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We studied the physicochemical characteristics and mycobiota associated to five key historic documents from Costa Rica, including the Independence Act of Costa Rica from 1821. We used nondestructive techniques (i.e., ATR-FTIR and XRF) to determine paper and ink composition. Results show that some documents are composed of cotton-based paper, whereas others were made of wood cellulose with an increased lignin content. We also determined that the ink employed in some of the documents is ferrogallic. Cultivation and molecular techniques were used to characterize the fungi inhabiting the documents. In total, 22 fungal isolates were obtained: 15 from the wood-cellulose-based documents and seven from the other three cotton-based. We also tested the cellulolytic activity of the recovered fungi; 95% of the fungi presented cellulolytic activity correlated to their ability to cause deterioration of the paper. Results suggest that cotton-based paper is the most resistant to fungal colonization and that most of the isolates have cellulolytic activity. This work increases the knowledge of the fungal diversity that inhabits historic documents and its relationship with paper composition and provides valuable information to develop strategies to conserve and restore these invaluable documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributions: The underrepresentation of women in computer science (CS) majors has long been a focus of attention in many academic documents, the majority of them from the United States and Europe. There is, however, a lack of information about educational interventions (EIs) for women in computing in Latin America. The contribution of this article is to cover this gap and describe what researchers in Latin American countries have been publishing about the recruitment and retention of women in the CS field. Background: Many EIs targeting female students at different educational levels—K-12, undergraduate, and graduate—have been undertaken to increase the participation of women in computing in Latin America. However, descriptions of these activities rarely are included in international academic databases. Research Questions: This literature mapping addresses two main research questions (RQ) about the topic of women in computing in academic publications in Latin American countries: RQ1) what are the characteristics of the publications about women in computing in Latin America? and RQ2) what are the published interventions to recruit and retain women in computing in Latin America? To answer RQ1, six subquestions were created covering year, language, country of origin, document type, and professional track. Furthermore, for RQ2, two subquestions were created involving educational level and the use of software development with a female theme. Methodology: This investigation used the systematic literature mapping process. To achieve a broad coverage of papers, the following sources were included: Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, EBSCO, the proceedings of the Latin American Women in Computing Conference (LAWCC), and those of the Women in Technology (WIT) workshop colocated with the annual conference of the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC). The included papers were published in the last decade (2010–2020) and written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Findings: The literature mapping encompasses 197 academic documents, 48.2% of which were written in Portuguese, 28.7% in English, and 23.1% in Spanish. The papers originated from 15 of the 20 Latin American countries. Brazil and Costa Rica have the highest number of publications overall. The documents describe initiatives to increase the participation of women in computing majors that cover the entire educational spectrum, from K-12 to graduate programs, but papers targeting populations in higher education have started to appear recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel theoretical framework for incorporating climate risks and adaptation investments into infrastructure debt pricing. Utilizing the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the framework extends the conventional modeling of infrastructure project revenues and costs to include climate risk considerations. It proposes three climate-informed revenue and cost formulations: adjustmentment of mean and standard deviation, incorporation of extreme climate events via Pareto and Poisson distributions, and a climate-informed cost model that includes adaptation investment. The paper demonstrates the application of this model in pricing a loan for a Light Rail Transit project in Costa Rica, introducing the concepts of "flood risk premium" and "adaptation curves". This study not only offers a novel lens through which to view infrastructure investment under climate uncertainty but also sets the stage for transformative policy and practice in financial risk assessment, encouraging a shift towards more sustainable and resilient infrastructure development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study analyses the concept of happiness management based on the empirical validation of the interactions between emotional wage, organisational justice and happiness at work. It complements a holistic view of the management models used in recent corporate governance. This perspective explores the dimension's emotional wage mediating role and influences on organisational justice and happiness at work. The effect of organisational justice on happiness at work is also analysed. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study is proposed. A sample of 502 workers in the education sector in Costa Rica was selected. A structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was developed to test the proposed theoretical model. The SPSS-AMOS 23 and SmartPLS 4 computer programs are used for this purpose. Findings: The results show that emotional wage has a positive impact on happiness at work and that it mediates positively between organisational justice and happiness at work. Developing organisational policies to include these variables as necessary resources for corporate governance is recommended. Research limitations/implications: The first limitation of this study is due to the type of sampling, which was purposive. The kind of population and the time of execution of this study were determining factors when deciding on the mode of application of the instrument. However, an attempt to reduce the bias associated with this element could be made by expanding the sample to as many respondents as possible. The second limitation was that the data were collected within a specific time frame. Longitudinal studies address Thcould. The third limitation stems from the scarcity of literature on happiness management. In this regard, this type of research currently needs to be explored in emerging economies. It makes it difficult to determine whether the empirical results obtained in this paper can be generalised to other territories in the global village. Moreover, the last limitation is that the authors of this research have only explored the moderating role of emotional pay in the relationship between the dimensions of organisational justice and happiness at work. It would be interesting to consider other mediating variables to have a clearer picture of the organisational justice–happiness at work construct from the happiness management approach. Practical implications: As already indicated throughout this research, emotional wage, organisational justice and happiness at work are constructs that positively drive employee satisfaction, motivation and well-being. Human talent management strategies undertaken by organisations should encourage the adaptation of actions that stimulate employees' quality of life, corporate social responsibility and ethical management practices to be more competitive in today's markets. It requires implementing the dynamic management models that provide internal customers with a high sense of belonging, job satisfaction and commitment to their professional performance. In other words, this will require robust leadership styles and corporate cultures that stimulate employee creativity, loyalty and innovation. For this reason, management of organisations must implement human resources policies to attract and retain creative talent through happy leadership. It requires, among other things that the philosophy of happiness management becomes a critical strategic resource for companies to promote nonfinancial benefits for employees, including emotional wage (Ruiz-Rodríguez et al., 2023). Social implications: In the current business environment, there has been a transformation in leadership styles, motivation and the development of a sense of belonging in organisations' human capital. Based on this trend, the study of happiness management becomes a social strategy to improve the conditions, in which the organisations compete to attract highly demanded human capital. It is why this research contributes elements that have an impact on citizenship by proposing the management models based on happiness at work and quality of life. Originality/value: This study adds to the happiness management literature by including emotional wage, organisational justice and happiness at work in human resources and strategic management. It also contributes to the academic debate on the need to formulate organisational cultures that empower workers in their professional performance based on happiness and positive emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isthmohyla insolita and Exerodonta catracha are Honduran hylids of uncertain phylogenetic relationships. In this paper we present a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes to study their relationships. Our results show that these species are, respectively, the sister taxon of and nested among the few available species of Plectrohyla, possibly the least studied genus of Hylini in terms of phylogenetic relationships. To solve the polyphyly of Exerodonta and Isthmohyla, both species are provisionally transferred to Plectrohyla, pending a broader phylogenetic study including all species in the genus. Consequently, Isthmohyla is restricted to a group of hylids endemic to the Isthmian highlands of Costa Rica and Panama in lower Central America. The inclusion of I. insolita in Plectrohyla implies another instance of independent evolution of terrestrial egg clutches in Hylini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tropical Grasslands / Forrajes Tropicales is the property of International Centre for Tropical Agriculture - CIAT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the American Museum of Natural History, New York, there is an old specimen labelled as "Holodromia harrisonwilliamsi Boone, MS name" that was collected from Cocos Island in 1925. This name has never been published. An examination of the specimen shows that it is a juvenile specimen of Homolodromia robertsi Garth, 1973, a species described from Peru, which has since been reported from Chile and off the coast of Ecuador. This paper reports on the specimen Homolodromia robertsi Garth found in Costa Rica for the first time, a discovery that extends the known range of this species northwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Rupturas is the property of Revista Rupturas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper summarizes the first results of the third specific objective of the research project: Digital Twin (DT) as a management tool for the programmed conservation plan (PCP), case study: Foyer and Smokers of the National Theater of Costa Rica (TNCR, by its Spanish acronym), developed with the support of the Vice Rectory of Research and Extension of the Technological Institute of Costa Rica. This objective aims to integrate graphic, non-graphic and linked information from the diagnostic stages of the PCP, through three-dimensional modeling, for the definition of conservation actions and future visualization of the DT. However, prior to modeling it was necessary to understand the composition of the structural system of the first body of the TNCR.The project has the information of the building systematized in documents and plans, both original and from subsequent studies and interventions, as well as a three-dimensional model made in 2021. However, there is no "as built" information after the construction or the interventions that have been carried out; in addition, the structural information of foundations, mezzanines and roofs is not integrated with the ornamental and pictorial information; that is, prior to this research there was no precise documentation of the structural elements that make up the study area and that support the heritage with artistic value of the building. Therefore, this paper presents the work carried out between June 2022 and March 2023 to identify and characterize the components of the Foyer and Smokers of the TNCR, using non-invasive techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This case study explores xenophobic sentiments and actions in Costa Rica during the refugee crisis from April to December 2018, caused by the internal political crisis in Nicaragua. By looking at Costa Rica's long histories of migration it is evident that xenophobic sentiments against Nicaraguans derive from long-lasting interconnections and migration movements between these two countries. This study demonstrates not only that much of nationalist and xenophobic discourses originate from prolonged historical arguments, but also that the global dimension of antimigration sentiments has to be considered. Using neo-institutionalist theory, in particular historical and sociological institutionalism, this paper explores how the history of migration in Costa Rica has contributed to the creation of Costa Rican nationalism. Furthermore, by combining past and present examples, namely the history of migrations between Nicaragua and Costa Rica and actions by nationalist groups on social media channels, this paper contributes to a historically centered analysis to one of the central issues of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using new continuous geodetic time series, we identify five shallow slow slip events (SSEs) offshore and beneath the Osa peninsula in southern Costa Rica. An early event was detected by one station in 2013, and two events occurring in close succession in both 2018 and 2022 were detected by multiple stations, indicating a preliminary recurrence interval of ∼4–5 years. While SSEs have been observed to the northwest at Nicoya, this is their first documentation in southern Costa Rica. Modeled slip distributions of the 2018 and 2022 events indicate they likely ruptured the same or overlapping patches of the plate interface, near the trench, updip of the 1983 Mw 7.4 Osa event. Immediately offshore, estimated cumulative slip from the 2018 and 2022 events is sufficient to close the slip deficit from tectonic loading over the recurrence interval, potentially limiting the magnitude and spatial slip distribution of future large ruptures. Plain Language Summary: Slow slip events (SSEs), effectively slow earthquake ruptures, are a phenomena that have been observed in many subduction zones around the world. While SSEs in subduction zones are often observed at depth, this is likely due to our observational capability being better when the events occur under land. By contrast, shallow events are more difficult to observe because they often occur under the ocean, despite their potential relationship to large, damaging, and/or tsunamigenic earthquakes. In this paper, we present research that identifies shallow slow slip events in a location where they have not been previously observed, the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica. In total we observe five shallow SSEs, sometimes occurring in pairs, that appear to rupture every ∼4–5 years. Additionally we suggest that the amount of slip in these events may be sufficient to account for all the tectonic convergence in some locations, potentially limiting the size of future large earthquakes. Key Points: We identify five slow slip events in southern Costa Rica, one in 2013, and two events occurring in close succession in both 2018 and 2022The recent four events likely ruptured the same shallow patch of the megathrust, extremely close to the Middle American TrenchEvents in 2018 and 2022 seem to release nearly all slip accumulated by plate motion over a ∼4 year recurrence interval in some locations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals should maximize their energy uptake while reducing the costs for foraging. For flower-visitors these costs and benefits are rather straight forward as the energy uptake equals the caloric content of the consumed nectar while the costs equal the handling time at the flower. Due to their energetically demanding lifestyle, flower-visiting bats face particularly harsh energetic conditions and thus need to optimize their foraging behavior at the flowers of the different plant species they encounter within their habitat. In flight cage experiments we examined the nectar-drinking behavior (i.e. hovering duration, nectar uptake, and the resulting feeding efficiency) of the specialized nectar-feeding bat Hylonycteris underwoodi and the more generalistic Glossophaga commissarisi at flowers of two plant species that constitute important nectar resources in the Caribbean lowland rainforests of Costa Rica and compared nectar-drinking behavior between both bat species and at both plant species. We hypothesized that the 1) specialized bat should outperform the more generalistic species and that 2) bats should generally perform better at flowers of the nectar-rich flowers of the bromeliad Werauhia gladioliflora than at the relatively nectar-poor flowers of the Solanaceae Merinthopodium neuranthum that has an extremely long flowering phase and therefore is an extremely reliable nectar resource, particularly for the specialized Hylonycteris. While we did not find substantial differences in the feeding efficiency of the generalist G. commissarisi, we observed an increased feeding efficiency of the specialized H. underwoodi at flowers of the nectar-poor M. neuranthum. This suggests that familiarity and ecological importance are more important determinants of the interaction than just morphological traits. Our results demonstrate that in addition to morphology, behavioral adaptations are also important drivers that determine the fitness of nectar-feeding bats. Both familiarity with and the ecological importance of a resource seem to contribute to shaping the interactions between pollinating bats and their plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costa Rica is widely regarded as a global leader in conservation practices. In the Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge (MNWLR), within Costa Rica's Northern Zone, a strong commitment to conservation has led to protecting highly biodiverse mature forests. However, a significant opportunity to strengthen conservation in this region is being overlooked at a great cost to the local community and environment: the protection of regenerating secondary forests. Secondary forests account for over 50% of global tropical forests and serve vital ecological and cultural functions. Within the MNWLR, many species in the secondary forests provide medicinal value to the rural communities where western medical care is difficult to access. Recent research, however, has shown that secondary forests in Costa Rica are re-cleared within 20 years, before they have accumulated the previously lost biomass and biodiversity. In this paper, we call for conservation and management strategies to incorporate community held knowledge about culturally significant species, and for there to be economic incentives for keeping secondary forests intact and for determining which forests are designated as Protected Areas. We discuss previous research with two trees that are common in secondary forests in the MNWLR (Vismia macrophylla and Pentaclethra macroloba), recognizing that these are some of the many species that have great potential to both the ecological and social communities. While our focus area is in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica, the integration of community use and local knowledge into conservation should be a global priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COI gene is widely used as a DNA barcode in animals that can assist in the identification of species. One of the widely used aggregators of DNA barcodes is the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD Systems), which contains around 2500 sequences of Tetrigidae, an understudied orthopteran family with unresolved taxonomy and species that are difficult to identify. In this paper, we provide a summary of the metadata provided with the COI sequences and present a phylogenetic analysis of photographically vouchered sequences using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analysis. We found that (1) the subfamily Tetriginae is disproportionately represented in the dataset, (2) most of the records are not identified beyond the family level, (3) most regions, except for Costa Rica, are undersampled, (4) most of the sequences do not have photographic vouchers, and (5) the taxonomic backbone of BOLD is out of date. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the clusters of COI barcodes mostly correspond to species, but some clusters remain ambiguous. The deeper nodes in the phylogenetic trees are not well-supported, indicating that this gene has a very weak phylogenetic signal beyond the specific level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ánfora is the property of Universidad Autonoma de Manizales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Innovar: Revista de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tourism is an activity that generates important benefits; in the case of Costa Rica, it focuses its activity on natural areas, using the different ecosystem services (ES) and obtaining economic and social benefits. However, its ecological value can diminish, making it necessary to implement methods to estimate its sustainability. This paper proposes an evaluation of tourism around ES by applying the MIVES method (Value Integrated Model for Sustainability Evaluation), based on the multi-attribute utility theory, which implies that it transforms different variables into a 0 to 1 relationship, where the closer it is to 1, the more sustainable it is. For this purpose, it considered a decision tree, integrating environmental, economic, and social requirements, 6 criteria, and 13 indicators. The method was applied to two sites, Golfito and Jimenez in Costa Rica. It considered the following stages: (i) literature review and expert consultation, (ii) decision tree, (iii) assignment of weights, (iv) sustainability indexes, and (v) sensitivity analysis. The most sustainable site is Jiménez, obtaining an overall index of 0.40 compared to 0.25 for Golfito. The economic and social requirements are the best evaluated, while the environmental requirement was the worst evaluated for both sites. The proposed methodology can be extrapolated to other natural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data papers and open databases have revolutionized contemporary science, as they provide the long‐needed incentive to collaborate in large international teams and make natural history information widely available. Nevertheless, most data papers have focused on species occurrence or abundance, whereas interactions have received much less attention. To help fill this gap, we have compiled a georeferenced data set of interactions between 93 bat species of the family Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) and 501 plant species of 68 families. Data came from 169 studies published between 1957 and 2007 covering the entire Neotropical Region, with most records from Brazil (34.5% of all study sites), Costa Rica (16%), and Mexico (14%). Our data set includes 2571 records of frugivory (75.1% of all records) and nectarivory (24.9%). The best represented bat genera are Artibeus (28% of all records), Carollia (24%), Sturnira (10.1%), and Glossophaga (8.8%). Carollia perspicillata (187), Artibeus lituratus (125), Artibeus jamaicensis (94), Glossophaga soricina (86), and Artibeus planirostris (74) were the bat species with the broadest diets recorded based on the number of plant species. Among the plants, the best represented families were Moraceae (17%), Piperaceae (15.4%), Urticaceae (9.2%), and Solanaceae (9%). Plants of the genera Cecropia (46), Ficus (42), Piper (40), Solanum (31), and Vismia (27) exhibited the largest number of interactions. These data are stored as arrays (records, sites, and studies) organized by logical keys and rich metadata, which helped to compile the information on different ecological and geographic scales, according to how they should be used. Our data set on bat–plant interactions is by far the most extensive, both in geographic and taxonomic terms, and includes abiotic information of study sites, as well as ecological information of plants and bats. It has already facilitated several studies and we hope it will stimulate novel analyses and syntheses, in addition to pointing out important gaps in knowledge. Data are provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please cite this paper when the data are used in any kind of publication related to research, outreach, and teaching activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall in the Moist Tropical Caribbean Region (MTCR) in Costa Rica occurs practically throughout the year, with the quarters June–August (JJA) and December–February (DJF) concentrating over 70% of annual rainfall. Contrarily, in March–April and September–October, it rains below 100 mm per month. This seasonal rainfall behavior makes the region ideal for producing bananas (Musa spp.) and pineapple (Ananas comosus) for export (10% and 8% of total exports in 2021, respectively). A national-scale study determined that agriculture in the MTCR is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate changes. However, the climate in this region has been poorly studied so far. This research analyzed the spatial and temporal variability of annual, monthly, and seasonal (DJF, JJA, SO) rainfall in the MTCR and how they change in the study period based on quality-checked series of daily rainfall from 28 weather stations in two periods: 1985–2009 and 1997–2019. The results show that rainfall regimes in the region are variable in space and throughout the year, with peaks occurring close to the mountain range and minimum values close to the coast. Trends were statistically significant in the period 1985–2009 with a predominance of significant positive trends in DJF and significant negative trends in SO. No significant trends (positive or negative) were observed in the period 1997–2019. JJA rainfall has uneven regional distribution and presents a positive and significant trend in the mountain region. This paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap in rainfall seasonality, variability, and trends in a region where banana and pineapple commercial plantations are fundamental to the country's economy thus providing information to decision-making in the agri-food sector to reduce the negative impacts of changing rainfall regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Economicas is the property of Universidad Nacional del Litoral and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Roosting habits of disk-winged bats of the genus Thyroptera (Chiroptera: Thyropteridae) have been unknown to very poorly known except for those of the commonly encountered T. tricolor. Many secondary literature publications state that roosting habits of Thyroptera in general are those of tricolor, known to roost almost exclusively in vertical, unfurling large leaves, especially of native Heliconia and introduced banana (genus Musa). However, so far as known, no other species of Thyroptera chooses such roosts. Until 1993, the only species of Thyroptera known were tricolor and discifera--they had been the only two known for 139 years. During this long period, the unique roosting habits of tricolor often were attributed to the genus as a whole, as sometimes still happens today. Now there are three more known species--lavali, devivoi, and wynneae. In this paper, we correct misconceptions concerning roosting habits in Thyroptera, summarize what is known for all five species, and provide the first detailed observations on roosting in discifera. Thyroptera discifera has been found roosting attached to the underside of a palm leaflet or leaflets in Brazil and in conically curled portions of dead banana leaves in Costa Rica. Los hábitos de selección de refugios de los murciélagos de ventosas del género Thyroptera (Chiroptera: Thyropteridae) han sido desconocidos o muy poco conocidos, con excepción a los hábitos de T. tricolor, que es la especie que se encuentra comúnmente. Muchas publicaciones de literatura secundaria afirman que los hábitos de selección de refugio de los Thyroptera en general son los mismos que los de tricolor, que son conocidos por descansar casi exclusivamente en hojas grandes verticales y parcialmente enrolladas, especialmente hojas de Heliconia nativa y banano introducido (género Musa). Sin embargo, por el momento no se conoce ninguna otra especie de Thyroptera que elija este tipo de refugio. Hasta 1993, las únicas especies de Thyroptera conocidas eran tricolor y discifera y habían sido las únicas dos especies conocidas durante 139 años. Durante este largo período, los hábitos particulares de selección de refugios de tricolor frecuentemente se atribuyeron a todo género, como a veces todavía sucede hoy en día. Actualmente se conocen tres especies más en este género: lavali, devivoi y wynneae. En este artículo, corregimos los conceptos erróneos sobre selección de refugios en Thyroptera, resumimos lo que se conoce de las cinco especies y brindamos las primeras observaciones detalladas sobre la selección de refugios de discifera. Thyroptera discifera se ha encontrado descansando adherido a la parte inferior de un folíolo o folíolos de palma en Brasil y en porciones de hojas muertas de plátano enrolladas cónicamente en Costa Rica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of NovaRUA Revista Universitaria de Administracion is the property of NovaRUA Revista Universitaria de Administracion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Grande de Tárcoles River in Costa Rica is one of the most polluted and degraded river basins in Central America. At the same time Costa Rica is a country internationally recognized for progressive environmental management. At least on paper, the country fosters sustainable river management in the form of integrated water resources management (IWRM). In the specific case of the Grande de Tárcoles River there is the General Integral Commission of the Grande Tárcoles River basin (CGICRGT) assigned to manage the basin in an integral manner. How this works in practice has so far not been investigated. Therefore, in this article we examine the formal and informal design and working practices of the CGICRGT and determine which type of river basin organization (RBO) it represents. Based on a mixed-method approach combining document analysis with semi-structured qualitative interviews we found that the CGICRGT contains elements of both, an agency RBO and a coordinating RBO. Although coordinating the river management works well to a certain extent, critical challenges remain that hinder a fully successful management of the basin and in consequence the improvement of its ecological status. Amongst them count the overlapping responsibilities of national and local institutions, the missing participation of some important institutions, the lack of financial and personnel resources, slow progress in terms of time, and a lack of motivation of the participating institutions. Although the CGICRGT presents an excellent platform for the integrated management of the Tárcoles river basin its progress will be too slow and its impact too small as long as all participants do not prioritize its work and integrate and motivate all important actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the role of private sector companies in the development of local amenities. We use evidence from one of the largest multinationals of the 20th century: the United Fruit Company (UFCo). The firm was given a large land concession in Costa Rica—one of the so‐called "Banana Republics"—from 1899 to 1984. Using administrative census data with census‐block geo‐references from 1973 to 2011, we implement a geographic regression discontinuity design that exploits a land assignment that is orthogonal to our outcomes of interest. We find that the firm had a positive and persistent effect on living standards. Company documents explain that a key concern at the time was to attract and maintain a sizable workforce, which induced the firm to invest heavily in local amenities—like the development of education and health infrastructure—that can account for our result. Consistent with this mechanism, we show, empirically and through a proposed model, that the firm's investment efforts increase with worker mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psicologia Educativa is the property of Colegio Oficial de Psicologos de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Disturbances can alter the structure and function of ecosystems. In stream ecosystems, changes in discharge and physicochemistry at short, intermediate, and long recurrence intervals can affect food webs and ecosystem processes. In this paper, we compare pH regimes in streams at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, where episodic acidification frequency across the stream network varies widely due to buffering from inputs of bicarbonate‐rich interbasin groundwater. To examine the effects of acidification on ecosystem structure and function, we experimentally increased the buffering capacity of a headwater stream reach and compared it to an unbuffered upstream reach. We compared these reaches to a naturally buffered and unbuffered reaches of a second headwater stream. We quantified ecosystem structural (macroinvertebrate assemblages on leaf litter and coarse woody debris) and functional responses (leaf litter and coarse woody debris decomposition rates, and growth rates of a focal insect taxon [Diptera: Chironomidae]). Non‐metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity revealed that macroinvertebrate assemblages were relatively homogenous across the four study reaches, although the naturally buffered reach was the most dissimilar. Ecosystem function, as measured by chironomid growth rates, was greater in the naturally buffered reach, while decomposition rates did not differ across the four reaches. Our results indicate that biological assemblages are adapted to pH regimes of frequently acidified stream reaches. Our experiment informs the effects on structure and function at short time scales in streams that experience moderate acidification, but larger magnitude acidification events in response to hydroclimatic change, as projected under climate change scenarios, may induce stronger responses in streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the genotypes of Musa textilis and its fiber production properties is key for developing cultivars with homogeneous properties and focusing on specific products or market segments that generate added value to the fiber. For this reason, the objective was to determine the optimal use of five genotypes of M. textilis (MT01, MT03, MT07, MT11, and CF01) with high productivity grown in the tropical region of Costa Rica. Therefore, anatomical, physical-mechanical, chemical, and energetic analyses were carried out on these fibers to define whether any genotype has the ideal conditions for a specific use. The results showed differences between the genotypes, obtaining significant differences in physical-mechanical properties (tension, water retention, and color), chemical properties (holocellulose, lignin, extractives, and elemental values of nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur), and energetic properties (volatiles, ash, and caloric value thermogravimetric analyses), which resulted in the establishment of two groups of genotypes with a dissimilarity degree of 35%. The first group, composed of MT03 and MT01, presented characteristics suitable for paper production, biodegradable materials, and composite materials. On the other hand, the second group, made up of MT07, MT11, and CF01, showed properties suitable for textiles, heavy-duty fibers, and bioenergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Irrational antimicrobial consumption (AMC) became one of the main global health problems in recent decades. Objective: In order to understand AMC in Latin-American Region, we performed the present research in 6 countries. Methods: Antimicrobial consumption (J01, A07A, P01AB groups) was registered in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Peru. Source of information, AMC type, DDD (Defined Daily Doses), DID (DDD/1000 inhabitants/day), population were variables explored. Data was analyzed using the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) tool. Results: Source of information included data from global, public, and private sectors. Total AMC was highly variable (range 1.91-36.26 DID). Penicillin was the most consumed group in all countries except in Paraguay, while macrolides and lincosamides were ranked second. In terms of type of AMC according to the WHO-AWaRe classification, it was found that for certain groups like "Reserve," there are similarities among all countries. Conclusion and Relevance: This paper shows the progress that 6 Latin-American countries made toward AMC surveillance. The study provides a standardized approach for building a national surveillance system for AMC data analysis. These steps will contribute to the inclusion of Latin-America among the regions of the world that have periodic, regular, and quality data of AMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Loggia, Arquitectura & Restauración is the property of Universidad Politecnica de Valencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Exploitation of natural forests forms expanding frontiers. Simultaneously, protected area frontiers aim at maintaining functional habitat networks. To assess net effects of these frontiers, we examined 16 case study areas on five continents. We (1) mapped protected area instruments, (2) assessed their effectiveness, (3) mapped policy implementation tools, and (4) effects on protected areas originating from their surroundings. Results are given as follows: (1) conservation instruments covered 3–77%, (2) effectiveness of habitat networks depended on representativeness, habitat quality, functional connectivity, resource extraction in protected areas, time for landscape restoration, "paper parks", "fortress conservation", and data access, (3) regulatory policy instruments dominated over economic and informational, (4) negative matrix effects dominated over positive ones (protective forests, buffer zones, inaccessibility), which were restricted to former USSR and Costa Rica. Despite evidence-based knowledge about conservation targets, the importance of spatial segregation of conservation and use, and traditional knowledge, the trajectories for biodiversity conservation were generally negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Politics in Latin America is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In issue 183 of the Journal of Social Sciences, different studies are presented on voices and career paths, identities, and resistances. One of the studies analyzes the working conditions of call center workers in Costa Rica and their perspective on their work. Another study investigates the waist weaving done by female artisans in Peru and their contribution to the preservation of cultures and identities. The implementation of the Supported Employment method in companies in Mérida, Mexico, for people with disabilities is also examined. In addition, bibliometric analyses of graduation papers in Anthropology are presented, as well as reflections on mobilizations in El Salvador, the perception of insecurity among university students in Ecuador, Bourdieu's social critique, and the concept of inequality in political discourse in Costa Rica. [Extracted from the article]

This paper studies the ex-post trade effects of China's multilateral, regional and bilateral trade liberalization using augmented gravity and panel data estimation methods for the period 1995–2016. China's accession to the WTO was revealed to have had a significant impact on the volume of trade as well as on bilateral exports and imports. Regional trade agreements and the majority of bilateral trade agreements were found not to be effective in increasing China's foreign trade. Only the agreements with Chile, Costa Rica and Switzerland were effective in increasing China's trade volume. Moreover, the results for Chile were driven by increases in both exports and imports, while for Costa Rica and Switzerland only by increased imports from these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua is the property of Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua (IMTA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The quality of water in many urban rivers in Latin America is increasingly degrading due to wastewater and runoff discharges from urban sprawl. Due to deficits in sanitary drainage systems, greywater is discharged to the stormwater drainage network generating a continuous dry-weather runoff that reaches rivers without treatment. One of the main challenges in the region is to achieve sustainable management of urban runoff for the recovery of rivers ecosystem integrity. However, retrofitting conventional centralized wastewater drainage networks into the existing urban grid represents important social, economic and technical challenges. This paper presents an alternative adaptive methodology for the design of Nature-based Solutions for decentralized urban runoff treatment. Through this study, technical solutions commonly used for stormwater management were adapted for dry-weather runoff treatment and co-designed for the particular conditions of a representative study area, considering space availability as the main constraining factor for retrofitting in urban areas. The application of a co-design process in a dense neighbourhood of the Great Metropolitan area of Costa Rica brought to light valuable insights about conditions that could be hindering the implementation of NBS infrastructures in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks have become essential means of communication and have modified the concept of political communication. Social media have nowadays an increasingly important impact on election campaigns worldwide, and, therefore, the latest election processes within the Latin-American context are ideal environments for this analysis, due to both the volatility and the richness of the political-electoral competition, and their capacity to influence the exchange of political information through the different emotions of the audiences. This paper presents a systematized study of the communication that took place in social media during the first round of the 2022 Costa Rican electoral process (February 6th). The information has been collected from the data available at the Digital Media Communication Observatory of the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, using the social listening tools Minerva Data, Kantar IBOPE Media's Adspend and Mention, with the objective of revealing the digital conversation trends in this campaign, an unprecedented electoral process with 25 presidential candidates. The reports from the Digital Communication Observatory show the evolution of the electorate's behavior in terms of interaction, sentiment, topics and voting intention, during the first round of the 2022 electoral process, as well as the general dynamics perceived in the social media and public web environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic and anthropogenic changes cause the deprivation of distinct ecosystems in Costa Rica, transforming climatic, ecological, and geomorphic conditions. The high tropical biodiversity of Costa Rica and the tropics is suitable to improve the understanding of hydrogeomorphic process dynamics and to produce baseline data on past disasters in scarce-data regions. The principal motivation to connect natural hazards and dendrochronology on tropics is the desire to create methods that can reduce its exposure and vulnerability. The principal research aim of this study is to give reference data that can improve the understanding of hydrogeomorphic processes and to explore the potential of tropical trees in dendrochronological applications. This paper combines remote sensing, meteorological assessments, and dendrochronology analyses, hydraulic modelling, and risk assessments. This innovative research describes the reduced understanding in treering analysis in Costa Rica related with past disasters and their linkage to climate. This study will likely contribute to the implementation of new methodologies in disaster risk research, and it will promote future adaptation strategies in the most biodiverse region of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teak has been planted extensively by smallholders in Central America within reforestation programmes and has become one of the most valuable timbers. The five-year growth and mortality of teak cultivated in a plantation in central Nicaragua, representing sites at the low limit of teak ecological valence, were evaluated. From 2006 to 2010, 72 pure teak stands were established, with 48.93 ha in total. For afforestation, planting stock from five provenances was used and planted at 1 m × 1 m spacing to stimulate the height growth and reduce broad crowns formed by self-pruning. In the pure teak stands, 144 permanent sample plots of 0.01 ha in size were established in 2011. From 2011 until 2015, the tree height and stem girth of all individuals in the studied sample plots were measured, and mortality based on the stand density was assessed. Significant differences between the provenances were observed. The highest growth was noted in the Local provenance originated from the studied area, whereas the Semilla provenance from Costa Rica, characterised by the lowest growth ability, was characterized by lower radial increment and mean tree height with high mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an investigation carried out with the objective of estimating the impact of variations in maize international price on the poultry meat domestic price in Costa Rica. For the transmission of international price to CIF import price of maize (main ingredient in the chicken diet), a distributed lag autoregressive model was used after testing for cointegration of time series. The selling price to the final consumer was modeled with a reduced-form structural model. The results show how the international price of maize has an important impact on the formation of domestic chicken meat prices and requires that this be considered in the design of policies to reduce the dependence on the international price, which has a negative impact on the price in cases of unexpected increases or shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile technologies are part of children's everyday lives. However, little is known about their context of use in Latin America. The goal of this paper is to describe how Costa Rican caregivers and their children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old use smartphones and tablets. A mixed-methods approach was used, including two studies. Study 1 used non-participant observations to analyze family interactions related to smartphone use in food court areas in shopping malls. A total of 22 children were observed while interacting with their caregivers and their use of smartphones was registered (N = 269 events) and classified according to (a) the person who used the smartphone and (b) the actions that took place during its use. Results indicated smartphones were mostly used by caregivers (n = 226, 84.01 %), followed by a co-use to take pictures or make videos (n = 27, 10.03 %). Children's use was infrequent (n = 16, 5.94 %). During caregivers' use, children usually engaged in activities that did not involve their caretaker, such as silently eating, interacting with another adult not using a smartphone at the moment or looking around. When children attempted to interact with their caregivers while they were using their smartphones, caregivers rarely responded. No disruptive behaviors on children were observed after caregivers' lack of response. Using a survey methodology, Study 2 explored children's and caregivers' use of mobile devices at home. A total of 42.9 % of caregivers reported they sometimes facilitate a device to their children to be able to accomplish other domestic and work-related tasks, as well as to satisfy personal needs. Daily duration of caregivers' use of devices was longer on weekdays (M = 207 minutes, SD = 116.02) than weekends (M = 164.25 minutes, SD = 118.54). Caregivers' daily duration of use was related to children's daily duration of use during weekdays (r = .414) and weekends (r = .451), and during caregiving time on weekdays (r = .328) and weekends (r = .541). Using a Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = always), the children's consumed content was explored. Findings indicate that children mostly consumed content from YouTube (M = 3.60, SD = 1.14) and children's educational apps (M = 3.13, SD = 1.5). Use of educational videogames (M = 3.27, SD = 1.34), puzzle-like videogames (M = 2.36, SD = 1.26) and word games (M = 2.23, SD = 1.14) was more frequent than action (M= 1.48, SD = 1.02) and sports videogames (M= 1.55, SD = 0.93). Educational televised programs (M = 3.58, SD = 1.10) and musical cartoons (M = 3.27, SD = 1.11) were frequently consumed by children. A total of 47.2 % of caregivers also indicated that they always accompany their children while they use devices at home. Caregivers reported a higher use of technological restrictive mediation (M = 4.14, SD = 1.14) and supervision (M = 4.1, SD = 1.11), followed by instructive (M = 3.93, SD = 1.19) and co-use mediation (M= 3.62, SD = 1.14). On a scale of 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive), caregivers indicated that physical activity (M = 1.72, SD = 1.07) and sleep (M = 2.09, SD = .96) were most negatively affected by children's device use, whereas mathematical (M = 3.36, SD = 1.04) and linguistic skills (M = 3.44, SD = 1.13) were the most positively affected. This study's results provide a preliminary understanding of the context of use of mobile technology during caregiving of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World Health Organization (WHO) / Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) encouraged the utilization of whole-of-society and whole-of-government strategic approaches to increase countries' resilience towards mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategies included the implementation of multi-sectoral, multi-partner and multi-stakeholder planning, coordination, consultation, and action. We reviewed the experiences of three Latin American and Caribbean countries, related to the implementation of collaborative strategies in tackling COVID-19, specifically the nature of the collaboration, the dynamics and the stakeholders involved. A systematic literature review identified relevant publications and content analysis was conducted to determine the collaborative strategies. Colombia, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago were selected as case studies since they were from different LAC subregions and because of the accessibility of relevant literature. In the three countries, the pandemic response was coordinated by a national executive committee, led by the Ministry of Health. Intersectoral collaboration was evident in each, with the key stakeholders being public sector agencies, the private/corporate sector, private/non-profit, academic institutions, and international agencies. It was used primarily to facilitate data-driven, evidenced-informed decision-making and guidelines; to expand clinical care capacity and strengthen the national medical response; and to provide support for the most vulnerable populations. While the institutionalization of intersectoral collaboration can be recommended for the health sector beyond the pandemic, research is needed to evaluate the impact of specific collaborative strategies as well as barriers and facilitators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nevertheless, the response was not uniform between farms in Costa Rica while high and medium productivity groupings of farms had higher EBITDA, low and very low productivity farms experienced a decline similar to Guatemala. The difference in performance of farm groups in Costa Rica was due to a decline in production per hectare of the lower productivity group; while the difference between Guatemala and Costa Rica was firstly due to price differences, and secondarily due to lower productivity of some farm groups. The investment of Costa Rican farmers was undoubtedly supported by the substantially increased price received by farmers (as compared to Guatemala), reflected in the increase in export price of coffee from Costa Rica relative to Guatemala. This shows the importance of farmers receiving higher prices for their produce in enabling them to cover increasing production costs, invest in increasing productivity and maintain profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) shows variable response to therapy, but data on species-specific treatment efficacy is scarce. We describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with ACL imported to a tertiary centre in Germany and determine whether species-specific therapy according to the 2014 "LeishMan" group recommendations is associated with cure. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at the Charité Institute of International Health in Berlin. We analysed data on PCR-confirmed ACL cases collected between 2000 and 2023. Systemic therapy included liposomal amphotericin B, miltefosine, pentavalent antimony, ketoconazole or itraconazole. Localized therapy included perilesional pentavalent antimony or paromomycin ointment. Cure was defined as re-epithelialization of ulcers or disappearance of papular-nodular lesions after 3 months of treatment. Logistic regression models were used to quantify the effect of species-specific systemic therapy on the outcome. Results: 75 cases were analysed. Most patients were male (62%), median age was 35 years, no patient had a history of immunosuppression. The most common reason for travel was tourism (60%), the most common destination was Costa Rica (28%), the median duration of illness was 8 weeks, and most patients presented with ulcers (87%). Lesions were complex in 43%. The most common Leishmania (L.) species was L. braziliensis (28%), followed by L. panamensis (21%). 51/73 (70%) patients were cured after initial therapy and 17/21 (81%) after secondary therapy. Cure after systemic therapy was more frequent when species-specific treatment recommendations were followed (33/45; 73%), compared to when not followed, (6/17; 35%, P = 0.008). This association was independent of age, sex, previous therapy, complex lesions, and Leishmania species (adjusted OR, 5.06; 95% CI, 1.22–24.16). Conclusions: ACL is a rare, imported disease in Germany. Complex lesions were common, challenging successful therapy. This study highlights the importance of identifying the parasite species and suggests that a species-specific approach to treatment leads to better outcomes. Author summary: American cutaneous leishmaniasis is a skin disease caused by parasites that are transmitted through the bite of sandflies. It is considered as a neglected tropical disease. In non-endemic countries like Germany, this disease is rarely seen and is imported by migrants or travellers who have been infected in tropical or subtropical areas of the Americas. Experts suggest that the treatment should be given depending on the specific parasite species found in the affected skin, but there is still a scarcity of information on the optimal management strategy. We analysed 75 American cutaneous leishmaniasis cases seen between 2000 and 2023 at our German medical centre. Most patients were men, around 35 years of age, who most commonly travelled to the Americas for tourism. We found that when using systemic medications (i.e., given by mouth, injection or drip into a vein), that were recommended for the specific parasite type, patients were more likely to be cured, with a 73% success rate, compared to a mere 35% success rate when those recommendations were not followed. This highlights the importance of identifying the species that is causing the disease, and suggests that tailoring treatment to the specific parasite species increases the chances of cure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costa Rica emerged from the seas as a new geological territory during the Miocene as an insular archipelago. It later became part of a continental area once it became a segment of Central America. Two dung beetle genera that colonized this new territory from South and North America, Canthidium and Onthophagus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), are here studied, in the first analysis of a volcanic paleo‐archipelago, colonized from its emergence, and then later becoming terra firma. To assess their biodiversity distribution patterns, we analyzed the effect of biogeography, ecosystem origins, and body size on their altitudinal distribution patterns in three geographic basins of Costa Rica. Based on 32 years of collecting representing more than 158,000 specimens from 1017 localities, we undertook Generalized Linear Models of the two dung beetle genera to assess the effects of biodiversity and biogeographical distribution patterns. Canthidium and Onthophagus species ranged from 0 to 3000 m a.s.l., with an abrupt diversity decline at altitudes above 1500 m. Endemic species tended to show a higher altitudinal mean with a narrow altitudinal band distribution than non‐endemic dung beetle species. Although there was a trend of decreasing species body size with the increase in altitude, such a trend depended on the distribution pattern of the species group. This possible insular‐mediated endemicity mechanism has generated baffling biodiversity levels, considered the highest worldwide per unit area. Costa Rica is an expanse represented by a geographic overlap of two or more temporally disjunct areas and is not part of a natural transition zone. The effect of the insular Miocene origin of Costa Rica still pervades today, reflected by different insular syndromes shown by the dung beetle fauna. The importance of geological origins in generating biodiversity seems to have been an underrated criterion for conservation biology practices and should be considered ex officio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arachnology Letters / Arachnologische Mitteilungen is the property of Arachnologische Gesellschaft e.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Environmental variation commonly drives functional trait diversity within species, among species, and across communities. Climate and shared evolutionary history can both influence trait–environment relationships. We studied variation in plant functional traits among closely related Costus species occurring across environmental gradients, the extent to which this variation occurs within single species, and how that variation may be influenced by shared evolutionary history. We measured leaf, aboveground stem, rhizome, and fine root traits of 17 species of Costus in eight sites in Costa Rica and Panama, which varied in elevation, temperature, and precipitation. We then assessed the relationships among traits and environmental variables and estimated the phylogenetic signal of the traits. We observed significant relationships between functional traits and climate. Stomatal conductance decreased, but stem density and rhizome dry matter content increased with decreasing mean annual temperature and precipitation seasonality in both cross‐species and single‐species analyses. This suggests that herbaceous species have a similar trade‐off between plant hydraulic efficiency and safety as found in woody plants. Mean annual temperature was a stronger driver of trait variation than mean annual precipitation. We also found phylogenetic signal in leaf and stem structural traits (i.e., closely related species are more similar than distantly related species), but not in physiological or belowground traits. Our results demonstrate significant trait variation within and among species of Costus, a widespread understory and herbaceous genus in the tropics, which is driven by both climate and shared evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]