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ABSTRACT Aim Previous studies have developed strong, site-specific relationships between canopy metrics from lidar (light detecting and ranging) remote sensing data and forest structural characteristics such as above-ground biomass (AGBM), but the generality of these relationships is unknown. In this study, we examine the generality of relationships between lidar metrics and forest structural characteristics, including AGBM, from two study areas in Central America with different precipitation patterns. Location A series of tropical moist forest sites in Panama and a tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. Methods Canopy metrics (e.g. canopy height) were calculated from airborne lidar data. Basal area, mean stem diameter and AGBM were calculated from measurements taken as a part of ongoing forest dynamics studies in both areas. We examined the generality of relationship between lidar metrics and forest structure, and possible environmental effects (e.g. leaf phenology). Results We found that lidar metrics were strongly correlated (R 2: 0.65–0.92) with mean stem diameter, basal area and AGBM in both regions. We also show that the relationships differed between these regions. Deciduousness of canopy trees in the tropical moist forest area accounted for the differences in predictive equations for stem diameter and basal area. The relationships between lidar metrics and AGBM, however, remained significantly different between the two study areas even after adjusting for leaf drop. We attribute this to significant differences in the underlying allometric relationships between stem diameter and AGBM in tropical wet and moist forests. Conclusions Important forest structural characteristics can be estimated reliably across a variety of conditions sampled in these closed-canopy tropical forests. Environmental factors such as drought deciduousness have an important influence on these relationships. Future efforts should continue to examine climatic factors that... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We report on new standards for estimating long bone length from incomplete bones for use in forensic and archaeological contexts in Central America. The measurements we use closely follow those defined by Steele ([1970] Personal Identification in Mass Disasters; Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution), but we add several new landmarks. We measured the femur, humerus, tibia, and fibula of 100 Maya skeletons (68 males, 32 females) recovered from forensic exhumations. We derived the equations by recessing bone segment length on bone length, and solved for bone length to maximize the utility of the equations for taller populations. We generated equations for all segments that were significantly correlated with bone length for males, for females, and for both sexes combined, but accepted only regressions with r² > 0.85 as reliable. Landmarks defined by muscle attachment sites were more variable in location than landmarks on articular architecture; thus we retained few equations that use these landmarks. We tested the male and combined sex equations on 36 males of unknown ethnicity exhumed from a military base in Guatemala, and found that the equations performed satisfactorily. We also evaluated the performance of equations by Steele ([1970] Personal Identification in Mass Disasters; Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution) and Jacobs ([1992] Am J Phys Anthropol 89:333-345) on the Maya bones, and conclude that significant population variation in long bone proportions hinders their application in Central America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic and virulence variability of 112 isolates of Phaeoisariopsis griseola , collected from various locations in Central America, were studied using seven random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers and 12 common-bean differential genotypes. Broad molecular diversity (H = 0·92) among isolates was found using RAPD markers. Fifty pathotypes were identified on 12 differential bean genotypes, 29 of which were represented by only one isolate. Only 18 pathotypes were found in two or more countries. Pathotype 63-63 was the most virulent and caused leaf spots on all 12 common-bean differential genotypes. Comparison of virulence phenotypes and RAPD profiles to known Andean P. griseola isolates confirmed that all isolates belonged to the Mesoamerican group. Pairwise comparison between individual RAPD loci showed that the majority were in gametic phase linkage disequilibrium, revealing that P. griseola maintains a genetic structure that is consistent with asexual reproduction. The molecular and virulence diversities of P. griseola isolates from Central America imply that using single resistance genes to manage angular leaf spot is inadequate and stacking resistance genes may be necessary to manage the disease effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 1. Quantitative host–parasitoid food webs are descriptions of community structure that include data on the abundance of hosts and parasitoids, and the frequency of links between them, all expressed in the same units. 2. Quantitative host–parasitoid food webs were constructed describing the community of leaf-mining insects (Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) and their parasitoids (Hymenoptera) in an 8500-m 2 area of moist tropical forest in Belize, Central America, over a 1-year period. 3. The summary food web, containing data for the whole year, is we believe the most diverse quantitative host–parasitoid web yet described. It contains 93 species of leaf-miner, 84 species of parasitoid and 196 links between hosts and parasitoids. 4. Most parasitoids were generalists, with individual parasitoid species recorded as parasitizing up to 21 host species. In contrast, most leaf-miners were specialists, with 114 links documented between leaf-miners and their host plants. 5. A robustness analysis was used to reveal the effects of different sampling intensities on food web statistics. The results suggest that the sampling had revealed most of the species of host and parasitoid in the community, but further interactions among species would continue to be detected with additional sampling. Measures of the ratio of hosts to parasitoids and of realized connectance were relatively insensitive to sampling intensity. 6. Three seasonal webs were constructed, revealing temporal changes in the structure of the community. There was greater turnover in host species composition than parasitoid species composition among seasons, but most web statistics remained relatively constant across seasons. 7. Both the summary web and the seasonal webs show low levels of compartmentalization, suggesting that the host–parasitoid community is not divided into relatively discrete subwebs with largely independent dynamics. 8. The extent of potential... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central America is a region without a world city. Traditionally, the region’s national projects have been based upon openness to the world economy: how do the region’s contemporary transnational projects connect to the world economy under the new conditions of openness that is contemporary globalization? Focusing upon advanced producer services, three connections into the world city network are identified: global service firms operating directly in Central American cities, local service firms operating indirectly through extra-regional world cities and global service firms operating through Latin American regional offices. Miami is confirmed as the primary world city through which Central America connects into the world economy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late in the 1998 hurricane season, Central America was slammed by a devastating hurricane. Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize were greatly impacted by Hurricane Mitch, one of the deadliest storms to affect the region in the past 200 years. The economies of each of these countries were badly affected. In the case of Honduras — at the time the fourth-poorest country in Latin America — its president suggested that 50 years of progress had been wiped out by the floods and mudslides associated with this relatively short-lived storm system. Humanitarian assistance poured into the region in the first months following the disaster. As of mid-2000, various national, bilateral, international, and nongovernmental programs were in progress or on the drawing board for recovery, reconstruction, and renewed development of the worst affected countries. Using Honduras as a case study, some of the ethical issues that abound in the decisions of whom to help, when, and how to help them in the wake of such an extreme climate-related human tragedy are examined. Should development assistance be focused on those who have been directly and adversely affected by this storm, or should the emphasis be on reducing the risk of exposure by future generations to such disasters? Is there yet another approach that seeks to protect future generations from similar harm while at the same time assisting present-day victims to get through their hardships? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the role of migration on the spread of AIDS in Mexico and Central America. Honduras as the most affected country in the area; Migratory diffusions in Mexico shedding light on HIV diffusion; Assessment of risk behaviors and levels of knowledge on the disease; Priorities suggested to address the issue.

The article presents a study which assessed the relationship between educational attainment and wealth in a group of countries. The analysis covers 35 countries, grouped into six regions. The regions, ranked roughly from lowest to highest median attainment of 15 to 19 year olds from the poorest households are: Western and Central Africa, South Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Eastern and Southern Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, and Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Nearly every country in the world has set a goal to reach universal educational attainment through some level: primary, "basic," or even secondary. An important question is what remains to be accomplished to achieve this goal. Examining the attainment profiles makes clear that in some countries it is practically only the poor who did not complete primary school, while in other countries it is both the middle and poorest groups who did not do so. In South Africa the attainment deficit is also large but its distribution is different. In India and Pakistan the large wealth gaps are revealed in a concentration of the attainment deficit in the poor and middle groups. In East Asia, the gaps are smaller, but concentrated among the poor. The Philippines registers only a 13 percent shortfall from universal primary completion, of which 72 percent is attributable to the shortfall of the poor. The second prominent feature of the country profiles is the uniform ranking of the rich, middle, and poorest groups in terms of educational attainment. There are two ways to define a wealth gap: the difference in the proportion of each group who completed any given grade; and the difference in the median attainment of richest and poorest groups.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) incorporating phytoplasma-specific ribosomal RNA primer pair P1 and P7 consistently amplified a product of expected size (1·8 kb) when template DNA for PCR was extracted from leaf and shoot samples of Gliricidia sepium from Honduras exhibiting symptoms of little-leaf disease (LLD). Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP) of amplified rDNA products indicated that phytoplasmas detected in LLD-affected G. sepium were very similar although not identical to phytoplasmas associated with pigeon pea witches’-broom (PPWB) disease in the western Caribbean region. Phytoplasma detection in trees was enhanced by reamplification of the P1/P7-primed PCR products with nested primers PPf1 and Tint. Nested reactions enabled additional positive detections in foliage of several G. sepium trees showing only mild or no apparent LLD symptoms. Neither rDNA RFLP nor sequence analyses of 16–23 S rRNA spacer regions revealed differences among Honduran LLD phytoplasma or between these strains and phytoplasmas detected in G. sepium with LLD-like symptoms in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, indicating that closely related, possibly identical, pathogens presently affect this tree species in all four countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a globalization framework and a model of transnational processes for analysing social change and development, and then applies the model to Central America. The analysis emphasizes determinacy, in the last instance, of social forces in historic developmental outcomes, and documents how social forces in struggles in an emergent transnational environment have shaped Central America's changing profile within the global economy and society. Revolutionary movements, a new class structure, US geo-political considerations, and the internationalization of East Asian economies, have all contributed to a new model of development; from the 1960s into the 1990s the national model of development is being replaced by a transnational model. Maquiladora garment production, tourism, non-traditional agricultural exports, and remittances from emigrant workers are coming to eclipse traditional agro-exports as the most dynamic economic sectors linking the region to globalized circuits of production and distribution. The article also examines Central American migration to the US and gender dimensions of the new transnational model of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new benthic, sand-dwelling dinoflagellate species, Prorocentrum sabulosum, prorocentrum scuptile, and prorocentrum arenarium, from coral rubble are described from scanning electron micrographs. Species were identified based on shape, size, surface micromorphology, ornamentation of thecal plates, and architecture of the periflagellar area and intercalary band. Cells of P. sabulosum are oval with a cell size of 48-50 μm long and 41-48 μm wide. The areolae are round to oval and numerous (332-450 per valve) and range from 1 to 1.6 μm in size. The periflagellar area of P. sabulosum bears a wide V-shaped depression with a flat ridge and lacks ornamentation; it accommodates six pores: one large flagellar pore, an adjacent smaller auxiliary pore, and four pores of unknown function. The flagellar and auxiliary pores are surrounded by a narrow apical collar. The intercalary band of P. sabulosum is smooth. Prorocentrum sculptile cells are broadly oval, 32-37 μm long, and 30-32 μm wide in valve view with a deep-sculptured apical area. The valves are smooth and are marked with shallow depressions (856-975) per valve). Some of these depressions have a small round opening (0.13 μm in diameter). The periflagellar area is V0shaped with a deeply indented depression; it accommodates the two flagella and a thin angled apical plate. The intercalary band is smooth. Prorocentrum arenarium cells are nearly round in valve view 30-32 μm in diameter. Thecal surface is smooth with scattered kidney-shaped valve poroids (65-73 per valve) and marginal poroids (50-57 per valve). Length and width of poroids are 0.62 μm and 0.36 μm, respectively. The periflagellar area is an unornamented, broad triangle into which a large flagellar pore and a smaller auxiliary pore are fitted. Both flagella, longitudinal and transverse, protrude from the flagellar pore. The intercalary band is smooth. The presence of a peduncle-like structure (2-3 μm long) in P. arenarium was observed situated in the flagellar pore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study indicates that bilaterally flattened, armored, benthic dinoflagellates are more diverse in morphology than previously known. A new species, Plagiodinium belizeanum Faust et Balech gen. et sp. nov., is described in floating detritus from Twin Cays, Belize, mangrove habitats. Plagiodinium belizeanum cells are small, with dimensions of 26.5-30.5 μm in length, 20-24.5 ???m in width, and 6.5-8.5 μm in depth. Cells are ablong and bilaterally compressed with a posteriorly located, spherical nucleus, many chloroplasts, and spherical starch granules. The epitheca descends ventrally, is cap-shaped, and is composed of five plates and a very small platelet provisionally named P??? situated in the center. The epitheca is narrowly oval in opical view with a pointed truncated ventral side and a rounded dorsal side. The cingulum is composed of five plates. The hypotheca is constructed of five posteriorly elongated postcingular plates and one antapical plate. The sulcus is very short and narrow, comprised of five small plates. The thecal plate arrangement of P. belizeanum is P[SUB0] 5', O′, 5C, 1′′, 5S. No lists are present. Thecal plates have a smooth surface with small and irregularly scattered pores. The intercalary bond is smooth on the outer cell surface and broadly striated on its inner surface. We conclude that P. belizeanum represents a new, benthic, peridinioid, armored genus, Plagiodinium gen. nov. The taxonomic position of P. belizeanum sp. nov. is compared to related sand-dwelling and bilaterally flattened benthic dinoflagellates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article develops an alternative model of price inflation in Central America. Despite the enormous interest shown in Latin America's inflationary experience through the monetarist-structuralist debate, there has been relatively little empirical work on the determinants of inflation. Structuralists claim that the Central American experience fits their model; they argue that the relative stability of the Central American republics can be explained by their backwardness. The collapse of export earnings, it is said, did not result in the development of alternative growth programmes based on import substituting industrialisation, because there was no industrial base to expand nor large urban population to pressure government into deficit financing. Equilibrium was therefore restored at a lower level of output, incomes, exports and imports, and the foreign exchange bottleneck did not arise. The absence of serious migration from the rural to the urban areas prevented the food supply bottleneck from emerging and the control of the banking system by foreigners prevented the government from resorting to inflationary financing. This article develops a model which is tested against the recent price inflation, but as it also satisfies the other two conditions, it is argued that it represents a general theory of inflation for Central America.

Examines the effect of economic integration among developing countries. Indicators of the Central American common market; Developments in the East African Community; Disadvantages of economic integration.

In an effort to resolve the current crisis, the Permanent Secretariat of the Central American Common Market (SIECA), in collaboration with other regional institutions and international agencies such as UNCTAD, has completed a detailed study of the evolution of Central American Integration and its prospects for the future. This study, which we will refer to as the 'Rosenthal Report', is the most complete analysis to date of the CACM. Its publication provides an opportunity to reconsider the problems and possibilities that integration offers developing countries m general and Central America in particular. The Rosenthal Report covers a broad range of topics, but much of the text is directed toward three basic questions: (a) To what extent has the integration programme contributed to the economic development of Central America and each country in the region? (b) Why did the process of integration lose its initial impulse and embark on a series of crises that have led to the present impasse? (c) Is it possible to re-structure the programme as a means of accelerating the economic development of the small Central American economies? In the three sections that follow we analyse the answers to each of these questions. It should be emphasized that attention is focused on what appear to be the most significant aspects of Central American Integration. Each volume of the Report contains ideas and proposals that deserve comment, but are ignored here because of space limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of the evolution and prospects for the future of the Central American Common Market (CACM), entitled the "Rosenthal Report." The study was completed through the collaboration of the Permanent Secretariat of the Central American Common Market (SIECA) with other regional institutions and international agencies. The problems and possibilities that integration may offer to developing countries, particularly to Central America, are reconsidered in the study. The influence of the integration programme to the economic development of Central America and its member explored as well as highlights the most significant aspects of the Central American Integration.

Discusses the monetary concept of common market in Central America. Balance of payments position on current accounts; International monetary reserves; Outstanding external debt and accumulated direct external investment; Establishment of Central American Clearing House.

Central American squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedi) appear to recognize the modified leaves that phyllostomid bats utilize for diurnal roost sites. The monkeys visually and manually search these bat tents for both bats and insects. Adult males are the most successful at capturing bats. Nonvolant juvenile bats are more vulnerable to monkey predation than are adults. Bats that escape monkey predation frequently are captured by double-toothed kites (Harpagus bidentatus) that tend foraging troops of monkeys. Predation by squirrel monkeys, coupled with that of double-toothed kites, may be a significant source of mortality for tent-making bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the everyday experiences of 40 infants from families who migrated recently from Central America to the US. Another 42 infants from middle class families of Euro-American background were included to facilitate the evaluation of our methodology and findings. Detailed descriptions of the previous 24 hours were obtained by interviewing the mothers when their infants were 8 and 12 months of age. The infants' experiences and activities were very similar in both groups, and the effects of the mothers' fathers' or others' presence on ongoing activities were similar, too. The groups differed with regard to (1) the circadian distribution of activities, (2) opportunities for interactions with various people, and (3) the differences between weekdays and weekends. Overall, the social worlds of the Central American children were characterized by the simultaneous presence of several people and thus by multiple social partners. The social worlds of the Euro-American children were characterized by more opportunities for dyadic interactions and by exposure to fewer partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to elaborate the process of cognitive liberation by employing "frame analysis." Moreover, it seeks to explain the diffusion of this social-psychological state cross-nationally through an examination of the U.S.- Central America peace movement. This was a movement of U.S. citizens who, during the 1980s, aimed to stand in solidarity with the poor in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and to constrain U.S. military influence and foreign policy toward the region. By 1987, the movement had expanded to include more than 1,500 local and regional Central America solidarity organizations within the U.S. This study, gives particular attention to the role of the church as a common cultural link that facilitated the emergence of the Central America peace movement by providing an organizational structure and mobilizing agents who transmitted "injustice frames" from Latin America to the United States. To reveal the processual nature of consciousness transformation among Central American activists, this study follows the three stages of cognitive liberation proposed by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward.

The article analyzes peace negotiations in Central America to bring stability to the conditions in the area. The prevailing perspective in Washington put stress on the fear of the introduction of a Marxist-Leninist ideology into Central America, with support from the political and military involvement of the Soviet Union and Cuba. It has been found that the internal conflicts throughout Central America are largely a consequence of the economic, social, and political divisions within societies.

Assesses public-private relations in Central America. Propositions about private-public relations in nations beset by political and economic turmoil; Sources of tension between the public and private sectors; Policies and programs of governments to aid the private sector in periods of crises.

The goal of this study was to compare the psychosocial adjustment of 70 immigrant mothers and their children from Mexico and countries in Central America. In particular, we traced the effects of political violence on Central American refugee families and domestic violence on resettled Mexican women and children. Mothers and children were interviewed about political and domestic violence they had witnessed and experienced, and their current mental health, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Central American refugee children appeared indistinguishable on mental health indices from Mexican children residing in violent homes. Both groups of children had elevated psychological symptoms when compared to Mexican immigrant children from nonviolent backgrounds. Central American mothers were most likely to meet the clinical criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder. We examined whether the mothers' post-traumatic stress symptoms, fathers' demise, or general stressors mediated the effects of violence on the children's mental health. The overall effects of war on children are mediated by maternal mental health and the specific associated risk of having lost a father to violent death. Mexican immigrant children were additionally affected by their mothers' employment. Our findings show similar effects on children of growing up with different forms of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development of Central America is many years behind the United States. In many respects the area has the characteristics of the United States during the time when industrial life insurance was in its heyday. Research conducted in the countries indicates that the industrial life insurance system is ideally suited for such economies. Central America does not have the problems of inflation so common in many of the other Latin American countries and the economic growth since the beginning of the Central American Common Market is ahead of expectations. There are economic and social benefits to be derived from such a system of life insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the succession of attempts at regional re-integration in Central America. Post-independence disintegration of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala into the five sovereign units of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala; Creation of the Central American Committee for Economic Cooperation.

Nine polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated from Tecia solanivora, one of the most serious pests of potato tubers in Central and South America. As found in other studies of Lepidoptera, development of microsatellites is a difficult task: in our case, despite the large number of clones sequenced (796), of which 70 were unique, only nine loci were found to be both variable, and in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, No null alleles were detected. The loci were tested in three other co-occurring Gelechiidae species, one of which was variable. These loci will be used to provide a greater understanding of the genetic changes occurring during the invasive process in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the collaboration between the Belize Fisheries Department and Wildlife Conservation International which led to the establishment of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize, Central America. The protection of part of the Belize Barrier Reef represents an important progress in the conservation of coral reef ecosystems. The operating funds of the reserve was provided by support groups worldwide. It will be open to visitors and is expected to benefit the neighboring areas through increased tourism.

Caballero, Luis A., Alon Rimmer, Zachary M. Easton, and Tammo S. Steenhuis, 2012. Rainfall Runoff Relationships for a Cloud Forest Watershed in Central America: Implications for Water Resource Engineering. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 1022-1031. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2012.00668.x Abstract: Understanding the basic relationships between rainfall and runoff is vital for effective management and utilization of scarce water resources. Especially, this is important in Central America with widespread potable water shortage during the dry months of the monsoon. Potential good water sources are cloud forests, but little information concerning its potential is available to water supply engineers. Our objective is to define rainfall-runoff-base flow relationships for a cloud forest catchment. Flumes were installed for measuring river flow in four subwatersheds in La Tigra National Park, Honduras. One of the four watersheds was a 636-ha subwatershed (WS1) with 60% cloud forest coverage. Precipitation averaged 1,130 mm/yr over the entire basin. About half of the total rainfall became runoff for the cloud forest watershed whereas, for the adjacent undisturbed forested watershed, the total discharge was <20% of the amount of precipitation. Infiltration rates were generally greater than rainfall rates. Therefore, most rainfall infiltrated into the soil, especially in the upper, steep, and well-drained portions of the watershed. Direct runoff was generated from saturated areas near the river and exposed bedrock. This research provides compelling evidence that base flow is the primary contributor to streamflow during both wet and dry seasons in cloud forest catchments. Protecting these flow processes over time is critical for the sustained provision of potable water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Montane Central America offers an ideal system for testing geographical hypotheses of species diversification. We examined how the complex geological history of Nuclear Central America has shaped the diversification of a genus of cloud-forest-inhabiting salamanders ( Dendrotriton). We applied parametric models of geographical range evolution to determine the predominant mode of species formation within the genus and to test existing hypotheses of geographical species formation in the region. Location Montane cloud forests of Nuclear Central America. Methods We estimated a species tree for Dendrotriton using a multi-locus DNA sequence data set and several coalescent methods, and performed molecular dating for divergence events within the genus. We then applied the species-tree estimate to a likelihood-based time-stratified model of geographical range evolution, based on current species distributions and available geological information for Central America. Results Species trees from all methods contain two groups, one corresponding to species from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes and the other containing all remaining species. In most cases, species formation within the genus involved an even division of the geographical range of the ancestral species between descendant species. The ancestor of extant Dendrotriton species was estimated to have occurred in either the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes or the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and both of these areas appear to have been important for diversification within the genus. The single species found in the Quaternary-age Guatemalan volcanic cordillera dispersed to the volcanoes from an older highland area. Main conclusions Models of geographical range evolution, when combined with robust species-tree estimates, provide insight into the historical biogeography of taxa not available from phylogenies or distributional data alone. Vicariant species formation, rather than peripatric or gradient speciation, appears to have been the dominant process of diversification, with most divergence events occurring within or between ancient highland areas. The apparent dispersal of Dendrotriton to the Quaternary-age volcanoes raises the possibility that the rich salamander community there is composed of species that dispersed from geologically older areas. The Motagua Valley appears not to have been as important in vicariant species formation within Dendrotriton as it is within other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puccinia psidii is native to South and Central America and the Caribbean, where it causes a serious leaf and shoot disease of a wide range of Myrtaceae. These include the native Psidium guajava (guava) and introduced Eucalyptus species. In 2002 a rust fungus was observed causing severe damage to 1-year-old trees during a routine disease survey of Eucalyptus globulus in Uruguay. The rust produced egg-yolk yellow pustules on the leaves and resulted in shoot-tip dieback. The characteristic pustules and morphological examination of uredinia and urediniospores showed that the fungus was indistinguishable from Puccinia psidii. Puccinia psidii has previously been reported in Uruguay on native Myrtaceae.

This article examines research on NGO 'scaling-up' in a disaster context and links it to a broader discussion on whether scaling-up is a useful concept for understanding NGO processes in an emergency. Using concepts of scaling-up from development literature, research findings from a study of the responses of British NGOs to Hurricane Mitch in Central America are presented. The article assesses the extent and type of scaling-up that occurred, constraints faced by the agencies and the impact of scaling-up on support to partners. Broader issues relating to scaling-up post-Mitch are also explored. The conclusion suggests that while the concept of scaling-up is useful, the tendency for its use to refer to organisational growth has limited a wider understanding and evaluation of the role of Northern NGOs in humanitarian crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new approach, called 'Mobile Site Method' (MSM), to the construction of 'genetic similarity maps' more efficient than that described in a preceding paper (Hazout et al. 1991). After building a triangular mesh between the geographical sites, the method consists of moving these locations at each iteration to reduce the overall differences between the geographic and genetic distances. The genetic similarity map, i.e. the final distorted map, allows the interpretation of the genetic diversity of a population set. We have applied this method to the study of Gm immunoglobulin allotypes of twenty-seven Amerindian groups from North and Central America. By a local weighted linear regression, we have reconstituted the distorted contour of America. This representation completes the observations of the sites during the map distortion. In this study, we have defined a large geographical factor in the genetic data (84% of the variability explained), related to a linguistic factor.