Life history and production of Capitella capitata (Polychaeta: Capitellidae) in Río de la Plata Estuary (Argentina)

A benthic survey was carried out from November 1998 to December 1999 in the tidal flats of Bahía Samborombón (Río de la Plata estuary, Argentina), in order to study the population structure, reproductive aspects, growth and secondary production of Capitella capitata (Fabricius, 1780). Growth was analyzed using ELEFAN routine, and the secondary production was estimated by Hynes and Coleman's method (1968). C. capitata did not present periods of very important recruitments throughout the year; however, the abundance of smallest size classes was higher during summer and autumn. The summer cohort showed a growth rate (K) of 2.05 and a seasonal growth oscillation (C) of 0.6, pointing out that worms grew very slowly during winter months. The life span of this cohort was 13 months. The autumn cohort showed a lower growth rate (K= 1.5) and its growth was lowest during winter. The life span was 15 months for this cohort. C. capitata in Punta Rasa presented an extended reproductive period, with absence of activity during winter months. The type of eggs and larvae suggest that C. capitata has benthic larval development in the study area, destining its reproductive effort to the production of a low number of eggs, and assuring larvae survival through incubation in brooding tubes. The annual mean biomass in Punta Rasa was 0.117 g m-2 (AFDW), with a mean secondary production of 0.23 g m-2 y-1 and a P/B ratio of 1.96 y-1. The relatively low density, biomass production and P/B ratio of C. capitata in Punta Rasa can be considered as reference values for this species inhabiting undisturbed or moderately disturbed areas

Efficient harmonic oscillator chain energy harvester driven by colored noise

We study the performance of an electromechanical harmonic oscillator chain as an energy harvester to extract power from finite-bandwidth ambient random vibrations, which are modelled by colored noise. The proposed device is numerically simulated and its performance assessed by means of the net electrical power generated and its efficiency in converting the external noise-supplied power into electrical power. Our main result is a much enhanced performance, both in the net electrical power delivered and in efficiency, of the harmonic chain with respect to the popular single oscillator resonator. Our numerical findings are explained by means of an analytical approximation, in excellent agreement with numerics

Alcohol Use and Earnings: Findings from a Community Based Study

In this paper, we examine whether moderate alcohol consumption is associated with higher wages. A population-based sample of Mexican American workers, in the U.S. Southwest is employed. Estimation results indicate a positive association for the entire sample. The findings for the U.S. born Mexican Americans are similar to those of the other U.S. natives. However, we find mixed results for the Mexican born participants, perhaps due to their more recent arrival to the United States These results are consistent with the view that U.S. born Mexican Americans gradually resemble other U.S. born populations in reported trends of alcohol consumption and its association to wages.

DNA extraction from formalin-fixed Franciscana tissues

The present paper reports the extraction of DNA from formalin-fixed Pontoporia blainvillei tissues. Following the Vachot and Monerot (1996) protocol, fragmented DNA (300-700bp) was extracted from more than 95% of liver and muscle samples. DNA yield in liver samples was significantly higher than in muscle samples (4.574 ± 1.169mg DNA/mg versus 0.808 ± 0.297mg DNA/mg). Similar results were obtained from nine other species of cetaceans and five species of pinnipeds. It is of special interest to have a method that allows the utilisation of museum specimens not originally preserved for genetic studies, which may include rarely available, declining or extinct species. SPANISH: El presente trabajo reporta la extracción de ADN a partir de tejidos formolizados de Pontoporia blainvillei. Siguiendo el protocolo de Vachot y Monerot (1996) se pudo extraer ADN degradado (300-700pb) en más del 95% de las muestras de hígado y músculo analizadas. El rendimiento en ADN fue significativamente mayor en muestras de hígado que en muestras de músculo (4.574 ± 1.169mg DNA/mg tejido húmedo versus 0.808 ± 0.297mg DNA/mg tejido húmedo). Resultados similares se obtuvieron en otras nueve especies de Cetáceos y cinco de Pinnípedos. Resulta de gran interés contar con un método que permita la utilización de especímenes depositados en museos y que no hayan sido originalmente colectados para estudios genéticos, incluyendo especies de difícil obtención, en franca declinación o extintas

Inclusive Development in Latin America and Smallholders’ Interactive Learning Spaces

Inclusive development appears as a challenge in Latin America countries after the rupture of the social inclusion as a trickle-down effect of the economic growth. Searching development with inclusion several public policies were implemented in Latin American focusing in the agri-food production. In order to assess the progress to reach such objectives, two cases are studied. Smallholder milk producers at the Loma Blanca community (Mexico) and smallholders olive producers at Aimogasta (Argentina) were considered. Interactive learning spaces were clearly identified as consequence of the linking between product, producers and territory. Despite these results, several queries are still opened.Fil: Bastida Mercado, Claudia. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; MéxicoFil: García Martínez, Anastacio. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; MéxicoFil: Sanchez, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales; Argentina. Universidad de Morón; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentin