Conservation action in the Galapagos: Feral pig (Sus scrofa) eradication from Santiago Island

Introduced mammals are major drivers of extinction and ecosystem change. As omnivores, feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are responsible for wholesale adverse effects on islands. Here, we report on the eradication of feral pigs from Santiago Island in the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador, which is the largest insular pig removal to date. Using a combination of ground hunting and poisoning, over 18,000 pigs were removed during this 30-year eradication campaign. A sustained effort, an effective poisoning campaign concurrent with the hunting program, access to animals by cutting more trails, and an intensive monitoring program all proved critical to the successful eradication. While low and fluctuating control efforts may help protect select native species, current eradication methods, limited conservation funds, and the potential negative non-target impacts of sustained control efforts all favor an intense eradication effort, rather than a sustained control program. The successful removal of pigs from Santiago Island sets a new precedent, nearly doubling the current size of a successful eradication, and is leading to more ambitious projects. However, now we must turn toward increasing eradication efficiency. Given limited conservation funds, we can no longer afford to spend decades removing introduced mammals from islands.

Eradicating feral cats to protect Galapagos Land Iguanas: methods and strategies

A three-year programme to eradicate Feral Cats Felis catus from the island of Baltra in the Galapagos archipelago achieved good results by Initially poisoning with sodium monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) then trapping or shooting the remaining cats. The poisoning campaign removed 90% of the cats, its success being attributable to pre-baiting with unpolsoned baits to accustom cats to eating baits and placing enough baits to ensure that all cats encountered several baits within their home range. This, together with the use of metaclopromide (Pileran) as an anti-emetic, overcame a problem associated with poor retention of 1080 in thawed fish baits that limited the dose available to 1 mg 1080lbait, a quality Insufficient to kill large cats. Removal of the remaining cats was delayed by a weather-Induced irruption of Black Rats Rattus rattus and House Mice Mus musculus that enabled recruitment of kittens in 2002, but made cats more susceptible to trapping and shooting in 2003 when rodent populations collapsed. Since July 2003 no sign of a cat has been detected on Baltra despite extensive searching and monitoring throughout 2004. As cat abundance has decreased there have been more locally-bred Juvenile iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus) seen during annual censuses. However, such recruitment may reflect the increasing maturity and higher fecundity of iguanas repatriated from 1991 onwards rather than being a direct result of reduced cat predation alone. More time is necessary to determine the benefits of reduced cat predation on the Iguana population.

Increasing the efficacy of Judas goats by sterilisation and pregnancy termination

The use of Judas goats to locate remnant animals is a potentially powerful tool for enhancing goat-eradication efforts, which are especially important to island conservation. However, current Judas goat methodology falls short of its potential efficacy. Female Judas goats are often pregnant at the time of deployment or become impregnated in the field; pregnant females leave associated goats to give birth, causing downtime of Judas goat operations. Further, male Judas goats may inseminate remnant females. Sterilising Judas goats prior to deployment removes these inefficiencies. Here, we describe two methods (epididymectomy for males and tubal occlusion for females) that sterilise Judas goats while still maintaining sexual motivation and other behaviours associated with intact animals. These surgeries are straightforward, time efficient, and may be conducted in the field by staff with minimal training. Given the widespread and deleterious impacts of non-native herbivores to ecosystems and the importance of Judas operations in detecting animals at low densities, sterilisation and termination of pregnancy should be applied routinely in Judas goat (and possibly other species) programs to increase the efficacy of low-density control operations and eradication campaigns.

Relectura del discurso narrativo de las primeras tres decadas de la Republica Cubana en el contexto de los rasgos de la picaresca

The purpose of this dissertation was to study the narrative discourse of three Cuban novelists who produced their works from 1902 to 1933, using a typology that reveals a picaresque view of Cuban society. Focusing on La conjura and La manigua sentimental by Jesús Castellanos (1879–1912), Las honradas and Las impuras by Miguel de Carrión (1875–1929), and Generales y doctores and Juan Criollo by Carlos Loveira (1882–1928), this dissertation identified and defined picaresque traits and elements in the characterization, contrasting main and secondary, male and female characters, at all social levels. ^ The study considered the theories of the Spanish picaresque novel proposed by Antonio Maravall, Américo Castro, Claudio Guillén, Marcel Bataillon, and other critics, in order to delineate a model of traditional picaresque behavior, which was then applied to the analysis of each character. Sociopolitical and cultural conditions, as well as the psychology of the Cuban collective as presented by the authors, were also analyzed to pinpoint similarities and differences between the traditional Golden Age rogue and the characters created by the authors. ^ Critics who have studied the influence of the Spanish picaresque genre on the Latin American novel make no reference to any of the authors or novels included in this study. Key analyses, however, identified the presence of characters that use picaresque modes of behavior as a means to manipulate the structures of power in order to survive and as a futile attempt to achieve their ends within a socioeconomic context that is undergoing a significant transition. Castellanos' characters use their picaresque behavior mainly to attain a higher social status. Carrion concentrates on picaresque behavior in women as a means to manipulate the dominant male society, while Loveira's picaresque characters are mainly interested in securing a position of political power. ^

Gut content, fatty acid composition and metabolic rates of the amphipod Anonyx sarsi during POLARSTERN cruise ARK-XIX/1, ice station PS64/070-6

During a winter expedition to the western Barents Sea in March 2003, benthic amphipods of the species Anonyx sarsi were observed directly below pack ice. Only males and juveniles [16.0-37.0 mm long, 16.2-120.8 mg dry mass (DM)] were collected. Guts contained macroalgal fibres, fish eggs and flesh from large carrion. Amphipods had very low levels of total lipids (2.7-17.2% DM). Analysis of lipid biomarkers showed that some of the specimens had preyed on pelagic copepods. Individual respiration rates ranged over 0.4-1.7 ml O2/day (mean: 1.2 ml, SD: 0.5 ml). Individual ammonia excretion rates varied between 7.8 µg and 49.3 µg N/day (mean: 30.7 µg, SD: 15.2 µg). The atomic O:N ratio ranged over 35 to 71 (mean: 55, SD: 14), indicating lipid-dominated metabolism. Mass-specific respiration ranged over 9.8-16.6 ml O2/day/g DM (mean: 13.1 ml, SD: 2.2 ml). The metabolic rates of A. sarsi were twice as high as those of the truly sympagic amphipod Gammarus wilkitzkii, which is better adapted to the under-ice habitat by its energy-saving attached lifestyle. It is concluded that males and juveniles of A. sarsi were actively searching for food in the water column and at the ice underside, but that the nutritional status of the amphipods in late Arctic winter was generally very poor.

Toxoplasma gondii seropositive rates of animals living on Svalbard

Samples (blood or tissue fluid) from 594 arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), 390 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), 361 sibling voles (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis), 17 walruses (Odobenus rosmarus), 149 barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), 58 kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and 27 glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Svalbard and nearby waters were assayed for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using a direct agglutination test. The proportion of seropositive animals was 43% in arctic foxes, 7% in barnacle geese, and 6% (1 of 17) in walruses. There were no seropositive Svalbard reindeer, sibling voles, glaucous gulls, or kittiwakes. The prevalence in the arctic fox was relatively high compared to previous reports from canid populations. There are no wild felids in Svalbard and domestic cats are prohibited, and the absence of antibodies against T gondii among the herbivorous Svalbard reindeer and voles indicates that transmission of the parasite by oocysts is not likely to be an important mechanism in the Svalbard ecosystem. Our results suggest that migratory birds, such as the barnacle goose, may be the most important vectors bringing the parasite to Svalbard. In addition to transmission through infected prey and carrion, the age-seroprevalence profile in the fox population suggests that their infection levels are enhanced by vertical transmission.

A recipe for scavenging in vertebrates - the natural history of a behaviour

Despite its prevalence, the importance of scavenging to carnivores is difficult to ascertain in modern day forms and impossible to study directly in extinct species. Yet, there are certain intrinsic and environmental features of a species that push it towards a scavenging lifestyle. These can be thought of as some of the principal parameters in optimal foraging theory namely, encounter rate and handling time. We use these components to highlight the morphologies and environments that would have been conducive to scavenging over geological time by focusing on the dominant vertebrate groups of the land, sea and air. The result is a synthesis on the natural history of scavenging. The features that make up our qualitative scale of scavenging can be applied to any given species and allow us to judge the likely importance of this foraging behaviour.

Contribuição ao conhecimento do gênero Coprophanaeus (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) no Cerrado do Distrito Federal

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, 2015.

The TOMO-ETNA experiment: an imaging active campaign at Mt. Etna volcano. Context, main objectives, working-plans and involved research projects

The TOMO-ETNA experiment was devised to image of the crust underlying the volcanic edifice and, possibly, its plumbing system by using passive and active refraction/reflection seismic methods. This experiment included activities both on-land and offshore with the main objective of obtaining a new high-resolution seismic tomography to improve the knowledge of the crustal structures existing beneath the Etna volcano and northeast Sicily up to Aeolian Islands. The TOMO ETNA experiment was divided in two phases. The first phase started on June 15, 2014 and finalized on July 24, 2014, with the withdrawal of two removable seismic networks (a Short Period Network and a Broadband network composed by 80 and 20 stations respectively) deployed at Etna volcano and surrounding areas. During this first phase the oceanographic research vessel “Sarmiento de Gamboa” and the hydro-oceanographic vessel “Galatea” performed the offshore activities, which includes the deployment of ocean bottom seismometers (OBS), air-gun shooting for Wide Angle Seismic refraction (WAS), Multi-Channel Seismic (MCS) reflection surveys, magnetic surveys and ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) dives. This phase finished with the recovery of the short period seismic network. In the second phase the Broadband seismic network remained operative until October 28, 2014, and the R/V “Aegaeo” performed additional MCS surveys during November 19-27, 2014. Overall, the information deriving from TOMO-ETNA experiment could provide the answer to many uncertainties that have arisen while exploiting the large amount of data provided by the cutting-edge monitoring systems of Etna volcano and seismogenic area of eastern Sicily.

Gastrodiplomacia como herramienta de política exterior. estudio de caso: Perú

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la manera mediante la cual Perú ha incor- porado la gastrodiplomacia a su estrategia de diplomacia cultural como componente de su política exterior. Con el fin de cumplir este propósito, se va a defender que desde el 2008 el país Inca ha incorporado la gastrodiplomacia a su estrategia de diplomacia cultural em- pleando dos herramientas. Primero, a través de su Plan de Política Exterior Cultural, en donde se señalan objetivos claros en temas de gastronomía. En segundo lugar, con el uso de su marca país mediante la cual se promociona al Perú como un país atractivo gracias a su amplia oferta gastronómica. El trabajo es de carácter analítico y descriptivo ya que pretende entender la manera en la que Perú incorporó la gastrodiplomacia en su política exterior y describir esos objetivos y características de su Plan de Política Exterior Cultural y de su estrategia de marca país.