento y valorización) de un grupo de 21 especies con diferentes usos alimentarios y en la segunda exploramos las motivaciones esgrimidas por 354 habitantes de tres áreas rurales catalanoparlantes en relación a estas tendencias. El consumo de plantas silvestres parece haber sufrido una reducción generalizada en las áreas prospectadas. Para todas las especies, los encuestados mencionaron factores socioculturales, más que ambientales o económicos, como importantes a la hora de explicar sus patrones de consumo. Específicamente, el sabor parece ser el principal argumento para aquellos que continúan consumiendo plantas silvestres mientras que una combinación de motivos relacionados con cambios en estilos de vida predomina entre las explicaciones de aquellos que han abandonado su consumo.The present work was conducted under the framework of the project “Sociocultural factors that explain the gathering and consumption of food wild plants and minor crops. Case studies in the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands,” funded by the Economy and Competitiveness Ministry (CSO2011-27565) of the Spanish government. The contribution of Generalitat de Catalunya is also acknowledged (project 2014SGR514). E.C. benefited from a predoctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry for Education.Peer reviewe

The role of botanical families in medicinal ethnobotany: a phylogenetic perspective

Studies suggesting that medicinal plants are not chosen at random are becoming more common. The goal of this work is to shed light on the role of botanical families in ethnobotany, depicting in a molecular phylogenetic frame the relationships between families and medicinal uses of vascular plants in several Catalan-speaking territories. The simple quantitative analyses for ailments categories and the construction of families and disorders matrix were carried out in this study. A Bayesian approach was used to estimate the over- and underused families in the medicinal flora. Phylogenetically informed analyses were carried out to identify lineages in which there is an overrepresentation of families in a given category of use, i.e., hot nodes. The ethnobotanicity index, at a specific level, was calculated and also adapted to the family level. Two diversity indices to measure the richness of reported taxa within each family were calculated. A total of 47,630 use reports were analysed. These uses are grouped in 120 botanical families. The ethnobotanicity index for this area is 14.44% and the ethnobotanicity index at the family level is 68.21%. The most-reported families are Lamiaceae and Asteraceae and the most reported troubles are disorders of the digestive and nutritional system. Based on the meta-analytic results, indicating hot nodes of useful plants at the phylogenetic level, specific ethnopharmacological research may be suggested, including a phytochemical approach of particularly interesting taxa

Medicinal and food plants in ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology: Folk functional foods in Catalonia (Iberian Peninsula)

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/12071

Which plants matter? A comparison of academic and community assessments of plant value and conservation status in the Moroccan High Atlas

As interest in including local communities and their knowledge in biodiversity conservation increases, challenges to do so become clear. One of them is to harmonize local and academic assessments of conservation status. Here, we document the culturally valuable flora of two Amazigh communities in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains and contrast local conservation observations with IUCN and other red-listing assessments. Our study reveals two levels of mismatch. Unsurprisingly, the species of interest of these two knowledge systems differ considerably. Moreover, species "availability and populations" trends of change and the conservation evaluations often diverge between local and academic assessments. Locally valuable species are rarely threatened, but a focus on locally prioritized species is essential to ensure the active participation of local communities in conservation initiatives. Given the salient role of IUCN Red Lists in guiding conservation action, a better understanding of the differences in plant value and conservation assessments between the two knowledge systems can help harmonize biodiversity conservation and community wellbeing goals.The research has been funded by the MAVA Foundation and the UK Darwin InitiativeAbstractIntroductionMaterials and methods Study area Data collection, plant identification, and data analysesResults Brief ethnobotanical description of the High Atlas locally valuable biodiversity Ethnobotanical knowledge and plant conservation assessmentsDiscussionConclusionReferencesPeer reviewe

Sex-chrom, a database on plant sex chromosomes

This work has been supported by the Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (Spanish Government: CGL2016-75694-P AEI/FEDER, UE; CGL2017-84297-R), by the Generalitat de Catalunya (‘Ajuts a grups de recerca consolidats’ 2017SGR01116’), by the Czech Science Foundation (grants 16-08698S, 18-06147S and 19-03442S) and by CIJA PRESERVATION, SL. SG benefitted from a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2014-16608) from the government of Spain, and SB and NS received Erasmus + grants from the European Union.Introduction Types of plant sex chromosomes, sex determination systems and their diversity Model systems in sex chromosome research Materials and Methods Information sources Data mining Database web environment and construction Results and Discussion Future directions Acknowledgements Author contribution

Etnobotànica del Pirineu català. Estat actual i propostes de futur

L'etnobotànica és una disciplina situada en la interfície entre les ciències naturals i les ciències humanes que s'ocupa de les relacions entre les persones i les plantes al llarg del temps i la seva projecció en l'avenir.Als Països Catalans, dues tesis doctorals dels anys 1990 (una de les quals, de tema pirinenc) van ser pioneres i des de llavors es treballa en aquest camp, de manera que el territori és força ben conegut des d'aquest punt de vista en el marc europeu i, dins de Catalunya, justament el Pirineu és un dels territoris més ben prospectats. El nostre grup de recerca en etnobotànica (www.etnobiofic.cat), de la Universitat de Barcelona i l'Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), s'ocupa d'estudis etnoflorístics (catàlegs de noms i altres sabers sobre els vegetals) en el domini lingüístic català, especialment a Catalunya i les Illes Balears. A més, hem emprès investigacions d'altra mena, com etnobotànica històrica, usos de plantes per a finalitats concretes, metaanàlisis i comparacions entre les diferents àrees de llengua catalana o entre elles i altres zones, i relacions entre etnobotànica i filogènia. En aquesta comunicació presentem, a part d'una breu introducció a la matèria, qüestions de mètode i resultats del seu conreu en terres catalanes, centrant-nos en el Pirineu d'àmbit cultural i lingüístic català, és a dir de Catalunya (Catalunya del Nord inclosa) i Andorra. Això permetrà treure conclusions sobre l'estat actual de la qüestió en la part catalana de la serralada. També farà possible constatar quins territoris són més ben coneguts i quins mereixen especial atenció per a emplenar buits en la recerca dels coneixements tradicionals relatius a la biodiversitat vegetal en l'àmbit pirinenc. Farem igualment al·lusió a investigacions en altres zones culturals pirinenques per valorar la idoneïtat de fer-ne i difondre'n un estudi global i comparatiu. Paraules clau: coneixement tradicional, etnobotànica, Pirineus catalans, recursos naturals

Conocimientos tradicionales relativos a la biodiversidad agrícola

La biodiversidad agrícola, a diferencia de la silvestre, requiere la acción continuada de los agricultores para su conservación, ya que las plantas cultivadas dependen de la intervención humana, con actividades como la selección, la siembra, el abonado, la poda u otras prácticas agrícolas para su supervivencia. Desde la revolución agrícola del Neolítico hasta la actualidad, estas prácticas y conocimientos han ido generando y conservando una gran diversidad, amenazada a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX por las causas que se han indicado anteriormente.Peer reviewe