Phylogeny and zoogeography of the New World terrestrial amphipods (landhoppers) (Crustacea: Amphipoda; Talitridae)

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1104-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Lindeman
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Central America ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
New World ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Central American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Wet Forests ◽  
Tectonic Movements

A phylogenetic analysis of the known New World tropical landhoppers (terrestrial amphipods) tests the hypothesis that the landhoppers of México, Jamaica, and Central America are derived monophyletically from local beach flea ancestors (of the Tethorchestia group). The results indicate that Cerrorchestia is derived directly from an ancestor of Chelorchestia, a palustral (salt marsh) taxon, and that Caribitroides shares an ancestor with Chelorchestia. The derivation of landhoppers from beach fleas is not supported. The zoogeography of New World landhoppers is explained by a combination of Caribbean tectonic movements and short-distance rafting dispersal. Caribitroides is believed to have evolved in México, with dispersal to Jamaica, as the Caribbean plate moved northeast past México. Cerrorchestia is believed to have evolved in Costa Rica – Panama as a relatively recent offshoot of the Chelorchestia group. Central American landhoppers are found almost exclusively in highland cloud forest and in the wet forests to the windward of these highlands, down to the minimum altitude at which sufficiently wet conditions are maintained.

Leaf litter copepods from a cloud forest mountain top in Honduras (Copepoda: Cyclopidae, Canthocamptidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3630 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK FIERS ◽  
MERLIJN JOCQUE
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
National Park ◽  
New World ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Distributional Range ◽  
Litter Sample ◽  
Forest Mountain

Five different species of Copepoda were extracted from a leaf litter sample collected on the top (at 2000 m a.s.l.) of a cloud forested mountain in El Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Three of them, one Cyclopidae and two Canthocamptidae are new to science, and are described herein. Olmeccyclops hondo sp. nov. is the second representative thus far known of this New World genus. Moraria catracha sp. nov. and Moraria cusuca sp. nov. are the first formally described members of the genus occurring in Central America. The concept of a “Moraria-group” is considered to be an artificial grouping and is limited here to the genera Moraria and Morariopsis only. The distributional range of this group is essentially Holarctic, with the mountainous regions inHonduras, and probably in westNicaragua, as the southernmost limits in theNew World.

Identification of Tropical Cyclones’ Critical Positions Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events in Central America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo G. Hidalgo ◽  
Eric J. Alfaro ◽  
Franklin Hernández-Castro ◽  
Paula M. Pérez-Briceño
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Central American ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
Precipitation Events

<p>Tropical cyclones are one of the most important causes of disasters in Central America. Using historical (1970–2010) tracks of cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific basin, we identify critical path locations where these low-pressure systems cause the highest number of floods in a set of 88 precipitation stations in the region. Results show that tropical cyclones from the Caribbean and Pacific basin produce a large number of indirect impacts on the Pacific slope of the Central American isthmus. Although the direct impact of a tropical cyclone usually results in devastation in the affected region, the indirect effects are more common and sometimes equally severe. In fact, the storm does not need to be an intense hurricane to cause considerable impacts and damage. The location of even a lower intensity storm in critical positions of the oceanic basin can result in destructive indirect impacts in Central America. The identification of critical positions can be used for emergency agencies in the region to issue alerts of possible flooding and catastrophic events.</p>

The African Presence in Central American History

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robinson Herrera
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
African Descent ◽  
Central American ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
African Slaves ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Sub Saharan

Far from monolithic, the seven Central American countries—Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama—each have unique cultural traditions and historical trajectories. Their different geographies, while not deterministic in any facile manner, influenced their development in ways that continue to shape their national characteristics. The cataclysmic 16th-century Spanish Conquest introduced new peoples and cultural traditions to the region. African slaves, primarily from the sub-Saharan region, accompanied the first Spanish ventures, and, later, as the colonies consolidated and grew, peoples of African descent, both enslaved and free, became a part of the area’s economic and cultural landscape. Starting in the late 18th century, African peoples from the Caribbean—whether forcefully exiled or as a result of searching for economic opportunities—traveled to Central America. Despite a contemporary collective historical amnesia that imagines Africans isolated in specific regions, namely the Caribbean coast, peoples of African descent can be found throughout the Central American nations. Rather than addressing each country, a thematic approach that focuses on the Spanish Conquest, slavery, emancipation, the ethnogenesis of African connected cultures, the historical erasure of Africans, and the contributions of peoples of African descent helps to understand the complex ways that peoples of African descent have impacted the history of modern Central America. For far from isolated to small populations along the Caribbean, the African presence can be discerned throughout the region, even in places often perceived as entirely devoid of its influence.

On the Need for a System of Cloud-forest Parks in Middle America and the Caribbean

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne LaBastille ◽  
Douglas J. Pool
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Tropical Mountain ◽  
Middle America ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Mountain Vegetation ◽  
High Precipitation ◽  
Forest Parks

Tropical New World cloud-forest may best be described as the area of persistent cloud contact with tropical mountain vegetation. Cloud-forest exists in at least five life-zones, being characterized, generally speaking, by having high precipitation and humidity, dripping moisture, continuous cloud or mist cover, absence of frost, and trees laden with mosses and epiphytes.

A review of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Triepeolus (Hymenoptera: Apidae).-Part I

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1710 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
MOLLY G. RIGHTMYER
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
New World ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Subsequent Paper ◽  
New Combinations ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Caribbean

The cleptoparasitic bee genus Triepeolus is a widespread, species-rich group that has never been revised throughout its geographic range. Herein I review 103 species of Triepeolus, including all but those that belong to the newly defined Triepeolus verbesinae and Triepeolus simplex species groups (these will be the topic of a subsequent paper). I present three keys to the species, which together cover the genus throughout its range in the New World; the keys are to the females of North and Central America, the males and females from Eastern North America, and the males and females from South America and the Caribbean. I propose the following 37 new species: Triepeolus antiochensis, T. argentimus, T. argus, T. bimorulus, T. charlesi, T. circumculus, T. claytoni, T. cruciformis, T. diffusus, T. dilutus, T. edwardi, T. engeli, T. exilicurvus, T. flavigradus, T. fulgidus, T. griswoldi, T. interruptus, T. isohedrus, T. jennieae, T. joliae, T. lateralis, T. margaretae, T. mauropygus, T. melanarius, T. micheneri, T. nayaritensis, T. parkeri, T. partitus, T. parvidiversipes, T. parvus, T. perpictus, T. phaeopygus, T. punctoclypeus, T. quadratus, T. simulatus, T. vernus, and T. warriti, and propose the new combinations Triepeolus laticeps (Friese), Triepeolus tepanecus (Cresson) and Triepeolus zacatecus (Cresson). I newly synonymize 45 of the 169 previously proposed Triepeolus names, for a total of 51 synonymies: T. alachuensis Mitchell under T. rufithorax Graenicher; Epeolus albopictus Cockerell, E. costaricensis Friese, and E. flavocinctus Friese under T. aztecus (Cresson); T. alpestris Cockerell, T. amandus Cockerell, and T. vandykei Cockerell and Sandhouse under T. paenepectoralis Viereck; E. bardus Cresson, T. mesillae Cockerell, and T. pimarum Cockerell under T. distinctus (Cresson); T. brunneus Cockerell under T. balteatus Cockerell; T. charlottensis Mitchell under T. brittaini Cockerell; T. cirsianus Mitchell under T. donatus (Smith); T. concinnus Cockerell under T. townsendi Cockerell; T. coquilletti Cockerell, T. helianthi arizonensis Cockerell, T. helianthi pacificus Cockerell, T. lineatulus Cockerell and Sandhouse, and T. maculiventris Cockerell under T. helianthi (Robertson); T. dichropus Cockerell, T. eldredi Cockerell, T. helianthi grandior Cockerell, T. pallidiventris Cockerell and Sandhouse, T. rectangularis Cockerell, and T. wyomingensis Cockerell under T. texanus (Cresson); T. digueti Cockerell and E. nobilis Friese under T. intrepidus (Smith); T. floridanus Mitchellunder T. georgicus Mitchell; T. fortis Cockerell, T. insolitus Cockerell, and T. trilobatus Cockerell under T. martini (Cockerell); T. foxii Cockerell under T. rufoclypeus (Fox); T. lestes Cockerell under T. subalpinus Cockerell; T. loganensis Cockerell and T. sandhousae Cockerell under T. fraserae Cockerell; T. nautlanus Cockerell under T. lunatus (Say); E. nigriceps Smith under T. robustus (Cresson); E. oswegoensis Mitchell under T. pectoralis (Robertson); T. perelegans Cockerell and T. trichopygus Cockerell and Timberlake under T. penicilliferus (Brues); T. signatus Hedicke under T. ventralis (Meade-Waldo); T. stricklandi Cockerell under T. subalpinus Cockerell; E. superbus Provancher and E. texanus nigripes Cockerell under T. remigatus (Fabricius); and E. utahensis Cockerell under T. heterurus (Cockerell and Sandhouse).

European Possessions in the Americas

1962 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-405
Author(s):  
E. Taylor Parks
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Central America ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
New World ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Strategic Value ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Antarctic

The United States of 1783 was composed of thirteen former English colonies and their hinterland extending to the Mississippi River. Except on the Atlantic side, the new republic was surrounded by European possessions. In fact, the remainder of the New World was claimed by European nations. It was inevitable, therefore, that the United States from the beginning would concern itself with these European possessions.The degree of concern has been determined largely by three factors: (1) the geographic location of the areas, (2) their economic and strategic value, and (3) the relative power and prestige of their current or prospective possessors. As regards the geographic location of the areas, the interest of the United States has expanded roughly in broad concentric arcs: (a) contiguous continental lands (Florida, Louisiana, Texas, California, Oregon Territory); (b) Alaska, Central America, and the Caribbean; (c) South America and off-shore islands; and (d) the Antarctic. This expansion of interest has been concomitant with the territorial and economic growth of the United States, the development of ever-more-rapid means of transportation and communication, and the changing concepts of national defense.

The Indigo Merchant: Promoter of Central American Economic Development, 1750–1808

1965 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy S. Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Central America ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
New World ◽  
Central American ◽  
Social Importance

Just as the colonial trade created commercial elites in Spain, so, too, did businessmen rise to economic and social importance in the New World. In Central America, for example, the marketers of indigo played an especially significant role.

scholarly journals A Google Earth Database of Central American Volcanic Vents

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Carr
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Central American ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Time Pattern ◽  
Volcanic Deposits

Satellite imagery in Google Earth reveals 807 volcanic vents for Central America. Most of these have already been recognized. In fact, previous catalogs include many volcanoes that are not obvious in Google Earth and they are not included here. Furthermore, 47 large but deeply eroded volcanoes are not included because they appear very old. On the other hand, many young vents may be obscured in areas of low quality imagery or in areas of dense cloud forest. High quality Google Earth coverage keeps expanding so this catalog can be improved with time. Lidar imagery would greatly improve vent detection. A significant problem with any list of volcanic features is determining the appropriate cutoff age. Topographic expression is the only available criterion for estimating age for most of the vents and this criterion is highly flawed because of differences in volcanic deposits, weathering, annual rainfall and other factors. Ideally, 40Ar/39Ar ages would be available for most of the volcanoes and the revealed space-time pattern of volcanic activity would allow improved hazard estimates as well as a deeper understanding of the causes and controls of volcanism. Instead, the database is a necessary step toward: a) recognizing important volcanological problems that can attract geochronological research funding and b) encouraging a long-term campaign for determining the temporal development of Central American volcanism. The database is intended as a draft to be used and improved, not a fixed list.

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