Ethnobotanic importance of plants used in pigeon-breeding in Eastern Spain

Background: The importance that birds of the Columbidae family have had throughout history is visible on the Mediterranean coast. Pigeon fancying is the art of breeding and training carrier pigeons and currently, several breeds exist. The sport of racing pigeons consists in covering a distance at maximum possible speed. However, pigeon breeding has another modality called “sport pigeon”, where several males follow a female. This study focusses on ethnobotanical knowledge of native and exotic plant species that are used for diet, breeding, stimulation, healing illnesses and staining the plumage of pigeons bred in captivity. Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, we gathered information about the different plant species traditionally used for pigeon-breeding in the region of Valencia. Background material on remedies for bird illnesses was gathered from folk botanical references, local books and journals. The plant species were collected in the study area, then identified in the laboratory using dichotomous keys and vouchered in the ABH (Herbarium of Alicante University). We used Excel ® 2003 to perform a simple statistical analysis of the data collected. Results: We collected 56 species of plants (and one variety) that included 29 botanical families. The total number of species was made up of 35 cultivated and 21 wild plants. The most common were Gramineae (14 species), Leguminosae (6 species), and Compositae (4 species). Conclusions: Pigeon breeding is an immensely popular activity in Eastern Spain, and ethnobiological knowledge about breeding pigeons and caring for them is considerable. The names and traditional uses of plants depend on their geographical location, vernacular names serve as an intangible heritage. Feeding, environmental features, and genetic makeup of individuals are relevant aspects in the maintenance of avian health.

ICT in higher education: an experience with e-books

The present paper seeks to explain the diverse advantages of virtual books and also the main barriers that make it difficult their implementation in the classroom. A brief review of the literature on ICT, e-learning, distance education and e-books will be complemented with a case study about the preparation, development and implementation of an e-book. The paper could be helpful both for systems analysts and for teachers when they are developing and implementing e-books.

E.books: ventajas e implementación

Los e.books, o libros electrónicos, dan respuesta a muchas de las necesidades planteadas en la educación superior del siglo XXI. Suponen restar cierto protagonismo a los libros impresos, que sólo permiten el aprendizaje a través de la lectura y la comprensión, y que son generalmente estáticos y poco interactivos. Por el contrario los libros-plataforma multimedia 2.0 tienen indudables ventajas sobre los convencionales: se pueden acceder desde diversos soportes (ordenador, tablet, smartphone…), son accesibles y utilizables en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar sin necesidad de trasportarlos físicamente, suponen un ahorro de costes, ya que el coste del libro-plataforma virtual es de un 70 a un 80% más barato que el impreso, contienen útiles archivos que se pueden ver o descargar, contienen enlaces (hipervínculos) a webs externas para ampliar la información, etc. Mediante este trabajo pretendemos explicar las diversas ventajas de los libros virtuales, pero también proponer diversas pautas que puedan ser útiles para su implementación en el aula. Para ello además de una revisión de la literatura sobre el tema se explicará la experiencia que hemos tenido en la elaboración, desarrollo e implementación de un e.book.