Pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) Camerano 1882 (Anura, Ranidae), an addition to the Finnish amphibian fauna

A population of pool frogs (Pelophylax lessonae) has been discovered in the municipality of Kaarina, southwestern Finland. The species had not previously been recorded from Finland. The frogs show the external characteristics of the northern clade of the species, which suggests that they are of different origin than the allochthonous edible frogs (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) that are also present in southwestern Finland

A reassessment of the biogeographic range of northern clade pool frogs (Pelophylax lessonae)

Distinguishing between native and introduced species can be difficult, particularly at range borders, where patchily distributed populations may occur away from a species' natural core range. The case of native pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) populations at their northern range limit in Europe is particularly interesting. These are morphologically and genetically distinct populations which are patchily distributed and have been reported from the UK, Sweden and Norway, but up until 2013 were thought to be absent from Finland. When pool frog populations were discovered in southwestern Finland they were morphologically classified as belonging to this northern clade. However, the origin of these populations has been unclear and it is possible that the Finnish populations originated through human aided introductions, established themselves recently through natural migration, or are indeed previously undiscovered relic populations. To establish the origin and relationship of these frogs to other populations across Europe we used phylogeographical analysis based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers. Our results indicate that the Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, UK, as well as Estonian populations belong to the northern clade. The Finnish frogs are most closely related to Swedish northern pool frogs, but are genetically more diverse. This suggests that the Finnish pool frogs are most likely a relic from postglacial migration, though we could not entirely rule out the possibility of a recent natural or human aided colonization from Sweden. This has implications for the conservation status of the pool frog in Finland, where it thus far has been considered an invasive alien species

Gobernanza del agua. Una mirada desde la ecología política y la justicia hídrica

La gobernanza del agua, en la actualidad, presenta notables retos en términos de equidad, justicia y sustentabilidad. Para poder abordar estos temas consideramos necesario entender los discursos, políticas y relaciones de poder que dan forma a los procesos de toma de decisiones e intervención, al manejo de la información y conocimientos y, por ende, al control del agua y sus territorios. En Latinoamérica, la gobernanza ambiental se ha transformado con base en la descentralización política y la restructuración liberal. Bajo este modelo se priman mecanismos de participación de los diversos actores en condiciones desiguales de poder, lo que en muchas ocasiones vulnera la justicia hídrica. Los estudios de la gobernanza del agua, desde el enfoque de la ecología política que este libro presenta, abren posiciones críticas para el debate interdisciplinario. Entendemos así, las diversas aportaciones de este libro como una construcción de puentes de diálogo entre la comunidad académica y las poblaciones locales. De igual manera, pretendemos crear nuevas ideas y perspectivas analíticas que sirvan de fuente de inspiración para todos aquellos que se empeñan en investigar y comprender la problemática del agua y sus injusticias

A contracorriente. Agua y conflicto en América Latina

A contracorriente: agua y conflicto en América Latina, es el resultado de un diálogo abierto entre académicos y activistas interesados en pensar y resistir la violencia e injusticia inherente en los conflictos de agua en América Latina. A través del análisis de los distintos y complejos ensamblajes hídricos socionaturales, este libro ofrece una variedad de casos empíricos y conceptuales en los que la oposición, a saber, la contracorriente, asume distintas formas y cuestiona de diversas maneras, las variadas definiciones y prácticas del agua hegemónicas y estáticas

A tale of 2 signals: signal mimicry between aposematic species enhances predator avoidance learning

Müllerian mimicry, where 2 or more unrelated aposematic species resemble one another, is predicted to reduce the per capita mortality of co-mimics by allowing them to share the cost of educating naïve predators about their unpalatability. However, the specific assumptions and predictions of Müller's theory of shared resemblance have been previously unsupported; some authors have suggested that the benefits of signal similarity are undetectable or at best very small. We demonstrate clearly and unambiguously that mimicry between 2 defended forms can provide substantial protection from uneducated predators in the manner proposed originally by Müller. By utilizing prey signals that were designed and demonstrated, to be equally visible, learned with equal facility, and discriminated by our predators, we assessed the effect of the presence of signal mimicry on the survival of a Model species in a "novel world" experiment, with wild-caught great tits (Parus major) as predators. We found that the net effect of mimicry was mutualistic, with co-mimics showing increased survivorship through shared predator learning. Visually distinct prey showed a mortality benefit from coexistence even without signal mimicry as a result of a density-dependent dilution effect. Perfect mimicry provided an added benefit of enhanced predator avoidance learning, and our results suggest that the benefits of shared warning signals may be even stronger than Müller originally proposed. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Riverhood: political ecologies of socionature commoning and translocal struggles for water justice

Mega-damming, pollution and depletion endanger rivers worldwide. Meanwhile, modernist imaginaries of ordering ‘unruly waters and humans’ have become cornerstones of hydraulic-bureaucratic and capitalist development. They separate hydro/social worlds, sideline river-commons cultures, and deepen socio-environmental injustices. But myriad new water justice movements (NWJMs) proliferate: rooted, disruptive, transdisciplinary, multi-scalar coalitions that deploy alternative river–society ontologies, bridge South–North divides, and translate river-enlivening practices from local to global and vice-versa. This paper's framework conceptualizes ‘riverhood’ to engage with NWJMs and river commoning initiatives. We suggest four interrelated ontologies, situating river socionatures as arenas of material, social and symbolic co-production: ‘river-as-ecosociety’, ‘river-as-territory’, ‘river-as-subject’, and ‘river-as-movement’