Indigenous universities and the construction of interculturality: the case of the Peasant and Indigenous University Network in Yucatan, Mexico

“Interculturality” has become a key concept in the conceptualising and struggling for new relationships between dominant and subordinated identities and knowledges in Latin America. My research is based on a collaborative effort to document and examine how “interculturality” is realised as a “dialogue between equal actors and knowledges” in the creation of Indigenous and Intercultural Universities. It follows a multi-level analysis that begins by interrogating the diverse ways in which different education projects formulate and negotiate their “interculturality” in the Latin American region. It pays particular attention to the political dimensions of “dialogue” by examining the diverse engagements between social actors, discourses and agendas. Secondly, it focuses on the specific design and development of the Peasant and Indigenous University Network (UCI-Red for its Spanish acronym) as a case study. UCI-Red promotes and supports endogenous and sustainable development processes in different micro-regions of the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico. This is a collective project where Mexican Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) have become engaged and allied with Yucatec Mayan peasants. “Interculturality” has become one of the main principles of their definition of sustainable development and it has been assimilated into their practice of development promotion. After examining the intellectual trajectories and the perspectives on “culture”, “identity” and “learning” of the organisations involved in UCI-Red, I argue that a deeper understanding of cultural difference that goes beyond discursive and objectifying definitions of identity and knowledge is needed. Indigenous knowledge is a notion that involves not only concepts and principles but most importantly embodied forms of knowing, social and symbolic practices, and a particular ideal of personhood. Hybrid forms of learning can and must be constructed in continuity with these overlooked epistemologies if education projects want to commit to a true “dialogue between knowledges”

Population genetic structure of Morelet’s and American crocodiles in Belize:Hybridization, connectivity and conservation

Hybridization can influence the evolutionary potential of wild species and can be especially detrimental where one species is abundant, and the other much rarer. In Belize, the Morelet’s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) primarily inhabits inland freshwater lagoons, lakes and rivers, whereas the less abundant American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is more prevalent among the offshore cayes and atolls. Both species are historically sympatric along the brackish coastline, but it is unclear if admixture between the two is affecting genetic integrity of the species. We investigated the extent of interspecific hybridization across Belize using genomic variants identified using double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq). Five groups of genetically pure C. moreletii were identified, two of which were inland, including the protected Chiquibul National Park. Two groups of genetically pure C. acutus were identified, one on northern offshore islands, and a second along the southern coastline. Hybrids were only identified along the central-southern coastline and were in close geographic proximity to coastal purebreds. Based on these results, we suggest that the central-southern coastline represents a hybrid zone, while the inland areas and offshore islands that harbour only genetically pure populations may benefit from conservation prioritisation

Lake level fluctuations and divergence of cichlid fish ecomorphs in Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika has undergone substantial climate-driven lake level fluctuations that have repeatedly changed the distribution and extent of habitat for endemic fishes. Here we consider whether patterns of population genetic structure and phenotypic divergence within the cichlid fish Telmatochromis temporalis have been affected by changing lake levels. The species has a large-bodied rock-living ecomorph and a small-bodied shell-living ecomorph, and both are found in close proximity in littoral habitats. Using mtDNA sequences we found that geographically distant ([50 km) populations within the southern lake region diverged approximately 130,000–230,000 years ago, suggesting that the regional genetic structure persisted through a low stand of over 400 m *106,000 years ago that ended with a rise to present levels *100,000 years ago. We also found signatures of large population expansions since this rise across the study region, suggesting that the populations positively responded to new habitat as lake levels rose to present levels. Finally, we found that geographically adjacent (\10 km) ecomorphs exhibit both significant genetic differentiation and signatures of gene flow after the lake level rise. The results suggest that local ecomorph divergence progressed with gene flow after the last major rise in lake level *100,000, potentially facilitated by new ecological opportunities

The genomic basis of cichlid fish adaptation within the deepwater “twilight zone” of Lake Malawi

Deepwater environments are characterized by low levels of available light at narrow spectra, great hydrostatic pressure, and low levels of dissolved oxygen—conditions predicted to exert highly specific selection pressures. In Lake Malawi over 800 cichlid species have evolved, and this adaptive radiation extends into the “twilight zone” below 50 m. We use population-level RAD-seq data to investigate whether four endemic deepwater species (Diplotaxodon spp.) have experienced divergent selection within this environment. We identify candidate genes including regulators of photoreceptor function, photopigments, lens morphology, and haemoglobin, many not previously implicated in cichlid adaptive radiations. Colocalization of functionally linked genes suggests coadapted “supergene” complexes. Comparisons of Diplotaxodon to the broader Lake Malawi radiation using genome resequencing data revealed functional substitutions and signatures of positive selection in candidate genes. Our data provide unique insights into genomic adaptation within deepwater habitats, and suggest genome-level specialization for life at depth as an important process in cichlid radiation

First record of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) (Pisces: Rachycentridae) at the coast of Madeira Island (NE Atlantic Ocean

The Cobia Rachycentron canadum is recorded from Madeira Island for the first time. An individual of this species was encountered and video-documented while SCUBA-diving in about 12 m depth at the south coast of this island.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diel variation in insect-dominated temperate pond soundscapes and guidelines for survey design

The data and code accompanying 'Diel variation in insect-dominated temperate pond soundscapes and guidelines for survey design' published in Freshwater Biology