Socio-economic drivers affecting marine turtle conservation status: causes and consequences

Wildlife conservation is challenging. In part because we lack essential knowledge on species life-history, distribution or abundance, but also because threats are generally anthropogenic and we lack detailed understanding of the human dimensions of conservation. Numerous scholars have studied the relationship between poverty and its impact on the ecosystem condition, and the importance of environmental education and legal frameworks in successful conservation initiatives to improve enforcement and maintain relationships among traditional people and their environments. In relation to marine turtle conservation, there are significant knowledge gaps in relation to people and their role in conservation. Hence, in this thesis I evaluate human dimension aspects that affect the conservation status of marine turtles, and to improve our understanding of the relationships among human societies and wildlife conservation. To achieve my aim, I assessed four research objectives: 1) Evaluate how socio-economic drivers and legal frameworks affect the level of protection of marine turtles worldwide; 2) Identify and understand the conservation conflicts that impact marine turtle protection initiatives in the Caribbean basin; 3) Assess the historical and current demographic status of marine turtle stocks in the Gulf of Venezuela; and 4) Study the scale of use, cultural component and value of marine turtles to Wayuú Indigenous people, especially as a medicinal resource. Human societies are closely linked to their ecological environments and the conservation capacity of a country's government plays a key role in the protection of marine turtles. In chapter 2, I aimed to (1) evaluate the conservation capacity and enforcement within the 58 regional management units (RMUs) of the seven species of marine turtles throughout the world, using the Human Development Index (HDI) and economic levels as proxies; and (2) to predict the conservation status of 43 marine turtle RMU by merging several indices. To do this I developed a Conservation and Enforcement Capacity index (CECi) by integrating (1) the economic level of each country (defined by the United Nations); (2) the HDI (World Economic Situation and Prospects database); and (3) the risks and threats identified in the RMU framework. I then used the most recent conservation status of 15 recently IUCN assessed RMUs to predict the conservation status of the 43 RMUs without updated IUCN categorisation. I evaluated the conservation status of marine turtle RMUs in relation to the socio-economic situation of the region for each RMU. I found that using only the HDI as a proxy to assess the conservation capacity of the governments was weak. However, by using a multi-index model, I was able to predict the status of 33 of 58 RMUs, of them 57% may be of threatened conservation status due to their high CECi values. Consumptive use of threatened species, such as marine turtles, is one of the main challenges for environmental and conservation entities. In the case of marine turtles, this use is controversial. For this reason, in Chapter 3, I evaluated how consumptive use (legal and illegal) of marine turtles occurs (regulated or not) and is distributed worldwide. After an extensive literature review, I identified and categorised the regulations associated with the consumptive use of marine turtles. Of 137 countries with a marine-facing coastline and a presence of turtles. Of them I found that legislation prevents use in 98 of them (72%), and legal use occurs in 39. Among these 39 countries, use is regulated in 33 (85%) with parameters, such as ethnicity, region, size, quotas, and special permits. Conflicts among local, national, regional and international stakeholders (involved in marine turtle conservation) often they arise because people or groups involved come from different socio-economic backgrounds. In chapter 4, I narrow the scale of my thesis to the Caribbean region. I aim to identify and assess the conservation-based conflicts occurring in the Caribbean countries, identifying their frequency, level of severity, number of stakeholders' groups involved, the degree to which they hinder conservation goals, and potential solutions. I evaluated the presence and details of conservation conflicts provided by 72 respondents including conservation-based project leaders, researchers, and people involved in policy-based decision-making, conservation volunteers, and species experts with experience working on marine turtle conservation programs in the Caribbean. The respondents identified 136 conflicts, and I grouped them into 16 different categories. The most commonly mentioned causes of conflicts were: 1) the 'lack of enforcement by local authorities to support conservation based legislation or programs' (18%); 2) 'legal consumption of turtles by one sector of community clashing the conservation aspirations of other sectors of community (14%); and 3) 'variable enforcement of legislation to limit/prohibit use across range states of the species (10%). From the respondents, it is also apparent that illicit activities in the region are also impacting in the success of conservation based projects and programs. In chapters 5, 6, and 7, I narrow the focus of my thesis down to a country scale and examine the current state of knowledge species distribution and threats (Chapter 5), consumptive use and trade (Chapter 6) as well as indigenous (Wayuú) perspectives (Chapter 7) in the Venezuelan territory, and its effect on the current use of marine turtles (consumptive and non-consumptive). In chapter 5, I combined data from field-based studies with survey data from community based monitoring and historical records to investigate the distribution and threats to Venezuela's marine turtles. Overall, my findings confirm that five species of marine turtle use the Gulf of Venezuela, and I provide baseline stranding trends for four of them. I evaluated 1,571 records of stranded marine turtles comprising of 82% green turtles, 8% hawksbill turtles, 5% leatherback turtles, 4% loggerhead turtles, and 1% olive ridley turtles. I found that 82% of the all turtles recorded as stranded were immature. The co-occurrence of multiple species and both immature and adult-size turtles indicates that the Gulf of Venezuela provides important habitat for year-round feeding and development. As part of this baseline evaluation in the Gulf of Venezuela, in Chapters 6 and 7, I assessed the scale and cultural component of consumptive use of marine turtles in the region. To assess the scale and cultural component of this use, I interviewed residents and indigenous elders from the southwestern coast of the Gulf of Venezuela (Venezuelan part of the Guajira Peninsula), using a combination of in-depth and semi-structured interviews. I carried out a field and detailed market-based observations on the Guajira Peninsula to detect the sale and use of marine turtle products. I focused on three main categories of use; the type of use (e.g. traditional medicine, non-commercial cultural or commercial), the type of product, routes of trade, and the price of products. I identified types of products, routes of trade, and the prices of different products. All of the marine turtle species reported from the Gulf of Venezuela were used by people, sometimes commercially, and the prices of products varied among their type, species of origin, and the distance from the capture area to a marketplace. I obtained evidence connecting Wayuú Indigenous people's traditions and beliefs with marine turtle use, and also how up to 11 different marine turtle body parts are used for traditional medicine, and as an economic resource to sustain their communities. It is probable that illegal trade of marine turtle products is placing pressure on populations in the Gulf of Venezuela. I recommend the implementation of an inter-institutional conservation-portfolio be developed for the Peninsula to evaluate actions related to this concern

Aportaciones de RINACE al fomento de la investigación: las revistas de la red

La Red Iberoamericana de Investigación sobre Cambio y Eficacia Escolar (RINACE) edita en la actualidad cuatro revistas internacionales de investigación educativa de alto prestigio en América Latina: La Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación (REICE), la Revista Iberoamericana de Evaluación Educativa (RIEE), la Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Inclusiva (RLEI), en colaboración con la Universidad Central de Chile y la Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social (RIEJS), en colaboración con el Grupo de Investigación Cambio Educativo para la Justicia Social (GICE) de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. A través de las diferentes publicaciones, RINACE busca fomentar el desarrollo de investigaciones educativas de calidad y potenciar el uso de la investigación para la toma de decisiones en el aula, la escuela y el sistema educativo en conjunto. En el siguiente artículo se realiza un análisis de las cuatro publicaciones de RINACE con el propósito de evaluar la consecución de los objetivos de la red a través de sus revistas. Se aportan ideas para la mejora de las publicaciones y presentan algunas lecciones aprendidas de estas experiencias para la creación y fortalecimiento de revistas de investigación de carácter internacional.The Iberoamerican School Effectiveness and Improvement Research Network (RINACE). (RINACE) publishes four prestigious international research journals on education in Latin America: The Iberoamerican Journal of School Quality, Improvement and Effectiveness (REICE), the Iberoamerican Journal of Educational Evaluation (RIEE), The Latin American Journal of Inclusive Education (RLEI) in collaboration with the Universidad Central de Chile, and the International Journal of Education for Social Justice (RIEJS), in collaboration with the research group Educational Change for Social Justice (GICE) from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. These publications are of special relevance for RINACE, they contribute effectively to the attainment of its main goals: to promote the development of quality research in education and the use of research for decision-making in classrooms, schools and the educational system as a whole. In the forthcoming article we present an analysis of the four journals of RINACE with the purpose of examining the attainment of the network´s goals through these journals. We also intend to share some ideas in order to improve the journals and presenting some learned lessons so as to create and strengthen research journals all over the world.A Rede Ibero-americana de Investigação sobre Mudança e Eficácia Escolar (RINACE) edita na atualidade quatro revistas internacionais de investigação educativa de alto prestígio em América Latina: A Revista Ibero-americana sobre Qualidade, Eficácia e Mudança em Educação (REICE), a Revista Ibero-americana de Avaliação Educativa (RIEE), a Revista Latinoamericana de Educação Inclusiva (RLEI), em colaboração com a Universidade Central de Chile e a Revista Internacional de Educação para a Justiça Social (RIEJS), em colaboração com o Grupo de Investigação Mudo Educativo para a Justiça Social (GICE) da Universidade Autônoma de Madri. Através das diferentes publicações, RINACE procura fomentar o desenvolvimento de investigações educativas de qualidade e potenciar o uso da investigação para a tomada de decisões no sala de aula, a escola e o sistema educativo em conjunto. No seguinte artigo se realiza uma análise das quatro publicações de RINACE com o propósito de avaliar a consecução dos objetivos da rede através de suas revistas. Contribuem-se idéias para a melhora das publicações e apresentam algumas lições aprendidas destas experiências para a criação e fortalecimento de revistas de investigação de caráter internacional

Codificación de marcas de lectura a distancia

Codificación de marcas de lectura a distancia. Se presenta un trabajo de recopilación de las diferentes formas de marcaje de aves con marcas de lectura a distancia (anillas, collares, baberos, marcas alares) así como de las normas de transcripción de las marcas. Se aconseja la mejor forma de comunicar los datos de campo mediante el ordenador a la Aficina de Anillamiento de la Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD).Codificació de marques de lectura a distància. Es presenta un treball de recopilació de les diferents formes de marcatge d’aus amb marques de lectura a distància (anelles, collars, gorgeres, marques alars) així com de las normes de transcripció de las marques. S’aconsella la millor forma de comunicar les dades de camp mitjançant l’ordinador a la Oficina de Anillamiento de la Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD).Codifying of readable markers at a distance. This work is a recopilation of the different ways of marking birds in order that they may be individuallly identified at distance (rings, collars, wing tags, etc.) as well as the transcription of the codes The best way to communicate field records is by computer to the Estación Biológica de Doañana Ringing Office

El CSIC participa en la IX Feria de la Ciencia de Sevilla con decenas de actividades para los jóvenes

3 páginas, 1 fotografía. Fotografía Héctor Garrido.El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) se une un año más al programa de actividades que se llevará a cabo entre el jueves 12 y el sábado 14 de mayo (2011) en la IX Feria de la Ciencia de Sevilla. El encuentro, organizado por la Sociedad Andaluza para la Divulgación de la Ciencia, se realizará en el Pabellón del Futuro de la isla de la Cartuja; lugar donde se darán cita estudiantes de ESO y Bachillerato de toda Andalucía para exponer y compartir sus proyectos escolares de ciencias.Peer reviewe

Estudio de los conceptos cotidianos de happiness y felicidad desde un enfoque probabilístico

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología. Departamento de Psicología Social y de Metodología. Fecha de lectura: 26 de noviembre de 201

Fumarel Cariblanco, Chlidonias hibrida

Peer Reviewe

A method for inter-yarn friction coefficient calculation for plain wave of aramid fibers

In order to obtain the inter-yarn friction coefficient in aramid fibers, a new methodology is developed. Experimental yarn pull-out test and 3D numerical model have perfomed in Kevlar (R) 129 (K129) aramid. An optimization of classic numerical models in order to simulate pull-out tests and obtain the inter-yarn friction is carried out. Numerical simulation results were compared to experimental yarn pull-out curves and based on linear dependence of the pull-out load with the friction coefficient, the inter-yarn friction coefficient of K129 aramid has been obtained.The authors acknowledge the financial support for the work to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain under the Project RTC-2015-3887-8

Kobold: web usability as a service

While Web applications have become pervasive in today’s business, social interaction and information exchange, their usability is often deficient, even being a key factor for a website success. Usability problems repeat across websites, and many of them have been catalogued, but usability evaluation and repair still remains expensive. There are efforts from both the academy and industry to automate usability testing or to provide automatic statistics, but they rarely offer concrete solutions.These solutions appear as guidelines or patterns that developers can follow manually. This paper presents Kobold, a tool that detects usability problems from real user interaction (UI) events and repairs them automatically when possible, at least suggesting concrete solutions. By using the refactoring technique and its associated concept of bad smell, Kobold mines UI events to detect usability smells and applies usability refactorings on the client to correct them. The purpose of Kobold is to deliver usability advice and solutions as a service (SaaS) for developers, allowing them to respond to feedback of the real use of their applications and improve usability incrementally, even when there are no usability experts on the team. Kobold is available at: http://autorefactoring.lifia.info.unlp.edu.ar. A screencast is available at https://youtu.be/c-myYPMUh0QLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Planeta diverso

32 páginas. Textos: Yolanda Díaz; Fotografía: Héctor Garrido y José Antonio Sencianes.Material didáctico de la exposición temporal "Planeta Diverso". Foro de la Biodiversidad (Sevilla) 20 de octubre de 2009.Peer reviewe