Reestructuración productiva y configuración territorial : Pequeña industria metalmecánica en la Ciudad de Córdoba 2002-2012

El desarrollo de esta investigación se conforma como la búsqueda de vinculaciones territoriales a escala urbana en la Ciudad de Córdoba frente a un proceso de carácter global, como es el de la reestructuración productiva. Este concreto real se aborda desde un caso, el de la pequeña industria metalmecánica, que por presencia histórica y peso en el producto bruto geográfico de la ciudad se constituye en uno de los sostenes de la economía urbana. El abordaje del proceso de reestructuración productiva se realiza desde el análisis de las prácticas de los agentes. Por un lado, las del gobierno como agente que regula las relaciones productivas a través de políticas públicas industriales en el marco de un régimen de acumulación capitalista, y por otro lado, las prácticas de las pequeñas industrias metalmecánicas como agentes que se desenvuelven en el procesos de producción en una dialéctica entre las tendencias de producción de reestructuración de escala global y un entorno inmediato de relaciones productivas con otros agentes, procesos de producción, marco regulatorio y políticas públicas. Esta dialéctica se materializa en el territorio y da lugar a una configuración territorial industrial a escala urbana, que no solo se explica por las prácticas de los agentes industriales sino además por el juego de otros agentes que producen territorio. En el período postconvertibilidad a partir del 2002, el crecimiento de las actividades productivas en su conjunto, imprimen una dinámica compleja de expansión urbana y de relaciones entre agentes de distintos sectores, con distintos intereses y poder de actuar en el campo. Aquí se avanza en comprender las dimensiones de la expansión urbana que inciden en la configuración territorial industrial. La configuración territorial como vínculo indisociable entre las prácticas de agentes (sistema de acciones) y la estructura productiva territorial (sistema de objetos) muta permanentemente en el contexto postconvertibilidad debido al intenso dinamismo que adquiere la actividad industrial, entre habitus construidos históricamente y nuevas prácticas, que se encuentran en tensión permanente. Este concreto real va conformando un campo socio económico que discurre entre viejas y nuevas prácticas y configura un territorio fragmentado y disociado. El trabajo parte de la consideración de las políticas públicas industriales y las prácticas específicas de los agentes de las pequeñas industrias para luego analizar a escala urbana la configuración territorial, en donde las dimensiones de la expansión urbana interactúan con la especificidad de las prácticas de los agentes analizados. El cambio paulatino en las políticas destinadas al sector industrial postconvertibilidad manifiesta una presencia cada vez más relevante de PyMEs. No obstante la inercia heredada del periodo anterior revela, en la gestión de las políticas industriales y las prácticas empresarias, un camino caracterizado por la desconfianza e incertidumbre de las pequeñas empresas

Reestructuración productiva y configuración territorial : Pequeña industria metalmecánica en la Ciudad de Córdoba 2002-2012

El desarrollo de esta investigación se conforma como la búsqueda de vinculaciones territoriales a escala urbana en la Ciudad de Córdoba frente a un proceso de carácter global, como es el de la reestructuración productiva. Este concreto real se aborda desde un caso, el de la pequeña industria metalmecánica, que por presencia histórica y peso en el producto bruto geográfico de la ciudad se constituye en uno de los sostenes de la economía urbana. El abordaje del proceso de reestructuración productiva se realiza desde el análisis de las prácticas de los agentes. Por un lado, las del gobierno como agente que regula las relaciones productivas a través de políticas públicas industriales en el marco de un régimen de acumulación capitalista, y por otro lado, las prácticas de las pequeñas industrias metalmecánicas como agentes que se desenvuelven en el procesos de producción en una dialéctica entre las tendencias de producción de reestructuración de escala global y un entorno inmediato de relaciones productivas con otros agentes, procesos de producción, marco regulatorio y políticas públicas. Esta dialéctica se materializa en el territorio y da lugar a una configuración territorial industrial a escala urbana, que no solo se explica por las prácticas de los agentes industriales sino además por el juego de otros agentes que producen territorio. En el período postconvertibilidad a partir del 2002, el crecimiento de las actividades productivas en su conjunto, imprimen una dinámica compleja de expansión urbana y de relaciones entre agentes de distintos sectores, con distintos intereses y poder de actuar en el campo. Aquí se avanza en comprender las dimensiones de la expansión urbana que inciden en la configuración territorial industrial. La configuración territorial como vínculo indisociable entre las prácticas de agentes (sistema de acciones) y la estructura productiva territorial (sistema de objetos) muta permanentemente en el contexto postconvertibilidad debido al intenso dinamismo que adquiere la actividad industrial, entre habitus construidos históricamente y nuevas prácticas, que se encuentran en tensión permanente. Este concreto real va conformando un campo socio económico que discurre entre viejas y nuevas prácticas y configura un territorio fragmentado y disociado. El trabajo parte de la consideración de las políticas públicas industriales y las prácticas específicas de los agentes de las pequeñas industrias para luego analizar a escala urbana la configuración territorial, en donde las dimensiones de la expansión urbana interactúan con la especificidad de las prácticas de los agentes analizados. El cambio paulatino en las políticas destinadas al sector industrial postconvertibilidad manifiesta una presencia cada vez más relevante de PyMEs. No obstante la inercia heredada del periodo anterior revela, en la gestión de las políticas industriales y las prácticas empresarias, un camino caracterizado por la desconfianza e incertidumbre de las pequeñas empresas

Temperature dependent growth and inorganic ion composition of haemolymph of juvenile Sepia officinalis, 2006

B Body wet weight and mantle length of juvenile Sepia officinalis were monitored over a peroid of five weeks. The animals had hatched in our aquarium system in Bremerhaven, Germany at 16°C and were descendants of individuals collected in the Oosterschelde estuary, Netherlands. Animals were kept in natural sea water at 10 or 17°C and fed small live shrimp (Palaemonetes varians) ad libitum daily. At the end of the experiment some animals kept at 17°C were sacrificed using ethanol. Haemolymph was withdrawn from the head vein using syringe and needle. Haemolymph samples were stored at -20°C until Na+, Cl-, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and SO42- concentrations were determined using ion chromatography. Mean body weight more that tripled at 17°C during the investigation period, while growth was impared by exposue to 10°C. Haemolymph ion concentrations were similar to those in sea water, except for sulphate. The concentration of this ion in the haemolymph was more that ten times lower than in sea water.

Reestructuración productiva y configuración territorial : Pequeña industria metalmecánica en la Ciudad de Córdoba 2002-2012

El desarrollo de esta investigación se conforma como la búsqueda de vinculaciones territoriales a escala urbana en la Ciudad de Córdoba frente a un proceso de carácter global, como es el de la reestructuración productiva. Este concreto real se aborda desde un caso, el de la pequeña industria metalmecánica, que por presencia histórica y peso en el producto bruto geográfico de la ciudad se constituye en uno de los sostenes de la economía urbana. El abordaje del proceso de reestructuración productiva se realiza desde el análisis de las prácticas de los agentes. Por un lado, las del gobierno como agente que regula las relaciones productivas a través de políticas públicas industriales en el marco de un régimen de acumulación capitalista, y por otro lado, las prácticas de las pequeñas industrias metalmecánicas como agentes que se desenvuelven en el procesos de producción en una dialéctica entre las tendencias de producción de reestructuración de escala global y un entorno inmediato de relaciones productivas con otros agentes, procesos de producción, marco regulatorio y políticas públicas. Esta dialéctica se materializa en el territorio y da lugar a una configuración territorial industrial a escala urbana, que no solo se explica por las prácticas de los agentes industriales sino además por el juego de otros agentes que producen territorio. En el período postconvertibilidad a partir del 2002, el crecimiento de las actividades productivas en su conjunto, imprimen una dinámica compleja de expansión urbana y de relaciones entre agentes de distintos sectores, con distintos intereses y poder de actuar en el campo. Aquí se avanza en comprender las dimensiones de la expansión urbana que inciden en la configuración territorial industrial. La configuración territorial como vínculo indisociable entre las prácticas de agentes (sistema de acciones) y la estructura productiva territorial (sistema de objetos) muta permanentemente en el contexto postconvertibilidad debido al intenso dinamismo que adquiere la actividad industrial, entre habitus construidos históricamente y nuevas prácticas, que se encuentran en tensión permanente. Este concreto real va conformando un campo socio económico que discurre entre viejas y nuevas prácticas y configura un territorio fragmentado y disociado. El trabajo parte de la consideración de las políticas públicas industriales y las prácticas específicas de los agentes de las pequeñas industrias para luego analizar a escala urbana la configuración territorial, en donde las dimensiones de la expansión urbana interactúan con la especificidad de las prácticas de los agentes analizados. El cambio paulatino en las políticas destinadas al sector industrial postconvertibilidad manifiesta una presencia cada vez más relevante de PyMEs. No obstante la inercia heredada del periodo anterior revela, en la gestión de las políticas industriales y las prácticas empresarias, un camino caracterizado por la desconfianza e incertidumbre de las pequeñas empresas

Berry production, shoot growth and biomass of E. hermaphroditum, V. vitis-idaea and V. myrtillis at Abisco ANS

Extreme weather events can have strong negative impacts on species survival and community structure when surpassing lethal thresholds. Extreme, short-lived, winter warming events in the Arctic rapidly melt snow and expose ecosystems to unseasonably warm air (for instance, 2-10 °C for 2-14 days) but upon return to normal winter climate exposes the ecosystem to much colder temperatures due to the loss of insulating snow. Single events have been shown to reduce plant reproduction and increase shoot mortality, but impacts of multiple events are little understood as are the broader impacts on community structure, growth, carbon balance, and nutrient cycling. To address these issues, we simulated week-long extreme winter warming events - using infrared heating lamps and soil warming cables - for 3 consecutive years in a sub-Arctic heathland dominated by the dwarf shrubs Empetrum hermaphroditum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea (both evergreen) and Vaccinium myrtillus (deciduous). During the growing seasons after the second and third winter event, spring bud burst was delayed by up to a week for E. hermaphroditum and V. myrtillus, and berry production reduced by 11-75% and 52-95% for E. hermaphroditum and V. myrtillus, respectively. Greater shoot mortality occurred in E. hermaphroditum (up to 52%), V. vitis-idaea (51%), and V. myrtillus (80%). Root growth was reduced by more than 25% but soil nutrient availability remained unaffected. Gross primary productivity was reduced by more than 50% in the summer following the third simulation. Overall, the extent of damage was considerable, and critically plant responses were opposite in direction to the increased growth seen in long-term summer warming simulations and the 'greening' seen for some arctic regions. Given the Arctic is warming more in winter than summer, and extreme events are predicted to become more frequent, this generates large uncertainty in our current understanding of arctic ecosystem responses to climate change.

Thermal reaction norms of growth in Atlantic and Pacific silverside fishes

How organisms may adapt to rising global temperatures is uncertain, but concepts can emerge from studying adaptive physiological trait variations across existing spatial climate gradients. Many ectotherms, particularly fish, have evolved increasing genetic growth capacities with latitude (i.e. countergradient variation (CnGV) in growth), which are thought to be an adaptation primarily to strong gradients in seasonality. In contrast, evolutionary responses to gradients in mean temperature are often assumed to involve an alternative mode, 'thermal adaptation'. We measured thermal growth reaction norms in Pacific silverside populations (Atherinops affinis) occurring across a weak latitudinal temperature gradient with invariant seasonality along the North American Pacific coast. Instead of thermal adaptation, we found novel evidence for CnGV in growth, suggesting that CnGV is a ubiquitous mode of reaction-norm evolution in ectotherms even in response to weak spatial and, by inference, temporal climate gradients. A novel, large-scale comparison between ecologically equivalent Pacific versus Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) revealed how closely growth CnGV patterns reflect their respective climate gradients. While steep growth reaction norms and increasing growth plasticity with latitude in M. menidia mimicked the strong, highly seasonal Atlantic coastal gradient, shallow reaction norms and much smaller, latitude-independent growth plasticity in A. affinis resembled the weak Pacific latitudinal temperature gradient.

Environmental characteristics, and growth traits and leaf chemistry of tundra plants in a warming experiment at Alexandra Fiord

Understanding plant trait responses to elevated temperatures in the Arctic is critical in light of recent and continuing climate change, especially because these traits act as key mechanisms in climate-vegetation feedbacks. Since 1992, we have artificially warmed three plant communities at Alexandra Fiord, Nunavut, Canada (79°N). In each of the communities, we used open-top chambers (OTCs) to passively warm vegetation by 1-2 °C. In the summer of 2008, we investigated the intraspecific trait responses of five key species to 16 years of continuous warming. We examined eight traits that quantify different aspects of plant performance: leaf size, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), plant height, leaf carbon concentration, leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf carbon isotope discrimination (LCID), and leaf d15N. Long-term artificial warming affected five traits, including at least one trait in every species studied. The evergreen shrub Cassiope tetragona responded most frequently (increased leaf size and plant height/decreased SLA, leaf carbon concentration, and LCID), followed by the deciduous shrub Salix arctica (increased leaf size and plant height/decreased SLA) and the evergreen shrub Dryas integrifolia (increased leaf size and plant height/decreased LCID), the forb Oxyria digyna (increased leaf size and plant height), and the sedge Eriophorum angustifolium spp. triste (decreased leaf carbon concentration). Warming did not affect d15N, leaf nitrogen concentration, or LDMC. Overall, growth traits were more sensitive to warming than leaf chemistry traits. Notably, we found that responses to warming were sustained, even after many years of treatment. Our work suggests that tundra plants in the High Arctic will show a multifaceted response to warming, often including taller shoots with larger leaves.

Seawater carbonate chemistry, Acropora digitifera growth and skeletal U/Ca ratios during experiments, 2011

The impact of ocean acidification caused by the increasing atmospheric CO2 has been studied in marine calcifiers, including hermatypic corals. However, the effect of elevated pCO2 on the early developmental life-cycle stage of corals has been little studied. In this study, we reared polyps of Acropora digitifera in seawater at pHT 6.55, 7.31, 7.64, 7.77, and 8.03, controlled by CO2 bubbling. We measured the dry weights of polyp skeletons after the 40-d experiment to investigate the relationship between the seawater aragonite saturation state and polyp growth. In addition, we measured skeletal U/Ca ratio to estimate their pH dependence. Skeletal weights of coral polyps increased with the aragonite saturation state and reached an apparent saturation plateau above pH 7.77. U/Ca ratios had a strong inverse relationship with pH and a negligible relationship with skeletal growth rate (polyp weight), suggesting that skeletal U/Ca could be useful for reconstructing paleo-pH.

Growth, respiration and photophysiology of coral massive Porites spp. in the experiment of Moorea

I tested the hypothesis that high pCO2 (76.6 Pa and 87.2 Pa vs. 42.9 Pa) has no effect on the metabolism of juvenile massive Porites spp. after 11 days at 28 °C and 545 µmol quanta/m**2/s. The response was assessed as aerobic dark respiration, skeletal weight (i.e., calcification), biomass, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Corals were collected from the shallow (3-4 m) back reef of Moorea, French Polynesia (17°28.614'S, 149°48.917'W), and experiments conducted during April and May 2011. An increase in pCO2 to 76.6 Pa had no effect on any dependent variable, but 87.2 Pa pCO2 reduced area-normalized (but not biomass-normalized) respiration 36 %, as well as maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) of open RCIIs and effective photochemical efficiency of RCIIs in actinic light (Delta F/F'm ); neither biomass, calcification, nor the energy expenditure coincident with calcification (J/g) was effected. These results do not support the hypothesis that high pCO2 reduces coral calcification through increased metabolic costs and, instead, suggest that high pCO2 causes metabolic depression and photochemical impairment similar to that associated with bleaching. Evidence of a pCO2 threshold between 76.6 and 87.2 Pa for inhibitory effects on respiration and photochemistry deserves further attention as it might signal the presence of unpredictable effects of rising pCO2.

Seawater carbonate chemistry, the abiotic conditions in the fluid surrounding the embryo, growth, calcification of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis in a laboratory experiment

This study investigated the effects of seawater pH (i.e., 8.10, 7.85 and 7.60) and temperature (16 and 19 °C) on (a) the abiotic conditions in the fluid surrounding the embryo (viz. the perivitelline fluid), (b) growth, development and (c) cuttlebone calcification of embryonic and juvenile stages of the cephalopod Sepia officinalis. Egg swelling increased in response to acidification or warming, leading to an increase in egg surface while the interactive effects suggested a limited plasticity of the swelling modulation. Embryos experienced elevated pCO2 conditions in the perivitelline fluid (>3-fold higher pCO2 than that of ambient seawater), rendering the medium under-saturated even under ambient conditions. The growth of both embryos and juveniles was unaffected by pH, whereas 45Ca incorporation in cuttlebone increased significantly with decreasing pH at both temperatures. This phenomenon of hypercalcification is limited to only a number of animals but does not guarantee functional performance and calls for better mechanistic understanding of calcification processes.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and coverage and dry weight of Ecklonia radiata during experiments, 2010

Predictions about the ecological consequences of oceanic uptake of CO2 have been preoccupied with the effects of ocean acidification on calcifying organisms, particularly those critical to the formation of habitats (e.g. coral reefs) or their maintenance (e.g. grazing echinoderms). This focus overlooks the direct effects of CO2 on non-calcareous taxa, particularly those that play critical roles in ecosystem shifts. We used two experiments to investigate whether increased CO2 could exacerbate kelp loss by facilitating non-calcareous algae that, we hypothesized, (i) inhibit the recovery of kelp forests on an urbanized coast, and (ii) form more extensive covers and greater biomass under moderate future CO2 and associated temperature increases. Our experimental removal of turfs from a phase-shifted system (i.e. kelp- to turf-dominated) revealed that the number of kelp recruits increased, thereby indicating that turfs can inhibit kelp recruitment. Future CO2 and temperature interacted synergistically to have a positive effect on the abundance of algal turfs, whereby they had twice the biomass and occupied over four times more available space than under current conditions. We suggest that the current preoccupation with the negative effects of ocean acidification on marine calcifiers overlooks potentially profound effects of increasing CO2 and temperature on non-calcifying organisms.

Effects of ocean acidification on respiration, growth and C:N ratio of arctic Hyas araneus larvae

Early life stages of marine crustaceans respond sensitively to elevated seawater PCO2. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms have not been studied well. We therefore investigated the effects of elevated seawater PCO2 on oxygen consumption, dry weight, elemental composition, median developmental time (MDT) and mortality in zoea I larvae of the spider crab Hyas araneus (Svalbard 79°N/11°E; collection, May 2009; hatch, December 2009). At the time of moulting, oxygen consumption rate had reached a steady state level under control conditions. In contrast, elevated seawater PCO2 caused the metabolic rate to rise continuously leading to a maximum 1.5-fold increase beyond control level a few days before moulting into the second stage (zoea II), followed by a pronounced decrease. Dry weight of larvae reared under high CO2 conditions was lower than in control larvae at the beginning of the moult cycle, yet this difference had disappeared at the time of moulting. MDT of zoea I varied between 45 ± 1 days under control conditions and 42 ± 2 days under the highest seawater CO2 concentration. The present study indicates that larval development under elevated seawater PCO2 levels results in higher metabolic costs during premoulting events in zoea I. However, H. araneus zoea I larvae seem to be able to compensate for higher metabolic costs as larval MDT and survival was not affected by elevated PCO2 levels.

Effect of ocean acidification and pH fluctuations on the growth and development of coralline algal recruits, and an associated benthic algal assemblage

Coralline algae are susceptible to the changes in the seawater carbonate system associated with ocean acidification (OA). However, the coastal environments in which corallines grow are subject to large daily pH fluctuations which may affect their responses to OA. Here, we followed the growth and development of the juvenile coralline alga Arthrocardia corymbosa, which had recruited into experimental conditions during a prior experiment, using a novel OA laboratory culture system to simulate the pH fluctuations observed within a kelp forest. Microscopic life history stages are considered more susceptible to environmental stress than adult stages; we compared the responses of newly recruited A. corymbosa to static and fluctuating seawater pH with those of their field-collected parents. Recruits were cultivated for 16 weeks under static pH 8.05 and 7.65, representing ambient and 4*preindustrial pCO2 concentrations, respectively, and two fluctuating pH treatments of daily (daytime pH = 8.45, night-time pH = 7.65) and daily (daytime pH = 8.05, night-time pH = 7.25). Positive growth rates of new recruits were recorded in all treatments, and were highest under static pH 8.05 and lowest under fluctuating pH 7.65. This pattern was similar to the adults' response, except that adults had zero growth under fluctuating pH 7.65. The % dry weight of MgCO3 in calcite of the juveniles was reduced from 10% at pH 8.05 to 8% at pH 7.65, but there was no effect of pH fluctuation. A wide range of fleshy macroalgae and at least 6 species of benthic diatoms recruited across all experimental treatments, from cryptic spores associated with the adult A. corymbosa. There was no effect of experimental treatment on the growth of the benthic diatoms. On the community level, pH-sensitive species may survive lower pH in the presence of diatoms and fleshy macroalgae, whose high metabolic activity may raise the pH of the local microhabitat.

Effects of light and elevated pCO2 on the growth and photochemical efficiency of Acropora cervicornis

The effects of light and elevated pCO2 on the growth and photochemical efficiency of the critically endangered staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, were examined experimentally. Corals were subjected to high and low treatments of CO2 and light in a fully crossed design and monitored using 3D scanning and buoyant weight methodologies. Calcification rates, linear extension, as well as colony surface area and volume of A. cervicornis were highly dependent on light intensity. At pCO2 levels projected to occur by the end of the century from ocean acidification (OA), A. cervicornis exhibited depressed calcification, but no change in linear extension. Photochemical efficiency (F v /F m ) was higher at low light, but unaffected by CO2. Amelioration of OA-depressed calcification under high-light treatments was not observed, and we suggest that the high-light intensity necessary to reach saturation of photosynthesis and calcification in A. cervicornis may limit the effectiveness of this potentially protective mechanism in this species. High CO2 causes depressed skeletal density, but not linear extension, illustrating that the measurement of extension by itself is inadequate to detect CO2 impacts. The skeletal integrity of A. cervicornis will be impaired by OA, which may further reduce the resilience of the already diminished populations of this endangered species.