The importance of the nutritive value of old bones in the diet of Bearded vultures Gypaetus barbatus

Vultures are central-place foragers and need to optimize their foraging behaviour to offset travel costs by increasing their energy gain. This process is more obvious in certain vulture species that do not feed their young by regurgitation and so must carry food items back to the nest. The Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus is the only species with a bone-diet based. We analysed the chemical composition of bones and the age-related changes in their nutritive value to assess the differences in energy content between bones of differing age, body part and species. We found differences between specific anatomical parts, species and the age of the bones. Fresh bones contain 108% as much energy as fresh meat and, interestingly, dry bones retain 90% of the protein found in fresh bones. Dry femurs weighing 140 g retain enough protein to be comparable to 111 g of fresh meat, in energy terms. Compared to meat-eating species, the specialized osteophagous diet of the Bearded Vulture seems to have certain advantages. A better understanding of nutrient levels in food remains could help to improve theoretical foraging models, assist in conservation management, and even improve our understanding of the use of bones by early hominids.This research was supported by project CGL2015-66966-C2-2-R2. A.M. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal research contract from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RYC-2012-11867) and the project CGL2015-66966-C2-2-R

New records of Orchids from Morocco

The exploration of the Rif Valley (Morocco) during 2010 revealed the presence of some new taxa and records from Morocco. The new taxa are: Orchis langei subsp. magrebensis and Ophrys neglecta var. riphaea. Ophrys neglecta var. neglecta and Ophrys numida have been detected for the first time in Morocco

Ciudades monumentales y entornos paisajísticos. El caso de Trujillo y su tierra (Extremadura, España)

El texto se ocupa de las relaciones visuales, históricas y funcionales entre ciudades monumentales y sus entornos como paisajes urbanos históricos. Analiza el caso de la ciudad de Trujillo (Extremadura, España). De acuerdo con la definición de paisaje del Convenio Europeo del Paisaje y del Plan Nacional de Paisaje Cultural, se caracteriza y valora el paisaje del entorno urbano y sus relaciones con la ciudad, se establecen objetivos de calidad paisajística y directrices y acciones para la protección, gestión, recualificación y acceso público al paisaje, parte de las cuales se han incorporado al Plan General Municipal de Trujillo, recientemente redactado.This text deals with visual, historical and functional relations between monumental cities and their environments as a historic urban landscapes. It analyses the case of the city of Trujillo (Extremadura, Spain). According to the definition of the European Landscape Convention and the National Plan of Cultural Landscape, the text characterizes and assesses the landscape of the urban environment and its relationship with the monumental city, and establishes landscape quality objectives, guidelines and actions for the protection, management, planning and promotion the public access to the landscape, part of which have been incorporated into the Master Plan of Trujillo, recently approved.Proyecto I+D+I CSO2012 39564-CO7-03, Paisajes Patrimoniales de España

Spatial dynamics of labor markets in Brazil

There was substantial spatial variation in labor market outcomes in Brazil over the 1990s. In 2000, about one-fifth of workers lived in apparently economically stagnant municipios where real wages declined but employment increased faster than the national population growth rate. More than one-third lived in apparently dynamic municipios, experiencing both real wage growth and faster-than-average employment growth. These areas absorbed more than half of net employment growth over the period. To elucidate this spatial variation, the authors estimate spatial labor supply and demand equations describing wage and employment changes of Brazilian municipios. They use Conley's spatial GMM technique to allow for instrumental variable estimation in the presence of spatially autocorrelated errors. The main findings include: (1) a very strong influence of initial workforce educational levels on subsequent wage growth (controlling for possibly confounding variables such as remoteness and climate); (2) evidence of positive spillover effects of own-municipio growth onto neighbors'wage and employment levels; (3) an exodus from farming areas; (4) relatively elastic response of wages to an increase in labor supply; and (5) evidence of a local multiplier effect from government transfers.Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Growth,Municipal Financial Management,Achieving Shared Growth