The Role of Flower Visitors in the Explosive Pollination of Thalia geniculata (Marantaceae), a Costa Rican Marsh Plant

1987 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rican ◽  
Marsh Plant ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Explosive Pollination

scholarly journals Evaluating insect-host interactions as a driver of species divergence in palm flower weevils

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno A. S. de Medeiros ◽  
Brian D. Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Insect Host ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Isolation By Environment ◽  
Insect Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Antagonistic Interactions

AbstractPlants and their specialized flower visitors provide valuable insights into the evolutionary consequences of species interactions. In particular, antagonistic interactions between insects and plants have often been invoked as a major driver of diversification. Here we use a tropical community of palms and their specialized insect flower visitors to test whether antagonisms lead to higher population divergence. Interactions between palms and the insects visiting their flowers range from brood pollination to florivory and commensalism, with the latter being species that feed on decaying–and presumably undefended–plant tissues. We test the role of insect-host interactions in the early stages of diversification of nine species of beetles sharing host plants and geographical ranges by first delimiting cryptic species and then using models of genetic isolation by environment. The degree to which insect populations are structured by the genetic divergence of plant populations varies. A hierarchical model reveals that this variation is largely uncorrelated with the kind of interaction, showing that antagonistic interactions are not associated with higher genetic differentiation. Other aspects of host use that affect plant-associated insects regardless of the outcomes of their interactions, such as sensory biases, are likely more general drivers of insect population divergence.

scholarly journals Un pájaro azul en Costa Rica: la función de la traducción de L’Oiseau bleu en la Costa Rica de 1912

LETRAS ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 201-217
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Vargas Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Costa Rican

El estudio procura desvelar la función de El pájaro azul (traducción de Roberto Brenes Mesén) dentro del contexto histórico en que surge. Tras describir y analizar las especificidades ideológicas, sociales y literarias de contexto, individuos y textos involucrados, se concluye que la traducción pudo haber funcionado como un instrumento para promover cambios ideológicos, sociales y estéticos dentro de la sociedad costarricense de principios del siglo veinte.This study seeks to describe the role of El pájaro azul (translated by Roberto Brenes Mesén) when it first appeared in Costa Rica in 1912. A description is provided of the ideological, social and literary features present in the context, and of the agents and texts involved in the production of El pájaro azul. The analysis of these features makes it possible to state that the text is likely to have been an instrument used to promote ideological, social and aesthetic changes within the 20th century Costa Rican society.

scholarly journals Pathogenic Role of Bacillus Cereus in Wound Infections in the Tropics

1987 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 480-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
M S Dryden
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Cereus ◽  
Clinical Findings ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Wound Infections ◽  
Pathogenic Role ◽  
Infected Wounds ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Nose And Throat

A bacteriological survey was undertaken on clinically infected traumatic wounds amongst a group of young and fit Operation Raleigh members, who were living and working in a remote area of Costa Rican rain forest. All infected wounds were swabbed before treatment and, where possible, at intervals during treatment. Swabs were also obtained from the nose and throat of each patient. All swabs were stored by desiccation in sterile silica gel for culture at a later date. Culture revealed a high rate of isolation of Bacillus cereus from the wounds. The organism was commonly isolated in pure and heavy growth. Contamination by B. cereus was considered and excluded experimentally. Preliminary toxological studies have shown that the majority of the isolates produce a necrotic exotoxin, in keeping with the clinical findings. These results suggest that B. cereus caused significant sepsis in this series of traumatic wounds.

scholarly journals Self-Efficacy, Action Control, and Social Support Explain Physical Activity Changes Among Costa Rican Older Adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1573-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Reyes Fernández ◽  
Esteban Montenegro Montenegro ◽  
Nina Knoll ◽  
Ralf Schwarzer
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
High Social Support ◽  
Moderator Role

Background:Self-efficacy, action control, and social support are considered to influence changes in physical activity levels in older adults. This study examines the relationship among these variables and explores the putative mediating and moderating mechanisms that might account for activity changes.Methods:A longitudinal study with 54 older adults (≥ 50 years of age) was carried out in Costa Rica. In a moderated mediation analysis, action control was specified as a mediator between self-efficacy and physical activity, whereas social support was specified as a moderator between self-efficacy and action control. Baseline physical activity, age, and sex were specified as covariates.Results:Action control mediated between self-efficacy and physical activity. An interaction between social support and self-efficacy on action control pointed to a synergistic effect at the first stage of the mediating process.Conclusions:The effect of self-efficacy on physical activity was partly explained by action control, providing evidence of action control as a proximal mediator of physical activity. Moreover, the moderator role of social support was confirmed: high social support appeared to compensate for low levels of self-efficacy.

The Presidents of Costa Rica

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Busey
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Presidential History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Military

Writers have long claimed that Costa Rica has achieved standards of popular, constitutional government unusual for Latin America. A few recent commentators have attempted to modify the unstinted praise which others have been prone to lavish upon Costa Rican political institutions and processes.To evaluate properly the assumption that Costa Rica is somehow more “democratic” than her neighbors, there must be examination of a number of elements of Costa Rican political life—that is, press and public expression, individual rights, political parties, roles of judicial and legislative bodies, role of the military, and the like. Some studies have touched upon a few of these elements. Scholarship has yet to cover all of them. The present paper will confine itself to a further aspect of Costa Rican political life—that is, the presidential history of the country. By what means and under what circumstances have presidents secured and left office? How many have been long-term dictators? What have been the backgrounds and characteristics of leading Costa Rican presidents? How many have come from the military profession, and how many from civilian life?

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