Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Home gardens have been adopted as a public policy tool due to their capacity to provide food security, ecosystem services, and economic income, as well as to preserve biocultural memory. Given its importance, this research aims to analyze the scientific literature of the last 10 years (2013-2023) through a bibliometric analysis, in order to identify the trends and absences of research in the context of sustainability. To do this, 76 articles indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases were analyzed. Three thematic groups were identified: (1) Sowing sustainability from family gardens, (2) Family gardens and the preservation of biodiversity, and (3) Family gardens as sustainable roots for the conservation of agrobiodiversity. These groups highlight the potential of agroecosystems to preserve biodiversity, capture carbon, guarantee food security, and conserve biocultural wealth. The article emphasizes the need to carry out research that evaluates the resilience of these orchards in the face of economic and social challenges, since, despite being resilient agroecosystems, they tend to disappear.

Human activities such as agriculture and grazing generate anthropogenic biomes that overlap with species of conservation importance. Cynomys mexicanus is an endemic species to northern Mexico, with accelerated habitat loss. The objective of this study was to quantify the overlap between anthropogenic biomes and active and potential colonies of C. mexicanus. To obtain potential colony surfaces, age intervals of 10-20, 21-30, >30 years of agriculture and grazing -and their combination- were included. 57 active colonies in the field covering 23 120 ha and 375 potential colonies in 49 273 ha were estimated. The anthropogenic populated rangelands biome covered 65% in the potential colonies and 65% in the active colonies. The combination of agriculture and grazing present in active colonies more than 30 years old and with close distances to roads (0.0 km-0.1 km) produced an estimated habitat loss of 2.69 ha/day.

Petroleum-derived hydrocarbons are chemical contaminants that are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic, and that can impact an ecosystems trophic chain. These compounds are primarily generated through anthropogenic activities and are discharged into marine-coastal areas from industrial and maritime transportation sectors. For this study, a bioremediation technique involving the bioprospecting of bacteria with the capacity to degrade total hydrocarbons was employed. Subsequently, selective pressure was applied under conditions of a sole carbon source, successfully isolating 11 morphotypes in pure culture media supplemented with hydrocarbons, thus demonstrating the presence of microorganisms with biodegradative potential. Three zigzag sampling points along El Waffe Dock in Turbo, Antioquia, Colombia were analyzed. Additionally, a comparison of the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of the isolated strains with the relevant literature was conducted to approach microorganism identification. Finally, a review of the political or regulatory aspects surrounding hydrocarbon bioremediation and the generation of new knowledge in this field in Colombia was carried out.

The study of avian diversity in agroecosystems is a topic of great interest for understanding the dynamics of bird communities in urban environments. The objective of this study was to identify the level of overlap in the selection of nesting sites of some bird species in orange orchards located in the town of Algemesí, province of Valencia, Spain, and their vertical distribution in relation to nesting microsites. An intensive search for tree nests was carried out, and microsite variables such as tree height, canopy coverage, nest location height, and distance from the nest to the edge were measured. Statistical analyses included PERMANOVA and discriminant analysis to identify significant differences and groupings among species based on nesting variables. In total, 98 nests belonging to six species of passerine birds (Sylvia melanocephala, Turdus merula, Serinus serinus, Chloris chloris, Turdus philomelos, and Muscicapa striata) were found. Different phenological patterns were observed among the species, and nesting site characteristics varied depending on nest location height and distance to the edge. The choice of nesting site for Turdus philomelos varied compared to the other species. These results suggest that the different life histories of the species influence the segregation of nesting sites, which in turn affects the coexistence and structure of the bird community.

An annotated list of fish species richness recorded in the Garagoa river basin is reported, consisting of 41 species, 24 of which were collected in the current study. Nine new records are reported for the basin, including two exotic species, and one of which is the possible product of an attempted introduction. At the same time, a taxonomic key for the identification of species in the basin is included. This work complements the inventory of species in the study basin and will serve as a tool for decision makers regarding conservation and management measures, as well as for the control of exotic and invasive species. The results could also support proposals for the use and exploitation of fish diversity by the human population that inhabits and/or visits the basin, for example, through its use in ecotourism projects.

Constant industrial development has increased the chromium use, resulting in chromium discharge into wastewater. The implementation of microbial bioremediation has been proposed as an ecological, efficient and economical alternative for the implementation of microorganisms to reduce chromium to a less toxic form. Our objective was to evaluate the Cr (VI) removal capacity of microbial consortia at different concentrations. Accordingly, an activation and identification of microorganisms from chromium-containing wastewater was carried out. Seven microbial consortia were established and their synergy, individual and consortium growth curves were evaluated. Subsequently, a scaled adaptation of the consortia was carried out with eight concentrations of Cr (VI). Reciprocal regression models and growth curves were used to identify the consortium with the highest removal. Synergy was found in the consortia evaluated; growth curves of consortia showed higher absorbance than individually, with higher absorption in the Candida famata-Serratia sp. Consortium. However, in the scaled adaptation, greater Cr (VI) reduction capacity was demonstrated in Candida tropicalis-Serratia sp. with 79.20% at a concentration of 100 ppm with a total chromium reduction of 31.12%. At the same time, a greater adaptation of the consortia to high concentrations of Cr (VI) was identified. This is the first research to report C. tropicalis-Serratia sp. microbial consortium with a positive interaction and higher metabolic reduction capacity, which will have a positive impact on bioremediation of chromium-containing wastewater.

Cyanobacteria and microalgae represent promising sources for sustainable production of biofertilizers and biostimulants, which can improve crop yield and quality and contribute to food security. However, despite their potential, their exploration remains incomplete, hindered by technical and economic challenges that arise when attempting to scale up production. The primary focus of this review is to delve into the active chemical compounds responsible for the biofertilizing and biostimulating roles of cyanobacteria and microalgae. In addition, it explores the essential unit operations involved in transforming their biomass into potential bioproducts. Moreover, this review highlights studies that have employed cyanobacteria and microalgae as sources of biofertilizer in various crops, describing their mode of action and application. By integrating cyanobacteria and microalgae processing with other advanced biotechnological, the viability of these products for sustainable agriculture can be significantly enhanced.

This work was developed to identify the stratification and mixing pattern in the Hatillo reservoir, the largest reservoir in the Greater Antilles and the reservoir with the greatest water storage capacity in the Dominican Republic, built in 1984 in the lower basin of the Yuna River for electric power generation, irrigation district and flood control. Fifty-two diurnal vertical profiles of temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH in the limnetic zone of the reservoir from 2011 to 2021 were collected. Mixing is established when the difference between surface and bottom temperature is less than 1°C, that is, gradients less than 0.06°C per meter, total values of Relative Thermal Resistance to Mixing-RTR less than 40, that is, less than 1.8 per meter. The thermal monitoring carried out for ten years has allowed us to establish that the water masses of the reservoir remain thermally stratified most of the year, with annual mixing events lasting one month between December and March. The Hatillo reservoir is defined as a Warm Monomictic Lake according to the revision made by Lewis Jr. (1983a) to the classification of Hutchinson y Löffler (1956).

The conquest of the terrestrial environment required numerous adaptations, although aerial respiration was what allowed animals to become completely independent of aquatic environments. Here, we analyze the specialized organs for air respiration, describing lungs, tracheas and some modifications of these organs that have occurred in certain gastropods and arthropods. These organs have appeared independently on numerous occasions, even in closely related taxa, and have experienced frequent regressions. In some cases, as in the case of the snail's palaeal cavity, the organs evolved from homologous structures, but independently in different lineages, with specific areas of the nervous system always being responsible for their control. Although the neurons that perform these tasks are ancient and may have a common evolutionary history, homologous visceral control structures do not seem to exist in vertebrates, nor among invertebrate phyla. This situation is clearly a consequence of the fact that respiration has evolved independently on numerous occasions, even within the same phylum, so that specific organs may be lost, or equivalent organs may arise independently and secondarily. However, as they arise from common ancestral structures, there could be cases of deep homology.