Fibroporia gossypium isolated from an indoor environment in Argentina

Using culture studies and molecular techniques, the brown rot polypore Fibroporia gossypium was identified from a cellar in an old building of Buenos Aires city, the second record of the species in an urban environment in Argentina. The fungus formed large mycelial masses hanging from a wooden support and growing on the walls but did not form basidiomes. The conspecificity of specimens from distant regions is considered and the origin of the present finding is discussed.

Proposal for a smart city index for municipalities in Argentina

The development of smart cities has yielded into a desirable objective among many cities around the world. International indexes of smart cities focus on large urban cities without interest on intermediate cities of developing countries. This paper pretends to fill this gap by proposing a smart city index for the capital cities in Argentina, together with Buenos Aires City and Bahia Blanca. The index is compound of four dimensions: Environment, Governance, Society and ICT, and Mobility and Transport which are based on a set of indicators. Data emerges from official websites and national statistics. In the case of Bahia Blanca, a wider smart city index with subjective indicators from an online survey is built. Alternative versions of the index, weighted (according to the vision of citizens, enterprises and politicians) and non-weighted are provided. Results show that the cities of Bahia Blanca, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires and Cordoba are the third smartest cities in Argentina.

Green in times of COVID-19: urban green space relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Buenos Aires City

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the way we perceive our world. This study explores its particular effect on Urban Green Space (UGS) perception ín Buenos Aires City (CABA), Argentina. We provide a detailed overview of the distribution of UGS in CABA, along with an analysis of visitors' profile and perception before and during the restrictive measures adopted by the national authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak (July to December of 2020). We conducted a series of surveys based on open and closed questions. Before the pandemic, surveys were carried out in situ in eight parks of six districts, randomly chosen. During the confinement, online surveys were conducted. According to our results, the mean UGS density in CABA is 6.09 m2 /person, but marked differences between districts exist, ranging from 0.02 m2 /person to 17.68 m2 /person. This uneven distribution causes differences in the quality of life of CABA inhabitants, perhaps more pronounced during reduced-mobility situations like COVID-19 confinement. Regarding UGS visitors, before the confinement, the majority of respondents were employees or students; during the confinement, employees and retirees predominated. When asked to choose important attributes to describe their perception about the UGS from a given list, respondents selected “calm,” “green,” and “sounds of nature,” without differences before and during the confinement. However, when asked about the UGS role, the main answer was “a place to be with nature” before the confinement and “an important place in the city” during it. Understanding how society perceives the UGS, especially during crises, is essential to rethink the urban landscape and prepare our cities for a more sustainable future.

Bird Taxonomic and Functional Diversity in Three Habitats in Buenos Aires City, Argentina

Urban green spaces (UGS), such as parks and wooded streets, are open areas with vegetation that provide sustainability to urban areas. However, their role in conserving bird diversity in neotropical cities has scarcely been analyzed. The aim of this study was to analyze the variation of bird assemblages in non-wooded streets, wooded streets, and parks in Buenos Aires City, Argentina. We compared the taxonomic and functional diversity between these habitat types. We selected five non-wooded streets, five wooded streets, and five parks in the city. Bird surveys were performed in 100 m long and 50 m wide transects. We found that taxonomic diversity had the greatest value in the parks, followed by wooded streets, and then the non-wooded streets. Functional diversity was similar between habitats. The taxonomic and functional composition changed between habitats. Non-wooded streets were dominated by the Rock Dove (Columba livia) and the Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata), whereas parks had the highest abundance of the Picazuro Pigeon (Patagioenas picazuro) and the Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris). Non-wooded streets were dominated by omnivorous and granivorous species, whereas parks had a higher abundance of herbivorous and frugivorous species. The positive association between UGS and bird diversity highlights the role of UGS as biodiversity conservation sites in neotropical cities.

Television journalism, crime news and sourcing practices: findings from Argentina

This paper presents the results of a research project on the new modes of production of television crime news. The enquiry involved monitoring television newscasts of the five major channels in Buenos Aires City and interviews with news workers. We analyze the news content, the ways of narrating and enunciating crime news on television, the role played by the police in the structure of the news, the emergence of new sources of information and the production routines of crime news. Our findings suggest that most of the newscasts on television give prominence to crime news within their agendas and that its production and presentation has changed as the result of the spread of digital technologies as sources of information.

Medicinal plants linked to the Andean heritage and commercialized for skin conditions in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina

This contribution is part of Urban Ethnobotany and includes the registry of 14 species of medicinal plants linked to the Andean heritage and their derived products used to treat skin affections in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Information on these species (their assigned local uses) was obtained from interviews with local informants and from other sources, such as labels, brochures and catalogs, print, and the Internet. A bibliographic review was carried out on the biological activity and effects studied in order to evaluate its correspondence with the assigned local uses. Of the total, nine species (70%) have academic studies related to skin conditions and that are correlated with their local uses. With respect to the commercialized products, half of the species have products that are exclusive to the Bolivian immigrant sector known as “Mercado Boliviano”, Liniers neighborhood (Buenos Aires city).

Medicinal plants linked to the Andean heritage and commercialized for skin conditions in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina

This contribution is part of Urban Ethnobotany and includes the registry of 14 species of medicinal plants linked to the Andean heritage and their derived products used to treat skin affections in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Information on these species (their assigned local uses) was obtained from interviews with local informants and from other sources, such as labels, brochures and catalogs, print, and the Internet. A bibliographic review was carried out on the biological activity and effects studied in order to evaluate its correspondence with the assigned local uses. Of the total, nine species (70%) have academic studies related to skin conditions and that are correlated with their local uses. With respect to the commercialized products, half of the species have products that are exclusive to the Bolivian immigrant sector known as “Mercado Boliviano”, Liniers neighborhood (Buenos Aires city).

Effect of Parental Photoperiod on Body Size and Developmental Time of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Buenos Aires City

Many insects use photoperiod as a signal to anticipate upcoming unfavorable conditions. Photoperiod sensitivity may be a relevant factor in Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.) populations at the cool margins of the species’ range, where winter conditions have a strong effect on population dynamics. In this study, we evaluated the effect of parental photoperiod on preimaginal survival and developmental time, and on wing length for the first generation of Ae. aegypti from a temperate region (Buenos Aires City, Argentina). Our experiment started with eggs from parents exposed to short-day (SD; 10:14 [L:D]) or long-day (LD; 14:10 [L:D]) photoperiods during their entire life span. Eggs were stored under the same photoperiod (SD or LD) as their parents for 91 d, until immersion. After hatching, larvae were reared until adult emergence in thermal baths at one of two constant temperatures (17 or 23°C), at a photoperiod of 12:12 (L:D) h and fed ad libitum. Survival from larva I to adult emergence was not affected either by parental photoperiod or rearing temperature. At a rearing temperature of 23°C, female offspring from the SD parental photoperiod developed faster and had shorter wings compared with those from the LD parental photoperiod. No effect of parental photoperiod was observed on female offspring reared at 17°C. In male offspring, parental photoperiod had no effect on developmental time and wing length, independently of the rearing temperature. Results indicate that the parental photoperiod may affect some offspring traits. This effect may be a characteristic of Ae. aegypti populations in temperate regions to deal with the winter conditions.