Irrigation and Community in the Central Peruvian Highlands

Irrigation in Quinua is an adaptation of high altitude agriculture, and its regulation and celebration are significant aspects of the political and ritual life of the community. Comparative data suggest that similar relationships are widespread in Peru. The information from Quinua is used to illuminate the water needs of Huari, an important archaeological site located in the community. The significance of the data for the hydraulic hypothesis of Wittfogel and Steward is discussed.     

Molecular surveillance of malaria in the Central Highlands,Vietnam

Vietnam achieved outstanding success against malaria in the last few decades. The mortality and morbidity of malaria in Vietnam have decreased remarkably in recent years, but malaria is still a major public health concern in the country, particularly in the Central Highlands region. In this study, molecular analyses of malaria parasites in the Central Highlands were performed to understand the population structure and genetic diversity of the parasites circulating in the region. Plasmodium falciparum (68.7%) and P. vivax (27.4%) along with mixed infections with P. falciparum/P. vivax (3.9%) were detected in 230 blood samples from patients with malaria. Allele-specific nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analyses of pfmsp-1, pfama-1, pvcsp, and pvmsp-1 revealed complex genetic makeup in P. falciparum and P. vivax populations of Vietnam. Substantial multiplicity of infection (MOI) was also identified, suggesting significant genetic diversity and polymorphism of P. falciparum and P. vivax populations in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. These results provide fundamental insight into the current patterns of dispersion and genetic nature of malaria parasites as well as for the development of malaria elimination strategies in the endemic region.     

Indigenous Common Property Resource Management in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

A better understanding of common property resource management systems and institutions is important for conservation and development, as fortress-based approaches towards conservation are increasingly questioned. This paper examines how an indigenous resource management system has operated and supported the protection of an Afro-alpine area in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. The community was mainly concerned to regulate their own use of natural resources, including collection of firewood and thatch, and grazing by livestock. The original common property resource management system operated under a previously undescribed indigenous institution known as the Qero system, which was enforced through sanctions and punishments imposed by the community. The Qero system was suspended following the Agrarian Reform in 1975, which resulted in the breakdown of the traditional land tenure and land rights systems within Ethiopia. In the Central Highlands, user rights and management responsibility shifted to include formerly marginalized groups. Nevertheless, the common property management system has shown sufficient resilience to withstand these changes and pressures, and is still functioning with defined user groups and byelaws to regulate resource use and manage the area. Nevertheless, attitudes to current and future management are polarized between former and present managers of the common property regime.     

Interpretations of Native North American Life: Material Contributions to Ethnohistory.

Interpretations of Native North American Life: Material Contributions to Ethnohistory. Michael S. Nassaney and Eric. Johnson. eds. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000. 455 pp.     

Two Antiproliferative Triterpene Saponins from Nematostylis anthophylla from the Highlands of Central Madagascar

Investigation of the endemic Madagascan plant Nematostylis anthophylla (Rubiaceae) for antiproliferative activity against the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line led to the isolation of the known triterpene saponin randianin ( 1 ), and the two new bioactive triterpene saponins 2″‐O‐acetylrandianin ( 2 ) and 6″‐O‐acetylrandianin ( 3 ). The structures of the two new compounds were elucidated based on analysis of their 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR spectra, and mass spectrometric data. The three isolated triterpene saponins displayed moderate but selective antiproliferative activities, with IC₅₀ values of 1.2, 1.7, and 2.2 μM , respectively, against the A2780 ovarian cancer, but only weak inhibitions of the proliferation of A2058 melanoma and the H522 lung cancer cell lines.     

Intraspecific phylogeography of the slender madtom: the complex evolutionary history of the Central Highlands of the United States

A number of different biogeographical studies of the Central Highlands of the United States have yielded conflicting area cladograms. We estimate the mtDNA phylogeny of populations of the slender madtom, Noturus exilis, a clear-water stream catfish. The goal is to compare population relationships to those reported in previous studies that used upland, stream-dwelling vertebrates. A region of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene, along with adjacent tRNAs, was sequenced for population samples from 21 different Central Highlands rivers. Sequence difference among 39 haplotypes ranged from 0.1% to 4.8%. Most haplotypes were restricted to specific rivers and mapped well onto geography. Slender madtoms from different drainages contained mostly monophyletic groups of haplotypes genetically divergent from haplotypes found in other drainages, although a few haplotypes were found in well-separated drainages. The area cladogram for the slender madtom was not similar to any of the other cladograms for other species and species groups from the area. We discuss a variety of methodological and biological reasons for the discordance, and suggest that some of the discrepancies may be resolved by the sequencing of multiple genes per species. We recommend that more, and more extensive, intraspecific phylogeography studies should be conducted for species living in the Central Highlands rivers.     

Bioprospecting in potato fields in the Central Andean Highlands: Screening of rhizobacteria for plant growth-promoting properties

The Central Andean Highlands are the center of origin of the potato plant (Solanum tuberosum). Ages of mutualism between potato plants and soil bacteria in this region support the hypothesis that Andean soils harbor interesting plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate rhizobacteria from Andean ecosystems, and to identify those with PGP properties. A total of 585 bacterial isolates were obtained from eight potato fields in the Andes and they were screened for suppression of Phytophthora infestans and Rhizoctonia solani. Antagonistic mechanisms were determined and antagonistic isolates were further tested for phosphate solubilization, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activity, and production of NH₃- and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). PGP was studied in healthy and R. solani diseased plantlets under growth room conditions. Performance was compared to the commercial strain B. subtilis FZB24^® WG. Isolates were dereplicated with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and identified with 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multi locus sequence analysis (MLSA). A total of 10% of the isolates were effective antagonists, of which many were able to solubilize phosphate, and produce IAA, ACC deaminase, NH₃ and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). During growth room experiments, 23 antagonistic isolates were associated with plant growth-promotion and/or disease suppression. Ten isolates had a statistically significant impact on test parameters compared to the uninoculated control. Three isolates significantly promoted plant growth in healthy plantlets compared to the commercial strain, and seven isolates outperformed the commercial strain in in vitro R. solani diseased plantlets.     

How the Enga cope with frost: Responses to climatic perturbations in the Central Highlands of New Guinea

The adaptive strategy of a population of New Guinea highland subsistence farmers is considered in the light of events surrounding a series of severe frosts experienced in 1972. Coping with frost is seen to be a critical preoccupation for all Enga, and agricultural mounding a universal response, adequate to deal with the mild frosts of Central Enga country below 2250 m but insufficient above. There, among the Fringe Enga, a sequence of responses at three different levels may be identified. These may be called the local, intraregional, and extraregional levels because of their progressively wider geographical spread in agricultural activity and attendant increased population mobility. A correspondence is indicated between response level and frost intensity. This response, while effective, is being modified through cropping innovations and disrupted by a colonial situation. Further, at higher levels, it is incompatible with the prescribed course of political and economic development.     

Forecasting Climate Change Effects on Salamander Distribution in the Highlands of Central Mexico1

A generalized decline of amphibian populations is occurring worldwide. The causes for such a decline are not completely understood; however, climate change has been identified as a possible cause for amphibian extinction, among others. Ecological niche modeling has proven to be a useful tool to predict potential distribution of species in the context of climatic changes. In this paper, we used the Genetic Algorithm for Rule‐set Prediction (GARP) to model the potential distributions of two species of plethodontid salamanders: Pseudoeurycea cephalica and P. leprosa. We projected their potential distributions under climatic scenarios expected in 50 yr based on a conservative scenario of global climate change and assuming a moderate dispersal ability for both species. Our analyses suggest that climate change effects may pose an additional long‐term risk to both species of plethodontid salamanders, with a more dramatic scenario in the case of P. leprosa. By the year 2050, this species may lose almost 75 percent of its distributional area, and this projection is even worse when deforestation (in the way it is occurring at present) is considered within the predicted model. Our results concur with those obtained for species with limited dispersal capability because they do not track changing climates, but rather face a loss of distributional area. The survival of these species is not secure, even though their potential distributional area falls within a considerable number of natural protected areas.     

The structure and phenology of a moist deciduous forest in the Central Indian Highlands

The vegetation structure and phenology of a 74.5 ha block of moist deeiduous forest in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India were investigated during primatological fieldwork. Within a grid of 0.25 ha quadrats all 9935 trees (woody plants > 2 m tall), of 63 species, were enumerated and their girth measured. The forest was dominated by the dipterocarp sal (Shorea robusta). Most species were rare and showed clumped distributions within the sea of sal whilst the dispersion of five large canopy trees could not be distinguished from random.The phenology of 215 trees, of 61 species, was monitored over 14 months using an index of phytophase abundance. Leaf renewal was highly synchronous between and within species, mostly occurring between February and June. One species was evergreen, 5 were semi-evergreen and 55 were deciduous. Flowering generally occurred between leaf fall and flush whilst fruiting peaked late in the hot weather and early monsoon.