Philornis sp. bot fly larvae in free living scarlet macaw nestlings and a new technique for their extraction.

Bot fly larvae (Philornis genus) are obligate subcutaneous blood-feeding parasites of Neotropical birds including psittacines. We analyze twelve years of data on scarlet macaw (Ara macao) nestlings in natural and artificial nests in the lowland forests of southeastern Peru and report prevalence and intensity of Philornis parasitism. Bot fly prevalence was 28.9% while mean intensity was 5.0 larvae per infected chick. Prevalence in natural nests (11%, N=90 nestlings) was lower than in wooden nest-boxes (39%, N=57) and PVC boxes (39%, N=109). We describe a new technique of removing Philornis larvae using a reverse syringe design snake bite extractor. We compare this new technique to two other methods for removing bots from macaw chicks and find the new method the most suitable.

Historia e impacto de la literatura científica del Departamento de Madre de Dios, Perú / History and impact of the scientific literature of the Department of Madre de Dios, Peru

Los libros, artículos, documentos gubernamentales y otros registros escritos de la biología y conservación de los trópicos llegan a solo una pequeña fracción de sus lectores potenciales. Algunos de los textos son inaccesibles debido al idioma en que están escritos. Otros sólo están disponibles a subscriptores de revistas caras del mundo desarrollado, o circulan exclusivamente en los países tropicales. Para entender mejor esta ineficiencia en la literatura científica tropical y lo que pueda significar para la conservación, realizamos una recopilación bibliográfica de las obras relacionadas a biología y conservación del departamento amazónico de Madre de Dios, Perú. El esfuerzo dio como resultado una lista de 2.202 textos escritos entre 1537 y 2004, sumando aproximadamente 80.000 páginas. El 93% de estos textos fueron escritos a partir de 1970. En 2004 la tasa de publicación había alcanzado casi tres textos por semana. Aproximadamente la mitad de la bibliografía de Madre de Dios es representada por textos en español escritos por autores peruanos y difíciles de conseguir fuera del Perú; la mayoría del resto son textos escritos en inglés por autores extranjeros y difíciles de conseguir en el Perú. Los autores extranjeros tienden a escribir acerca de estudios ecológicos con poca relevancia a los retos inmediatos de la conservación, mientras los autores peruanos hacen con mayor frecuencia recomendaciones prácticas para el manejo. En la lista de temas más tratados por estos textos, el uso sostenible de recursos naturales figura en tercer lugar, después de la ecología y el comportamiento animal. Se concluye el documento con algunas recomendaciones para convertir a la literatura tropical en un recurso más abierto y eficiente.

Books, articles, government documents, and other written accounts of tropical biology and conservation reach a tiny fraction of their potential audience. Some texts are inaccessible because of the language in which they are written. Others are only available to subscribers of developed-world journals, or distributed narrowly within tropical countries. To examine this dysfunction in the tropical literature-and what it means for conservation-we spent a year trying to compile everything ever written on the biology and conservation of the department of Madre de Dios, Peru, in southwestern Amazonia. Our search of libraries, databases, and existing bibliographies uncovered 2202 texts totaling roughly 80000 pages. Texts date from 1553 to 2004, but 93% were written after 1970. Since that year the publication rate has increased steadily from fewer than ten texts per year to nearly three texts per week in 2004. Roughly half of the Madre de Dios bibliography is accounted for by Spanish-language texts written by Peruvian authors and mostly inaccessible outside Peru; most of the remainder are English-language texts written by foreign authors and largely inaccessible in Peru. Foreign authors tended to write about ecological studies with limited relevance to on-the-ground conservation challenges, while Peruvian authors were more likely to make specific management recommendations. In the list of most written-about topics, sustainable use of natural resources ranks third behind ecology and animal behavior. We conclude with some recommendations for converting the tropical literature to a more open and efficient resource for science and conservation.

Written accounts of an Amazonian landscape over the last 450 years.

Books, articles, government documents, and other written accounts of tropical biology and conservation reach a tiny fraction of their potential audience. Some texts are inaccessible because of the language in which they are written. Others are only available to subscribers of developed-world journals, or distributed narrowly within tropical countries. To examine this dysfunction in the tropical literature--and what it means for conservation--we tried to compile everything ever written on the biology and conservation of the department of Madre de Dios, Peru, in southwestern Amazonia. Our search of libraries, databases, and existing bibliographies uncovered 2,202 texts totaling roughly 80,000 pages. Texts date from 1553 to 2004, but 93% were written after 1970. Since that year the publication rate has increased steadily from fewer than 10 texts/year to nearly 3 texts/week in 2004. Roughly half of the Madre de Dios bibliography is in Spanish-language texts written by Peruvian authors and mostly inaccessible outside Peru. Most of the remaining material is English-language texts written by foreign authors and largely inaccessible in Peru. Foreign authors tended to write about ecological studies with limited relevance to on-the-ground conservation challenges, whereas Peruvian authors were more likely to make specific management recommendations. The establishment of a Web-based digital library for Neotropical nature would help make the tropical literature a more efficient resource for science and conservation. Additional recommendations include investing in syntheses, translations, popular summaries, and peer-reviewed journals in tropical countries, providing incentives for management-relevant research in tropical protected areas, and reinforcing training of scientific reading and writing in tropical universities.

Pseudoaneurisma micótico de la arteria carótida extracraneana por infección parafaríngea / Extracranial carotid pseudoaneurysm within a parapharyngeal infection

El 5 por ciento de los aneurismas micóticos (AM) se ubica en el territorio carotídeo y la localización en su sector extracraneal es extremadamente rara...Se presenta un paciente con pseudoaneurisma micótico de la arteria carótida extracraneal secundario a infección parafaríngea, complicado con infarto cerebral y tratado con ligadura de vaso

Pseudoaneurisma micótico de la arteria carótida extracraneana por infección parafaríngea / Extracranial carotid pseudoaneurysm within a parapharyngeal infection

El 5 por ciento de los aneurismas micóticos (AM) se ubica en el territorio carotídeo y la localización en su sector extracraneal es extremadamente rara...Se presenta un paciente con pseudoaneurisma micótico de la arteria carótida extracraneal secundario a infección parafaríngea, complicado con infarto cerebral y tratado con ligadura de vaso(AU)

The social organization of search and rescue : Evidence from the Guadalajara gasoline explosion

This research uses information from the Guadalajara gasoline explosion of 22 April, 1992, to show the importance of social organization in search and rescue activities. Information is obtained from forty three victims that had been buried alive by the explosion throughout the impact area, and twenty two volunteers who had participated in the direct rescue phase. They reported on their own experience during SAR and the experience of victims and rescued by these volunteers. Volunteers social identies in peer groups, extended families, the neighborhood, and the Catholic Church structured their search and rescue activities. Chances of people surviving the blast were directly proportional to the presence among the searchers of a person or persons who cared for the victim and who knew the victim's likely location. The behavior of the victims was market by the continuation of preexisting motivational, normative, and value orientations. Victims acted cooperatively during entrapment. Most of the victims that were rescued alive were rescued during the first two hours inmediately after the explosion. The article concludes with the implication of the study for collective behavior and disaster research and planning (AU)