Neotropical Rubiaceae: Synthesis of Chromosome Data from Costa Rican Taxa, with Insights on the Systematics of the Family

Recent molecular systematic studies have significantly improved our understanding of the large, complex, and cosmopolitan plant family Rubiaceae, comprising about 13,000 species. Besides the obvious importance of DNA phylogenetic data, cytological studies have long added important basic information on the circumscription of clades and relationships within the family. In light of recent changes affecting a large number of tribes and genera, the current knowledge on the systematics of Neotropical Rubiaceae is reviewed with a focus on Costa Rica, which harbors an exceptionally rich Rubiaceae flora including most of the genera and biogeographic elements present in the Neotropics. Based on this systematic framework, previously published chromosome counts on Costa Rican taxa are reviewed and 49 new chromosome counts are reported. In total, 110 accessions of 75 species or infraspecific taxa representing 36 genera of Costa Rican Rubiaceae are discussed and supplemented by new counts for extraterritorial taxa when appropriate. Altogether the present study includes the first chromosome counts reported for the tribes Cordiereae and Hillieae, as well as for 10 genera and 27 species, providing new aspects of Rubiaceae systematics.

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Revision of the larval morphology (Zoea I) of the family Hippolytidae (Decapoda, Caridea), with a description of the first stage of the shrimp Hippolyte obliquimanus Dana, 1852

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.2624.1.2 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2624 (1) ◽

pp. 49 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

MARIANA TEROSSI ◽

JOSE A. CUESTA ◽

INGO S. WEHRTMANN ◽

FERNANDO L. MANTELATTO

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Intraspecific Variability ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Zoeal Stage ◽

Morphological Aspect ◽

Ventral Margin ◽

Larval Morphology ◽

Anal Spine ◽

The Family

The aim of this study was to summarize the available data on larval morphology of the first zoea of the family Hippolytidae and describe the first zoeal stage of H. obliquimanus from two geographically distinct populations, Brazilian and Caribbean in order to discuss interand intraspecific variability. Ovigerous females of Hippolyte obliquimanus were collected at Cahuita (Limón, Costa Rica) and at Ubatuba (São Paulo, Brazil). We compiled the published descriptions of all available hippolytid Zoea I (66 spp., 21%), and all zoeae share several characteristics. However, such morphological features cannot be used to distinguish the first zoeae of Hippolytidae from other caridean larvae. Historically, the presence of an exopodal seta at the maxillule and the absence of the anal spine/papilla have been considered as characteristic for the Zoea I of the genus Hippolyte. The results of our revision, however, did not support these conclusions: although H. obliquimanus showed an exopodal seta at the maxillule, four congeners did not bear such structure; moreover, H. obliquimanus as well as one other congener have an anal spine/papilla. All morphological characters observed in the first zoeal stage of H. obliquimanus are shared with others species of the family Hippolytidae. Intraspecific variability in Hippolyte obliquimanus was detected in one morphological aspect: the first zoea had four denticles on the ventral margin of the carapace in the Brazilian population, while specimens from the Costa Rican population had three.

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Echinoderm diversity of a tropical estuary in the largest river basin of the Costa Rican Pacific, Eastern Tropical Pacific

Check List ◽

10.15560/13.3.2113 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 2113

Author(s):

Juan Carlos Azofeifa-Solano ◽

Sebastián Mena ◽

Juan José Alvarado ◽

José Leonardo Chacón-Monge ◽

Tayler M. Clarke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

River Basin ◽

New Records ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Common Species ◽

Tropical Pacific ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Eastern Tropical Pacific ◽

The Pacific ◽

Soft Bottoms

Echinoderms within the Eastern Tropical Pacific have mainly been studied in association with coral reefs. Investigations on echinoderms associated with soft-bottoms and estuaries are still scarce. The present study reports on the echinoderm species inhabiting the soft-bottom sediments of shallow-brackish waters adjacent to the largest river basin along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Térraba-Sierpe wetland. Nine species were recorded, three of them new records for Costa Rica: Luidia columbia, L. latiradiata, and L. superba. The most common species were L. columbia, Astropecten armatus, A. regalis, and L. latiradiata. This contributes towards current knowledge on the biodiversity of Térraba-Sierpe wetland and should be considered as a baseline upon which to monitor the effects of future impacts on this important mangrove area.

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Chewing lice of genus Myrsidea (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from Turdidae (Passeriformes) of Costa Rica, with descriptions of seven new species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3620.2.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3620 (2) ◽

pp. 201-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

FILIP KOUNEK ◽

OLDRICH SYCHRA ◽

MIROSLAV CAPEK ◽

IVAN LITERAK

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Costa Rica ◽

Bird Species ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Undescribed Species ◽

Chewing Lice ◽

The Family ◽

Unidentified Species

A total of 166 individuals from 10 bird species belonging to the family Turdidae were examined for chewing lice in Costa Ricaduring 2004, 2009 and 2010. A total of 12 species of the louse genus Myrsidea were collected from 54 birds, including four previously named, seven new undescribed species, and one identified as Myrsidea sp. Names, descriptions and illustrations are given for the seven new species of Myrsidea. They and their type hosts are: Myrsidea assimilis sp. nov. ex Turdus assimilis (Cabanis, 1850), M. cerrodelamuertensis sp. nov. ex Catharus gracilirostris (Salvin, 1865), M. hrabaki sp. nov. ex Myadestes melanops (Salvin, 1865), M. obsoleti sp. nov. ex Turdus obsoletus (Lawrence, 1862), M. quinchoi sp. nov. ex Catharus frantzii (Cabanis, 1861), M. tapanti sp. nov. ex Catharus fuscater (Lafresnaye, 1845), and M. tapetapersi sp. nov. ex Turdus nigrescens (Cabanis, 1861). Records of four named and one unidentified species of Myrsidea from other Costa Rican thrushes are also given and discussed.

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Seagrasses of Costa Rica: from the mighty Caribbean to the dynamic meadows of the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v66i1.33260 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 (1-1) ◽

pp. 53 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jimena Samper-Villarreal ◽

Brigitta I. Van Tussenbroek ◽

Jorge Cortés

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Pacific Coast ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Thalassia Testudinum ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Seagrass Meadows ◽

Syringodium Filiforme ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Caribbean

Seagrass meadows are declining worldwide, mostly attributed to anthropogenic disturbances. Understanding the dynamics of these meadows is urgent in order to establish adequate management and conservation strategies. Here, we analyzed the current knowledge on the seagrass meadows in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Costa Rica, Central America. Current knowledge was based on literature searches, herbarium collections, informal interviews, and personal observations. We report a total of five genera and seven species for Costa Rica: Thalassia testudinum, Syringodium filiforme, Halophila decipiens, Halophila baillonis, Halodule wrightii, Halodule beaudettei, and Ruppia maritima. Six species are reported for the Caribbean, and four species for the Pacific. Thalassia testudinum, S. filiforme, and H. decipiens have only been reported for the Caribbean. Halodule beaudettei has only been reported for the Pacific coast. Halophila baillonis, H. wrightii and R. maritima have been reported for both coasts. Seagrasses were found at a total of 31 locations in Costa Rica, most from the Pacific coast; 16 of which are reported here for the first time. Seagrass meadows from both coasts are vastly different. Along the Caribbean coast, meadows are often dominated by the robust T. testudinum, they are extensive and stable, persisting for decades. In contrast, the meadows along the Pacific coast are more dynamic and are dominated by pioneer and smaller ephemeral species, such as H. baillonis and H. beaudettei. The number of studies on Costa Rican seagrasses is scarce but has been increasing over time, and mostly concern taxonomic reports and basic descriptions of the dynamics of T. testudinum meadows from the Caribbean. Research, conservation and management efforts on Costa Rican seagrass meadows would benefit from continued monitoring and research on associated fauna and flora, incorporating ecosystem resilience and services.

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Las prácticas realizadas por la Universidad de Costa Rica, para garantizar la educación superior de las personas con discapacidad

Revista Reflexiones ◽

10.15517/rr.v97i2.32948 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Marcela Ramírez Morera

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Costa Rica ◽

Inclusive Education ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Social Policies ◽

Educación Superior ◽

Educacion Superior ◽

Creative Commons ◽

The University

ResumenEl presente artículo es una sistematización de experiencias, el cual describe algunos aportes de la educación superior inclusiva de las distintas universidades públicas costarricenses. Particularmente, se discuten prácticas realizadas por la Universidad de Costa Rica, para garantizar la educación superior de las personas con discapacidad. En este texto se reconoce la educación universitaria como un derecho inherente, el cual debe ser accionado mediante la promoción de las políticas sociales vinculadas con la accesibilidad y la participación de las personas con discapacidad en los entornos universitarios. Al iniciar el texto, se describen algunos estudios principales referentes a la educación superior inclusiva, sus discusiones, desafíos y limitaciones, para visualizar el estado de conocimiento existente en esta temática. En un segundo momento, se conceptualiza la educación inclusiva y sus diferentes acepciones, se realizó un recorrido por las políticas sociales vinculadas al tema, el cual permitió discutir algunas buenas prácticas universitarias, particularmente en la UCR. Se finaliza con la descripción de experiencias de otras universidades en el contexto costarricense. Uno de los resultados más sobresalientes consiste en que la educación superior aún no visualiza algunos tópicos principales sobre educación inclusiva. Las universidades públicas costarricenses se han centralizado en brindar servicios y apoyos durante el proceso académico, no obstante se invisibilizan las diversas dimensiones que conlleva reconocer la educación universitaria como un derecho para la población estudiantil con discapacidad.Palabras claves: Políticas; Universidad; Educación Inclusiva; Discapacidad; Prácticas The practices the University of Costa Rica, to guarantee higher education for people with disabilities AbstractThis article discusses the University of Costa Rica’s practices to guarantee higher education for people with special needs. This study recognizes higher education as an inherent right, which must be prompted through the promotion of social policies linked to accessibility and this specific community participation within the university environments. First, some main studies approach higher education, its arguments, challenges, and limitations in order to evaluate current knowledge about this topic. Second, the text defines inclusive education and its different meanings; it also explores the social policies related to the subject, which allows the analysis of the beneficial practices implemented at the University of Costa Rica. Finally, the article ends illustrating the experiences from other Costa Rican universities. One of the most outstanding results is that education has not yet assessed some main aspects about inclusive education. Costa Rican public universities have focused on providing services to support the academic process; however, some dimensions that ensure higher education, as a right for students with physical or intellectual disabilities, have been ignored.Key Words: Policies; University; Inclusive Education; Disability; Practices. Acerca del proceso editorial y sus publicaciones la revista Reflexiones utiliza la licencia Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

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La familia Convolvulaceae en el municipio de Victoria, Tamaulipas, México

Botanical Sciences ◽

10.17129/botsci.2234 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (3) ◽

pp. 539

Author(s):

Estefanía Guadalupe Fernández-Puga ◽

Arturo Mora-Olivo ◽

Andrew McDonald ◽

Edilia De la Rosa-Manzano

Keyword(s):

Morphological Diversity ◽

Point Of View ◽

Herbarium Specimens ◽

Plant Family ◽

Online Databases ◽

Disturbed Areas ◽

The Family ◽

Infraspecific Taxa ◽

Local Levels ◽

Species Study

Background: The Convolvulaceae a plant family of near-cosmopolitan distribution includes 58 genera and 1,880 species. This family presents a remarkable amount of morphological diversity and even includes parasitic species. Knowledge of Convolvulaceae in Mexico is still scanty, since few geographical areas of Mexico have been investigated with respect to this family or any of its genera.Questions: How many and which species of Convolvulaceae are found in the municipality of Victoria? How are they distributed within the study area and worldwide?Species study: Species of the family Convolvulaceae.Site and years of study: Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 2017-2018.Methods: Botanical material was collected and identified using standard botanical bibliographies. Herbarium specimens and online databases were reviewed. The distribution of the species in the study area was examined by a cluster analysis.Results: Nine genera were registered, 31 species with two infraspecific taxa. The richest genus is Ipomoea (13 spp.), followed by Cuscuta (4) and Evolvulus (4). Most of the species occur below 500 m a.s.l., and mostly in scrubs and disturbed areas. A high percentage (77.3 %) of native Convolvulaceae species has wide geographical distributions and only two species are endemic to Mexico, one of which is endemic to Tamaulipas. Taxonomic keys of genera and species are included.Conclusions: Although the Convolvulaceae in Victoria, Tamaulipas, do not present exceedingly high rates of species richness, it is still necessary to continue with explorations at national and local levels to fully elucidate the biological importance of the region from a biogeographical point of view.

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Checklist of the cicadas (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of Costa Rica including new records for fourteen species

Check List ◽

10.15560/10.2.246 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 246 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Allen F. Sanborn

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

New Records ◽

Costa Rican ◽

The Family ◽

A Current

A current checklist of the Costa Rican cicada fauna is provided. The first Costa Rican records of Zammara calochroma Walker, 1858, Diceroprocta pusilla Davis, 1942, Diceroprocta ruatana (Distant, 1891), Ollanta modesta (Distant, 1881), Pacarina puella Davis, 1923, Pacarina schumanni Distant, 1905, Majeorona truncata Goding, 1925, Procollina medea (Stål, 1864), Carineta verna Distant, 1883, Carineta viridicollis (Germar, 1830), Herrera ancilla (Stål, 1864), Calyria cuna (Walker, 1850), Selymbria pluvialis Ramos & Wolda, 1985, and Conibosa occidentis (Walker, 1858) are provided. Diceroprocta digueti (Distant, 1906) and D. vitripennis (Say, 1830) are removed from the Costa Rican cicada fauna. The new records increase the known cicada diversity 45% bringing the total number of cicada species reported in Costa Rica to 45 species in 17 genera representing nine tribes and two subfamilies of the family Cicadidae.

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Free Fatty Acid Receptors as New Potential Targets in Colorectal Cancer

Current Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1389450120666191112141901 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (14) ◽

pp. 1397-1404

Author(s):

Adrian Bartoszek ◽

Jakub Fichna ◽

Aleksandra Tarasiuk ◽

Agata Binienda ◽

Adam Fabisiak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Free Fatty Acid ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Future Directions ◽

Screening Programs ◽

Pharmacological Targets ◽

The Family ◽

Free Fatty Acid Receptors

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. In developed countries, its mortality remains high, yet the prevalence has established owing to effective screening programs; however due to the westernization of lifestyle, the incidences in many other countries have increased. Although the treatment of CRC has improved in the last few years, the side effects of these approaches cannot be neglected. Recently, members of the family of free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) have become attractive pharmacological targets in many diseases, including asthma; studies also point to their role in carcinogenesis. Here, we discuss current knowledge and future directions in FFAR research related to CRC. Contradictory results of FFARs modulation may derive from the pleiotropic effects of FFAR ligands, receptor distribution and different signal transduction. Hence, we indicate directions of further studies to fully use the potential of FFARs in CRC.

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Enterovirus D-68 Molecular Virology, Epidemiology, and Treatment: an update and way forward

Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1871526520666200715101230 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

Author(s):

Mahmoud Ahmed Ebada ◽

Notila Fayed ◽

Souad Alkanj ◽

Ahmed Wadaa Allah

Keyword(s):

Current Knowledge ◽

Rna Virus ◽

Neurological Diseases ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Serological Tests ◽

Molecular Virology ◽

Acute Flaccid Myelitis ◽

The Family ◽

Pcr Products ◽

Enterovirus D68

: Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus, and it is one of the family Picornaviridae. Except for EV-D68, the family Picornaviridae has been illustrated in literature. EV-D68 was first discovered and isolated in California, USA, in 1962. EV-D68 has resulted in respiratory disorders’ outbreaks among children worldwide, and it has been detected in cases of various neurological diseases such as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). A recent study documented a higher number of EV-D68 cases associated with AFM in Europe in 2016 compared to the 2014 outbreak. EV-D68 is mainly diagnosed by quantitative PCR, and there is an affirmative strategy for EV-D68 detection by using pan-EV PCR on the untranslated region and/or the VP1 or VP2, followed by sequencing of the PCR products. Serological tests are limited due to cross-reactivity of the antigens between the different serotypes. Many antiviral drugs for EV-D68 have been evaluated, and showed promising results. In our review, we discuss the current knowledge about EV-D68 and its role in the development of AFM.

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Parity without Equality

10.1093/oso/9780190851224.003.0009 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer M. Piscopo

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Party System ◽

Political Representation ◽

Costa Rican ◽

Women In Politics ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Economic Problems ◽

Crisis Of Representation ◽

Female Legislators ◽

Female President

Jennifer M. Piscopo examines how the crisis of representation in Costa Rica has placed a ceiling on gender equality in representation. The restructuring of the Costa Rican party system and party fragmentation has made electing multiple candidates from any one ballot more difficult. Top spots have become even more prestigious and more likely to be allocated to men, which reduces women’s electoral chances. Corruption scandals, party breakdown, citizen frustration, and economic problems tainted the administration of the nation’s first female president, Laura Chinchilla. Female legislators have often worked to promote women’s issues and feminist policies, but Chinchilla eschewed feminism, even though several of her policies did benefit women. Overall, her failed presidency may create difficulties for other women seeking top political offices and could have negative consequences for views of women in politics. These challenges notwithstanding, Piscopo concludes that Costa Rica remains at the vanguard of women’s political representation in Latin America.

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