Las plántulas de árboles y palmas de la Península de Osa

El libro trata sobre descripciones de las plántulas de los árboles y palmas de la Península de OsaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[111-B1-608]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Descripción y clave dicotómica de plántulas de especies de palmas (Arecaceae) nativas de la Reserva Biológica Tirimbina, Costa Rica, con observaciones generales sobre propagación e historia natural

Las palmas son uno de los principales componentes de los bosques tropicales; no obstante, existe muy poca información disponible para identificar plántulas. En este trabajo desarrollamos una clave dicotómica con fotografías y descripciones detalladas de plántulas de las especies de palmas nativas en una reserva biológica de las tierras bajas del Caribe costarricense. Los caracteres principales para reconocer especies son la forma y el tamaño de las semillas, disposición de las hojuelas, presencia de púas, márgenes de la lámina, textura y mediciones detalladas de algunas partes de la hoja. Debido a caracteres únicos, 13 de las 27 especies nativas pueden reconocerse fácilmente; otras 13 especies requieren de mediciones detalladas o el desarrollo de 4 a 8 hojas para poder diferenciarlas de especies similares.Palms are one of the main components of a tropical forest, however little is known about the recognition of their seedlings. In this study we elaborate a key with detailed photos and descriptions for the seedlings of the native palms in a reserve of the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. Main characteristics for the recognition of species are seed form and size, leaflets arrangement on the rachis, presence of thorns, leaf margins, texture, and measurements of the leaf. The unique characteristics of 13 out of 27 native species are easily recognized. In contrast, other 13 species require detailed measurements or the development of at least 4 to 8 leaves in order to distinguish them from other species.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Diseño estratégico de vanguardia

La integración del diseño con la vanguardia se observa natural, esto es, el diseño es una disciplina abductiva y la vanguardia persigue fines prospectivos, es decir, en ambos casos se trata de objetivos de posibilidad futura. De tal suerte, este libro, emanado de una parte de las ponencias rigurosamente arbitradas del Coloquio Internacional de Diseño 2016, está dividido en tres secciones o capítulos, a saber, el capítulo uno relacionado con la teoría y metodología para proyectos de diseño de vanguardia, el segundo sobre la tecnología, la innovación y la sostenibilidad de vanguardia de dichos proyectos, y finalmente el último capítulo, vinculado con la gestión estratégica de proyectos de vanguardia.La historia se forja de hechos e interpretaciones, de pasados construidos y de presentes en procesos constantes, estudiados en forma estricta por las ciencias. Por su parte, el futuro ostenta la posibilidad de ser indefinidamente planeado con base en las variopintas aproximaciones teóricas y empíricas que dan fundamento a este tipo de ciencia; éstas son denominadas prospectivas y sus bases vanguardias. Resulta importante señalar, que estas posibilidades sólo permiten tener una idea hipotética de lo que será la realidad y el mundo de vida de los seres vivos y su contexto, no obstante, se trata de la única manera racional que tiene el ser humano de prever ese futuro posible. Las distintas ciencias y disciplinas nos permiten construir históricamente estas posibilidades partiendo de datos, hechos, significados y un sinfín de informaciones que le dan cuerpo y sentido a tales posibilidades. En este sentido, la vanguardia, como base del conocimiento prospectivo, observa la necesidad de ser escrita, leída y discutida en los términos más estrictos con el fin de volver las predicciones más precisas. El diseño por su parte, es definido de manera sucinta como la disciplina proyectual estratégica y sistémica de la posibilidad, dirigida a procesos de significación utilitaria y simbólica para la comprensión –o interpretación– y modificación –o proyectación– de niveles de realidad (referentes y sujetos) desde diversos aparatos teóricos y empíricos –perspectivas disciplinarias–

Crecimiento y supervivencia de cinco especies arbóreas en el interior de bosques secundarios y pastizales en un bosque húmedo montano de la zona sur de Costa Rica

Tesis (licenciatura en biología con énfasis en ecología de los bosques tropicales)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Fishes from the Tirimbina Biological Reserve, La Virgen de Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica

The Tirimbina Biological Reserve (TBR), located in La Virgen de Sarapiquí, Heredia Province, Atlantic versant (Sarapiquí river basin), Costa Rica, is a private wildlife refuge established as “a place of absolute conservation” and forscientific research. An annotated and illustrated catalog of the fish species known to occur within the limits of the TBR, as well as an identification key to and descriptions of all species listed, is presented. A total of 29 species, 23 genera, 9 families and 6 orders were recorded from 13 localities regularly sampled between December 2009 and December 2016. The conservation status of the species and major threats also are briefly discussed. This contribution will serve as a scientific and educational tool to researchers and conservationists, as well as to the public, interested in knowing and working with the fish fauna of the TBR and surrounding areas

Seedling growth and survival of five tree species in secondary forests and adjacent pastures in the montane rain forests of southern Costa Rica

Successful forest restoration in tropical environments is limited by the paucity of studies on the initial establishment and early survival requirements of seedlings of most native tropical tree species under disturbed conditions. Here, we evaluated the initial growth responses and the regeneration potential of seedlings of five tree species native to Costa Rica (Hasseltia floribunda, Inga densiflora, Persea americana, Tapirira mexicana and Trichilia pittieri). Seedlings were grown in secondary forests and adjacent open pastures under contrasting conditions of light availability. We quantified seedling growth, survival and herbivory from August 2010 to August 2011 on a monthly basis, and measured differences in leaf mass per area (LMA) at the end of the experiment. We found significant variation in growth responses between the understory of secondary forests and pastures. Growth in height was highest in pastures across all species, with I. densiflora, P. americana and T. mexicana showing the most striking differences. In contrast, H. floribunda and T. pittieri did not show differences in diameter growth between environments. Except for T. mexicana, herbivory increased throughout the experiment in all the species. Herbivory increased faster in pastures for H. floribunda and T. pittieri and showed higher rates in the forest understory for I. densiflora and P. americana. Seedling survival showed significant differences for all species across environments. Survival of H. floribunda and I. densiflora was higher in secondary forests, whereas the other species showed higher survival in pastures. Leaf mass per area showed higher values in the pastures across all species, it suggests that individuals exposed to high light conditions had great photosynthetic rate and great leaf construction capacity. Due to their rapid growth and high survival, I. densiflora and T. mexicana showed great potential to restore abandoned pastures and secondary forests. Increasing our knowledge on the response of seedlings under disturbed conditions in tropical ecosystems is critical for improving the restoration of altered environments by matching the ecological amplitude of native species with specific environmental conditions

Assessment of plasma chitotriosidase activity, CCL18/PARC concentration and NP-C suspicion index in the diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C : A prospective observational study

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in either the NPC1 or NPC2 genes. The diagnosis of NP-C remains challenging due to the non-specific, heterogeneous nature of signs/symptoms. This study assessed the utility of plasma chitotriosidase (ChT) and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18)/pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine (PARC) in conjunction with the NP-C suspicion index (NP-C SI) for guiding confirmatory laboratory testing in patients with suspected NP-C. In a prospective observational cohort study, incorporating a retrospective determination of NP-C SI scores, two different diagnostic approaches were applied in two separate groups of unrelated patients from 51 Spanish medical centers (n = 118 in both groups). From Jan 2010 to Apr 2012 (Period 1), patients with ≥2 clinical signs/symptoms of NP-C were considered 'suspected NP-C' cases, and NPC1/NPC2 sequencing, plasma chitotriosidase (ChT), CCL18/PARC and sphingomyelinase levels were assessed. Based on findings in Period 1, plasma ChT and CCL18/PARC, and NP-C SI prediction scores were determined in a second group of patients between May 2012 and Apr 2014 (Period 2), and NPC1 and NPC2 were sequenced only in those with elevated ChT and/or elevated CCL18/PARC and/or NP-C SI ≥70. Filipin staining and 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) measurements were performed in all patients with NP-C gene mutations, where possible. In total across Periods 1 and 2, 10/236 (4%) patients had a confirmed diagnosis o NP-C based on gene sequencing (5/118 [4.2%] in each Period): all of these patients had two causal NPC1 mutations. Single mutant NPC1 alleles were detected in 8/236 (3%) patients, overall. Positive filipin staining results comprised three classical and five variant biochemical phenotypes. No NPC2 mutations were detected. All patients with NPC1 mutations had high ChT activity, high CCL18/PARC concentrations and/or NP-C SI scores ≥70. Plasma 7-KC was higher than control cut-off values in all patients with two NPC1 mutations, and in the majority of patients with single mutations. Family studies identified three further NP-C patients. This approach may be very useful for laboratories that do not have mass spectrometry facilities and therefore, they cannot use other NP-C biomarkers for diagnosis