Ignacio Arellano y José Antonio Rodríguez Garrido (eds.), 'El teatro en la Hispanoamérica colonial'

Este volumen, publicado por la Universidad de Navarra y la editorial Iberoamerica-Vervuert, recoge las contribuciones realizadas durante el encuentro celebrado en Lima, del 5 al 7 de abril de 2006, en el que , bajo la organización del Instituto Riva-Agüero de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú y del Grupo de Investigación Siglo de Oro de la Universidad de Navarra, numerosos especialistas pusieron en común el resultado de sus investigaciones sobre el teatro colonial hispanoamericano.

Understanding oceanic migrations with intrinsic biogeochemical markers

Migratory marine vertebrates move annually across remote oceanic water masses crossing international borders. Many anthropogenic threats such as overfishing, bycatch, pollution or global warming put millions of marine migrants at risk especially during their long-distance movements. Therefore, precise knowledge about these migratory movements to understand where and when these animals are more exposed to human impacts is vital for addressing marine conservation issues. Because electronic tracking devices suffer from several constraints, mainly logistical and financial, there is emerging interest in finding appropriate intrinsic markers, such as the chemical composition of inert tissues, to study long-distance migrations and identify wintering sites. Here, using tracked pelagic seabirds and some of their own feathers which were known to be grown at different places and times within the annual cycle, we proved the value of biogeochemical analyses of inert tissue as tracers of marine movements and habitat use. Analyses of feathers grown in summer showed that both stable isotope signatures and element concentrations can signal the origin of breeding birds feeding in distinct water masses. However, only stable isotopes signalled water masses used during winter because elements mainly accumulated during the long breeding period are incorporated into feathers grown in both summer and winter. Our findings shed new light on the simple and effective assignment of marine organisms to distinct oceanic areas, providing new opportunities to study unknown migration patterns of secretive species, including in relation to human-induced mortality on specific populations in the marine environment.

'NEDS' ('Non-Educated Delinquent')

Su título, Neds, muestra el hundimiento en el fango de la violencia de John McGill, en un arrabal del Glasgow, capital de Escocia, de los años setenta. Ned es un término aplicado a ciertas personas en Escocia y responde a las siglas de «no educados y delincuentes». La visión estereotipada de un ned es un adolescente varón (aunque este término no excluye a las mujeres), blanco, que lleva ropa de marca, joyas de oro y participa en actos vandálicos vinculados con la pequeña delincuencia; los neds tienen un comportamiento grosero, generan constantes peleas, abusan del consumo de alcohol y del tabaco, etc. En resumen, se caracterizan por su comportamiento antisocial.

Trans-equatorial migration and mixing in the wintering areas of a pelagic seabird

Despite increasing interest in long-distance migration, the wintering areas, migration corridors, and population mix in winter quarters of most pelagic marine predators are unknown. Here, we present the first study tracking migration movements of shearwaters through the non-breeding period. We used geolocators (global location sensing [GLS] units based on ambient light levels) to track 22 Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) breeding in three different areas. Most birds wintered in one or more of three relatively small areas, all clearly associated with major coastal upwelling systems of the tropical and south Atlantic. Trans-equatorial movements were dominated by prevailing trade winds and westerlies, while calm, oligotrophic areas were avoided. Breeding populations clearly differed in their preference amongst the three major wintering areas, but showed substantial mixing. This illustrates the exceptional value of GLS, not only for determining and describing the influence of oceanographic features on migration patterns, but also for assessing population mix in winter quarters. This knowledge is essential to understanding the impacts of population-level threats, such as longlining, offshore windfarms, and oil spills on multiple breeding sites, and will be critical in devising conservation policies that guarantee the sustainable exploitation of the oceans.

Parental body condition does not correlate with offspring sex-ratio in Cory's shearwater

We analyzed offspring sex ratio variation in Mediterranean Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris d. diomedea) during two consecutive breeding seasons in two colonies. We test for differential breeding conditions between years and colonies looking at several breeding parameters and parental condition. We then explored the relationship between offspring sex ratio and parental condition and breeding parameters. This species is sexually dimorphic with males larger and heavier than females; consequently we expected differential parental cost in rearing sexes, or a greater sensitivity of male chicks to adverse conditions, which may lead to biased sex ratios. Chicks were sexed molecularly by the amplification of the CHD genes. Offspring sex ratio did not differ from parity, either at hatching or fledging, regardless of the colony or year. However, parental body condition and breeding parameters such as egg size and breeding success were different between years and colonies. Nevertheless, neither nestling mortality nor body condition at fledging varied between years or colonies, suggesting that male and female chicks were probably not differentially affected by variability in breeding conditions.

Research Priorities for seabirds: Improving seabird conservation and management in the 21st century

Seabirds are facing a growing number of threats in both terrestrial and marine habitats, and many populations have experienced dramatic changes over past decades. Years of seabird research have improved our understanding of seabird populations and provided a broader understanding of marine ecological processes. In an effort to encourage future research and guide seabird conservation science, seabird researchers from 9 nations identified the 20 highest priority research questions and organized these into 6 general categories: (1) population dynamics, (2) spatial ecology, (3) tropho-dynamics, (4) fisheries interactions, (5) response to global change, and (6) management of anthropogenic impacts (focusing on invasive species, contaminants and protected areas). For each category, we provide an assessment of the current approaches, challenges and future directions. While this is not an exhaustive list of all research needed to address the myriad conservation challenges seabirds face, the results of this effort represent an important synthesis of current expert opinion across sub-disciplines within seabird ecology. As this synthesis highlights, research, in conjunction with direct management, education, and community engagement, can play an important role in facilitating the conservation and management of seabird populations and of the ocean ecosystems on which they and we depend.

Sevillian transport jars in early colonial America: the case of Santa María La Antigua del Darién (Colombia)

Within the scope of the TECNOLONIAL (HAR2008-02834/HIST) project, an archaeologi- cal and archaeometric research is being conduct- ed in order to clarify and systematize transport jars production in the Iberian peninsula and their distribution abroad, especially to the Americas, from the 15th to the 17th century. The production centre of Seville, in the Crown of Castile, produced large glazed and unglazed transport jars, called botijas, which were mainly devoted to the Atlantic trade network. The pres- ent study accounts for the first results obtained from an initial sample of 34 transport jars dated around the 15th-16th centuries from the produc- tion centre of Seville and the reception site of Santa María de la Antigua del Darién (gulf of Urabá, Colombia). This latter site is especially significant since it was the first Spanish founda- tion (1510) in continental America that obtained the title of town, and was the seat for the Governor of the new region called Castilla de Oro, as well as for the first diocese. All individuals were analyzed by means of x-ray fluorescence and diffraction analyses and then compared with the majolica production database from Seville. The results enabled us to define the first refer- ence groups for such modern transport jars, and to get a first insight into the jars coming to the Americas in the early 16th century whose prove- nance can be linked to Seville, but not Triana.

Nota metodológica: Alteración del patrón de microestriación dentaria por el efecto wrinkle.

Se describe el efecto wrinkle observado por primera vez sobre moldes dentarios realizados con resinas epoxy y metalizados en oro para su observación mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM). Con el fin de determinar en qué medida puede afectar al análisis del patrón de microestriación vestibular, se analizan dos muestras dentales de tres especies de Hominoideos, una de ellas incluyendo moldes con presencia de"aguas" relacionadas con el proceso de metalización. Se observa un descenso marcado de la variabilidad del patrón de microestriación dentaria anque las diferencias entre las dos muestras por especie no son estadísticamente significativas. El efecto wrinkle reduce significativamente el porcentaje de clasificación correcta de las especies analizadas a partir del patrón de microestriación y rugosidad dental utilizando un Análisis Discriminante. Se aconseja evitar la inclusión de las muestras afectadas por aguas en los estudios del patrón de microestriación dentaria.