Isolation and characterization of microsatellites for the neotropical dioecious palm Chamaedorea tepejilote (Arecaceae) and cross-amplification in other Chamaedorea species.

Palms are important components of tropical and subtropical ecosystems and have even been considered keystone plant resources that can support a large array of pollinators and frugivores. Palms are also economically important. Chamaedorea tepejilote Liebm. is a widely distributed palm with important bioeconomic potential for food, traditional medicine and ornamental purposes. Eighteen microsatellite primers were developed for C. tepejilote. Polymorphism and genetic diversity were evaluated in 71 individuals from four populations in Costa Rica. Thirteen loci were polymorphic and the number of alleles in the pooled sample ranged between 5 and 20, the average number of alleles was 10.61. Average observed heterozygosity was Ho = 0.607 ± 0.04 (SD) and the average expected heterozygosity was He = 0.600 ± 0.03. The exclusion probability of the combined 13 loci, was PE = 0.998. We tested transferability of the markers in the congeneric C. costaricana, C. pinnantifrons and C. macrospadix. Dioecious species are common in tropical forests; however, few studies have analyzed gene flow patterns in these species. The markers developed for C. tepejilote are an important tool to quantify gene flow patterns and the distribution of genetic diversity within populations. This information will be useful for the development of conservation and management practices of this dioecious tropical palm species.

The role of pollination effectiveness on the attributes of interaction networks: from floral visitation to plant fitness.

Network analysis is a powerful tool to understand community-level plant-pollinator interactions. We evaluated the role of floral visitors on plant fitness through a series of pollination exclusion experiments to test the effectiveness of pollinators of an Ipomoea community in the Pacific coast of Mexico, including: (1) all flower visitors, (2) visitors that contact the reproductive organs, (3) visitors that deposit pollen on stigmas, and (4) visitors that mediate fruit and seed production. Our results show that networks built from effective pollination interactions are smaller, less connected, more specialized and modular than floral visitor networks. Modules are associated with pollinator functional groups and they provide strong support for pollination syndromes only when non-effective interactions are excluded. In contrast to other studies, the analyzed networks are not nested. Our results also show that only 59% of floral visitors were legitimate pollinators that contribute to seed production. Furthermore, only 27% of the links in visitation network resulted in seed production. Our study shows that plant-pollination networks that consider effectiveness measures of pollination in addition to floral visitation provide insightful information about the different role floral visitors play in a community, encompassing a large number of commensalistic/antagonistic interactions and the more restricted set of mutualistic relationships that underlie the evolution of convergent floral phenotypes in plants.

Medicina tradicional y natural y la teoría de las complejidades / Natural and traditional medicine and the theory of complexities

En el presente artículo se aborda el ejercicio de la medicina tradicional y natural, mediante un análisis desde la teoría de las complejidades, con una interpretación de la organización y existencia de los seres vivos, a partir de regularidades no aplicadas en la medicina alopática y la medicina bioenergética al atender al hombre y su entorno sociocultural, lo cual propicia una práctica médica más sistémica, eficiente y ética. Además, se pretende perfeccionar la medicina bioenergética complementada por el enfoque sistémico complejo y su aplicación en diferentes escenarios. La citada teoría fortalece la visión científica de la medicina tradicional y natural desde los puntos de vista teórico y práctico(AU)

In this work, the use of the traditional and natural medicine is investigated, by means of an analysis from the theory of complexities, with an interpretation of the organization and the existence of the alive beings, from regularities not applied in the alopathic and bioenergetic medicine, when assisting man and his social and cultural environment, which favors a more systemic, efficient and ethical medical practice. Besides, it is intended to improve the bioenergetic medicine, supplemented by the complex systemic approach and its application in different scenarios. The mentioned theory strengthens the scientific vision of the traditional and natural medicine from the theoretical and practical points of view(AU)

Medicina tradicional y natural y la teoría de las complejidades / Natural and traditional medicine and the theory of complexities i: en

En el presente artículo se aborda el ejercicio de la medicina tradicional y natural, mediante un análisis desde la teoría de las complejidades, con una interpretación de la organización y existencia de los seres vivos, a partir de regularidades no aplicadas en la medicina alopática y la medicina bioenergética al atender al hombre y su entorno sociocultural, lo cual propicia una práctica médica más sistémica, eficiente y ética. Además, se pretende perfeccionar la medicina bioenergética complementada por el enfoque sistémico complejo y su aplicación en diferentes escenarios. La citada teoría fortalece la visión científica de la medicina tradicional y natural desde los puntos de vista teórico y práctico.

In this work, the use of the traditional and natural medicine is investigated, by means of an analysis from the theory of complexities, with an interpretation of the organization and the existence of the alive beings, from regularities not applied in the alopathic and bioenergetic medicine, when assisting man and his social and cultural environment, which favors a more systemic, efficient and ethical medical practice. Besides, it is intended to improve the bioenergetic medicine, supplemented by the complex systemic approach and its application in different scenarios. The mentioned theory strengthens the scientific vision of the traditional and natural medicine from the theoretical and practical points of view.

Effects of habitat disruption on the activity of nectarivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a dry tropical forest: implications for the reproductive success of the neotropical tree Ceiba grandiflora.

In the tropical dry forest of the central Pacific coast of Mexico the pollination and reproductive success of the bombacaceous tree Ceiba grandiflora was negatively affected by habitat disruption. Two of the three bat species that function as effective pollinators for this species ( Glossophaga soricina and Musonycteris harrisoni) visited flowers found in trees in disturbed habitats significantly less than trees found in undisturbed habitats. A similar pattern was observed for the effective bat pollinator, Leptonycteris curasoae; however the difference was not significant. The three nectarivorous bats that functioned as effective pollinators of C. grandiflora also visited flowers to exclusively feed on pollen by biting or pulling off an anther (see Fig. S1 of Electronic Supplementary Material). The number of pollen grains deposited on stigmas from flowers in undisturbed areas was significantly greater than from flowers in disturbed habitats. The greater visitation rate and the greater number of pollen grains deposited on flowers from trees in undisturbed forest resulted in a significantly greater fruit set for trees in these areas. Our study demonstrates the negative effect that habitat disruption has on bat pollinators in tropical dry forest ecosystems and documents the negative consequences for the plants they pollinate.