Land Reform and Land-Use Changes in the Lower Amazon: Implications for Agricultural Intensification

Land tenure has been considered one of the key factors that define patterns and change in land-use systems. This paper examines the implications of land reform for household decisions regarding patterns of land use, agricultural intensification, and forest conservation. We look at an Amazonian caboclo settlement in the Lower Amazon that had experienced land reform by the end of the 1980s. Results show that defined land tenure is not enough to guarantee agricultural intensification and forest conservation. In fact, several factors working at different scales are affecting land-use change in the region. At the settlement level, privatization of upland forest has led to an overall increase in cultivated land—pasture and annual crops—and increasing deforestation rates. However, at the farm-property level, different systems of agricultural production—intensive, extensive, or abandonment of land—occur according to availability of labor, and capital, and access to different natural resources.     

<卡塔赫纳生物安全议定书>及其对转基因农产品国际贸易和生物技术发展的影响与对策

《生物多样性公约》缔约国,为了现代生物技术生产的活性转基因生物（ＬＭＯ）的安全转移和使用,保护人类健康和生物多样性,经过５年的艰苦谈判,于２０００年初通过了《卡塔赫纳生物安全议定书》,成为第一部有关ＬＭＯ的国际法。该《议定书》确认了预先防范原则,允许缔约方禁止或限制ＬＭＯ进境,并要求含有ＬＭＯ的货物附有标签。作者预测了《议定书》对转基因农产品国际贸易和生物技术发展的影响,并对我国应采取的对策提出了     

Small and overlooked: Phylogeny of the genus Trigonodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with the first record of Trigonodactylus arabicus from Jordan

Geckos of the genus Trigonodactylus are widely distributed in the sand deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Three species of this genus are currently recognized, with a fourth one, Stenodactylus pulcher, which placement within Trigonodactylus has been tentatively suggested, but not yet confirmed. We present a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Trigonodactylus with new specimens collected in central Saudi Arabia and southern Jordan. New genetic data has been generated from three mitochondrial markers to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of all species of the genus and to assess the putative generic assignment of S. pulcher. Our results confirm that S. pulcher indeed belongs within Trigonodactylus, branching as a sister lineage to all other species of the genus. The new samples cluster within Trigonodactylus arabicus, thus confirming the genetic homogeneity of the species across its large and seemingly inhospitable range. The new specimen collected in southern Jordan represents the first record for the country and a considerable range extension to the northwest from all previously reported localities. Our findings and discovery of a new species for Jordan highlight the need of more field surveys to be carried out in the underexplored parts of Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, as these places still hold a potential for new discoveries and are crucial for understating the biogeography of the Arabian herpetofauna.     

Identity and distribution of Agama stellio picea Parker (Sauria: Agamidae), endemic to the volcanic desert of Jordan

Abstract

Agama stellio picea Parker, 1935, was clearly defined as a black lizard, with the female dotted with orange, from the Transjordan lava desert. Three later collections confirmed this. While the subspecies appears to be endemic to Jordan, its name has been erroneously applied to other A. stellio populations in adjacent countries.     

Cancer burden in four countries of the Middle East Cancer Consortium (Cyprus; Jordan; Israel; Izmir (Turkey)) with comparison to the United States surveillance; epidemiology and end results program

It is important that population-based cancer registries provide accurate and reliable data for public health purposes. These data are essential data for planning of cancer control and prevention. In this study, we examined cancer incidence rates (year 2005–2010) in four MECC registries (Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Izmir (Turkey)) and compared with the rates in the US. The overall age-standardized incidence rates for males were highest in the US followed by Israeli Jews, Izmir (Turkey), Cyprus, Israeli Arabs, and lowest in Jordan. In women the rates of cancer of all sites were also highest in US women followed by Israeli Jews, Cyprus, Israeli Arabs, Izmir (Turkey), and lowest in Jordan. It is of interest that although site-specific cancer rates differ between the countries studied, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers are within the five most common cancers males in all countries studied. In females, breast colorectal and endometrium cancers are three of the five most common cancers in females in all countries studied. The results presented in this paper can have implications for opportunities in cancer control and prevention in these countries. Future studies on individual cancer sites with highest rates in these Countries are currently underway.     

Hunting Spiders of Woodland Fragments and Agricultural Habitats in the Atlantic Rain Forest Region of Brazil

The hunting spider communities of the Dionycha clade were studied 1986 through 1988 in fragmented woodlands and secondary agricultural habitats of the Botucatu area in São Paulo state, Brazil. The original vegetation of mainly tropical Atlantic rain forest (Mata Atlântica) was cleared already 70 years ago. In a total sample of over 1000 adult spiders, 247 species belonging to 12 families were determined. A decreasing frequency and diversity of spiders was found if forest remnants were compared with sugar cane fields and cattle pasture. The specific composition of the spider fauna as surveyed in different habitats is discussed under ecological aspects and in relation to the history of land use.