A pair of new sister species of Loneura (Psocodea, 'Psocoptera', Ptiloneuridae) from Valle del Cauca, Colombia, representing a new infrageneric group

Two sister species of Loneura, from Valle del Cauca, Colombia, are here described and illustrated. They constitute a new species group that modifies the scheme of classification, proposed earlier for the genus by García Aldrete et al. (2011b). The new group is characterized by having the central sclerite of the male hypandrium with four posterior projections. A key to the males of Group II is included. The types are deposited in the Entomological Museum of the Universidad del Valle. Colombia may prove to be the most species rich area for Loneura.     

The exceptionally diversified Neotropical genus Veturius Kaup: more new data on its phylogeny,taxonomy and distribution (Coleoptera: Passalidae)

New data are provided on 24 known and five new species in three subgenera of Veturius Kaup (Proculini), from Central and South America. Veturius s. str.: V. hincksi Boucher, 2006 (wing polymorphism, Colombia: Nariño), V. perecasi Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Boyacá, Santander, perhaps Risaralda), V. montivagus Boucher, 2006 (first precise location, Colombia: Tolima), V. schusteri Boucher, 2006 (Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Cartago, Alajuela), V. platyrhinus (Hope & Westwood, 1845) (Colombia: Tolima), V. aspina Kuwert, 1898 (polymorphism, Colombia: Sucre, Cesar, Córdoba, Antioquia), V. yahua Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Amazonas, Meta), V. ecuadoris Kuwert, 1898 (Colombia: Caquetá), V. muisca n. sp. (Colombia: Cundinamarca), V. nonuya Boucher & Salazar, n. sp. (Colombia: Amazonas), V. standfussi Kuwert, 1891 (polymorphism, Colombia: Caquetá; Peru: Piura), V. arawak Boucher, 2006 (Peru: Cuzco, Puno), V. fabieni Boucher & Salazar, n. sp. (Peru: Junín), V. dreuxi Boucher, 2006 (Bolivia). Publius Kaup: V. crassus (Smith, 1852) (Colombia: Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Meta, perhaps Tolima), V. rugifrons Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Cundinamarca, Boyacá), V. concretus (Kaup, 1868) (Colombia: Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Meta), V. tectus Boucher, 2006 (second record, Colombia: Santander), V. dupuisi Boucher, 2006 (second record, Colombia: Cundinamarca), V. centralis Boucher, 2006 (second record, Colombia: Antioquia), V. taurus Boucher, 2006 (second record, Colombia: Norte de Santander), V. spinipes Zang, 1905 (topotype, Bolivia). Ouayana Boucher: V. paraensis Luederwaldt, 1927 (Brazil, Pará), V. negroensis Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Vaupés; Brazil: Amazonas), V. amazonicus Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Guainía), V. quaesitor Boucher & Salazar, n. sp. (Peru: Piura), V. uncinatus n. sp. (Colombia: no other indication), V. casalei Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: first precise location, Caldas, Antioquia), V. fanestus Boucher, 2006 (Colombia: Nariño). Veturius contains now 86 species, and is by far the most diversified recognized monophyletic genus in the Passalidae.     

Feeding sources and natural infection of Belminus herreri (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) from dwellings in Cesar, Colombia

Belminus herreri, originally described from specimens collected in Panama, was considered entirely silvatic until to 2000 when it was found for the first time in a domestic habitat in Colombia. In 2001, during a new search of houses in the Department of Cesar, Colombia, 121 specimens were collected. Study of their feeding sources using an ELISA test revealed that 96% of these specimens had fed on cockroaches (Blattidae). However, a small proportion of these B. herreri specimens also showed the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi in their gut contents, suggesting a possible role for these insects in the epidemiology of Chagas disease.     

The marriage squeeze in Colombia, 1973–2005: The role of excess male death

Abstract

Colombia has been characterized by extreme levels of civil violence throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, and the burden of excess mortality attributable to this violence has been borne primarily by young men. Populations with a large violent death burden are likely to experience consequences in terms of (1) marriage markets, (2) the dynamics of family formation and dissolution, and (3) patterns of parental investment in offspring. Using data from national censuses and household surveys, we calculate a measure of the marital sex ratio in order to explore the impact of differential male mortality on marriage markets in Colombia. Overall, Colombia is characterized by a female biased sex ratio at all ages. This relative excess of women is particularly pronounced in certain departments of the Central and Pacific regions which have been especially affected by civil violence. We suggest that the low sex ratios which characterized Colombia are partially responsible for the increasingly high frequency of consensual unions and, potentially, female‐biased rural‐urban migration.     

Crafts, Capitalism, and Women: The Potters of La Chamba, Colombia.

Crafts, Capitalism, and Women: The Potters of La Chamba, Colombia. Ronald J. Duncan. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000. 253 pp.     

Population differentiation of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma maculata (Erichson, 1848) from Colombia and Venezuela

The emerging vector of Chagas disease, Triatoma maculata (Hemiptera, Reduviidae), is one of the most widely distributed Triatoma species in northern South America. Despite its increasing relevance as a vector, no consistent picture of the magnitude of genetic and phenetic diversity has yet been developed. Here, several populations of T. maculata from eleven Colombia and Venezuela localities were analyzed based on the morphometry of wings and the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4) gene sequences. Our results showed clear morphometric and genetic differences among Colombian and Venezuelan populations, indicating high intraspecific diversity. Inter‐population divergence is suggested related to East Cordillera in Colombia. Analyses of other populations from Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil from distinct eco‐geographic regions are still needed to understand its systematics and phylogeography as well as its actual role as a vector of Chagas disease.     

Apeironpro, software for life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental performance evaluation (EPE)

Background, Aims and Scope  In the world there are more than thirty LCA software products, but they do not have inventories or an evaluation method either with regional applicability, especially for Colombia. A special software for Life Cycle Assessment and the Environmental Performance Evaluation has been developed, which considers the environmental impacts generated by products during their life cycle and processes involving productive activities. It accounts with inventories applicable to Colombia, for processes and services like electrical energy production, transport and waste disposition. The Ecoscarcity evaluation method was adapted to Colombia with national legislation and agreements for polluting reduction signed by country and the EPI (Environmental Points of Impact) was established for 353 substances. Methods  The software allows users to use the methodology which corresponds to the standard ISO 14030 and 14040 directives. The database uses the SPOLD international format. For ApeironPro software, database information used from monitoring air emissions and effluents on factories in the region were realized by the Environmental Research Group from Pontificia Bolivariana University and secondary type information has been obtained starting from studies realized by environmental organizations and factories in the country which are interested in the management of quality environmental indicators. The antiquity of the information was restricted from the last 5 years, 1998 to 2003, in order to possess temporal representativity. The Ecoscarcity method uses information of the Environmental Ministry and Environmental Institutes of Colombia for the actual current load (F), and target norm for total load (F_k), using information with national legislation and agreements for polluting reduction signed by the respective countries. The software was designed in Web ambience with the database in MySQL, while the programming language was JAVA from Sun Microsystem. Results  The software has inventories for energy (electricity from coal, natural gas, fuel oil, hydroelectricity) transport (mean air, truck, motor bus), processes (plastics, rubber, sugar, paints production, detergent production, combustion in heaters, foundry of copper, iron, gold), waste disposal (incineration and landfill). Discussion  The Ecoscarcity method was analyzed for seven impact categories: climate change, acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, photo-oxidant formation, eutrophication, ecotoxicity and depletion of abiotic resources (coal, oil, natural gas, copper, nickel). Conclusions  For Colombia, the highest environmental impact is associated with the ozone layer depletion (235.7 Ecopoints/g) while the lowest is associated with depletion of coal (8.6 × 10⁻⁷ Ecopoints/g), although this is reasonable since Colombia is the tenth largest producer of coal in the world. Recommendations and Perspectives  Latin America and Colombia need more inventories for their processes and to identify the more significant environmental impacts of their industries. This work is an initial step in the research about Life Cycle Assessment and can also improve the work in ecolabels for Colombia.     

Checklist of tortoise beetles (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae) from Colombia with new data and description of a new species

A new tortoise beetle species, Cyrtonota abrili, is described from the Antioquia and Caldas departments in Colombia. New faunistic data are provided for 87 species, including 16 new additions to the country’s fauna. A checklist of the known 238 species of tortoise beetles recorded from Colombia is given.     

Molecular epidemiology of rabies epizootics in Colombia, 1994-2002: evidence of human and canine rabies associated with chiroptera

Three urban rabies outbreaks have been reported in Colombia during the last two decades, one of which is ongoing in the Caribbean region (northern Colombia). The earlier outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in Arauca (eastern Colombia) and in the Central region, ending in 1997. Phylogenetic relationships among rabies viruses isolated from the three areas were based on a comparison of cDNA fragments coding for the endodomain of protein G and a fragment of L protein obtained by RT-PCR. The sequenced amplicons which included the G-L intergenic region contained 902 base pairs. Phylogenetic analysis showed three distinct groups of viruses. Colombian genetic variant I viruses were isolated only from Arauca and the Central region, but are now apparently extinct. Colombian genetic variant II viruses were isolated in the Caribbean region and are still being transmitted in that area. The third group of bat rabies variants were isolated from two insectivorous bats, three domestic dogs and a human. This associates bat rabies virus with rabies in Colombian dogs and humans, and indicates bats to be a rabies reservoir of public health significance.     

Colombia,an unknown genetic diversity in the era of Big Data

Background

Latin America harbors some of the most biodiverse countries in the world, including Colombia. Despite the increasing use of cutting-edge technologies in genomics and bioinformatics in several biological science fields around the world, the region has fallen behind in the inclusion of these approaches in biodiversity studies. In this study, we used data mining methods to search in four main public databases of genetic sequences such as: NCBI Nucleotide and BioProject, Pathosystems Resource Integration Center, and Barcode of Life Data Systems databases. We aimed to determine how much of the Colombian biodiversity is contained in genetic data stored in these public databases and how much of this information has been generated by national institutions. Additionally, we compared this data for Colombia with other countries of high biodiversity in Latin America, such as Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru.

Results

In Nucleotide, we found that 66.84% of total records for Colombia have been published at the national level, and this data represents less than 5% of the total number of species reported for the country. In BioProject, 70.46% of records were generated by national institutions and the great majority of them is represented by microorganisms. In BOLD Systems, 26% of records have been submitted by national institutions, representing 258 species for Colombia. This number of species reported for Colombia span approximately 0.46% of the total biodiversity reported for the country (56,343 species). Finally, in PATRIC database, 13.25% of the reported sequences were contributed by national institutions. Colombia has a better biodiversity representation in public databases in comparison to other Latin American countries, like Costa Rica and Peru. Mexico and Argentina have the highest representation of species at the national level, despite Brazil and Colombia, which actually hold the first and second places in biodiversity worldwide.

Conclusions

Our findings show gaps in the representation of the Colombian biodiversity at the molecular and genetic levels in widely consulted public databases. National funding for high-throughput molecular research, NGS technologies costs, and access to genetic resources are limiting factors. This fact should be taken as an opportunity to foster the development of collaborative projects between research groups in the Latin American region to study the vast biodiversity of these countries using ‘omics’ technologies.

     

New record of Arcella gandalfi (Amoebozoa: Arcellinida) from Colombia

The reports of testate amoebae species in Colombia are limited to a few studies in lentic and peat bog systems; however, the diversity in lotic systems has been poorly investigated. Zooplankton sampling was performed in lotic environments of the Piedemonte Llanero in Colombia. Ten individuals of the species Arcella gandalfi were identified to document the first record of A. gandalfi from the Piedemonte Llanero in Colombia, expanding its distribution from Brazil to Colombia. This finding corroborates the status of A. gandalfi as a flagship species from the South America continent.     

Assortative Mating and Lack of Temporality Between Corn and Rice Strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera,Noctuidae) from Central Colombia

Spodoptera frugiperda is a Neotropical moth that has diverged into “corn” and “rice” strains. In the US, prezygotic isolation studies have shown that both populations mate assortatively. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that mating by the same strain individuals is enhanced by an allochronic shift in mating activity and male pheromones are important during courtship. In Colombia, studies on mate choice have never been performed previously, although earlier analyses made in populations from Central Colombia showed no significant differences in time of first mating and copula duration between the strains. Here, we performed multiple choice experiments using a tetrad design composed of individuals of the corn and the rice strains. We found that corn strain females rarely mate with rice strain males, but rice strain females mate with both strains of males. In addition, no temporal isolation was found. A ML (maximum likelihood) approach was used to discriminate between mating propensity and mate choice behaviors in S. frugiperda strains. This approach showed that mating propensity of corn strain males is three times greater than rice strain males. In contrast, in females, the propensity of mating was slightly higher for the corn strain. Finally, the isolation index between the corn and the rice strains from Colombia produced a value of I?=?0.33. Our results suggest that prezygotic isolation at the behavioral and temporal levels differ between the US and Colombia. Moreover, in the US temporal isolation appears to have an important role in behavioral isolation but in Colombia temporality is not necessary to reduce encounters between S. frugiperda strains.     

Therapeutic efficacy of 3 treatment protocols for non-complicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, Antioquia, Colombia, 2002

High resistance of Plasmodium falciparum malaria to chloroquine poses malaria as a major public health problem in Colombia. In this context, the therapeutic response of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria patients to chloroquine (CQ), sulfadoxine/pirymethamine (SDXP) and combined therapy (SDXP/CQ) was evaluated according to the WHO/PAHO protocols of 1998. The comparisons were based on a sample of 160 patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Turbo and Zaragoza (Antioquia, Colombia). Patients were randomly assigned each of the treatment categories. The results were statistically similar in each municipality. In Turbo percentage of treatment failure was 87.5%, 22.2% and 22.6% for CQ, SDXP and SDXP/CQ, respectively, whereas in Zaragoza, the corresponding treatment failure was 77.7%, 26.5% and 12.1%. During follow up, 50% of subjects with late treatment failure were asymptomatic in Turbo, while 33.3% were asymptomatic in Zaragoza. A high level of treatment failure occurred with CQ monotherapy, while SDXP and SDXP/CQ had acceptable levels of failure, i.e., below 25%. The high percentage of late treatment failure in asymptomatic patients may contribute to increased risk of persistent transmission.     

Confirmation of Anopheles (Anopheles) calderoni Wilkerson, 1991 (Diptera: Culicidae) in Colombia and Ecuador through molecular and morphological correlation with topotypic material

The morphologically similar taxa Anopheles calderoni, Anopheles punctimacula, Anopheles malefactor and Anopheles guarao are commonly misidentified. Isofamilies collected in Valle de Cauca, Colombia, showed morphological characters most similar to An. calderoni, a species which has never previously been reported in Colombia. Although discontinuity of the postsubcostal pale spots on the costa (C) and first radial (R1) wing veins is purportedly diagnostic for An. calderoni, the degree of overlap of the distal postsubcostal spot on C and R1 were variable in Colombian specimens (0.003-0.024). In addition, in 98.2% of larvae, seta 1-X was located off the saddle and seta 3-C had 4-7 branches in 86.7% of specimens examined. Correlation of DNA sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer and mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) barcodes (658 bp of the COI gene) generated from Colombian progeny material and wild-caught mosquitoes from Ecuador with those from the Peruvian type series of An. calderoni confirmed new country records. DNA barcodes generated for the closely related taxa, An. malefactor and An. punctimacula are also presented for the first time. Examination of museum specimens at the University of the Valle, Colombia, revealed the presence of An. calderoni in inland localities across Colombia and at elevations up to 1113 m.     

Polymorphism in the Plasmodium vivax msp 3: gene in field samples from Tierralta, Colombia

We evaluated the Plasmodium vivax polymorphism by studying the Pvmsp-3 gene's polymorphic region by PCR-RFLP in 55 samples from patients living in Tierralta, Colombia. Three different sizes of the Pvmsp-3 gene were found, type A (1,900 bp), type B (1,500 bp) and type C (1,100 bp); most of the samples were type A (96.4 %). The Pvmsp-3 gene exhibited high polymorphism. Seven restriction patterns were found when using Alu I, and nine were found with Hha I; 12 different alleles were obtained when these patterns were combined. The findings suggest that this gene could be used in Colombia as a molecular epidemiologic marker for genotyping P. vivax.     

Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri) in natural habitats in Panama,Colombia, Brazil,and Peru

Troops ofSaimiri (squirrel monkeys) were observed in 31 locations in natural habitats in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. Troop size varied from 10 to 35 animals in Panama and Colombia and from 120 to 300 or more in the unaltered rainforests of Amazonia. Troop size correlated with forest size in all areas.Saimiri associated withCebus (capuchin monkeys) in several areas.Saimiri troops showed different responses to man, fear and flight or neutral responses or curiosity; and these correlated with local environmental conditions. Social behavior varied significantly between the large and small troops. Social interactions were much more frequent and individual distances were much smaller in the large troops than in the small troops. Several factors that may relate to these differences in sociability are discussed in light of data from this and other studies.     

Ithomiini Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) of Antioquia, Colombia

Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. However, economic and scientific investment in completing inventories of its biodiversity has been relatively poor in comparison with other Neotropical countries. Butterflies are the best studied group of invertebrates, with the highest proportion of known to expected species. More than 3,200 species of butterflies have been recorded in Colombia, although the study of the still many unexplored areas will presumably increase this number. This work provides a list of Ithomiini butterflies collected in the department of Antioquia and estimates the total number of species present, based on revision of entomological collections, records in the literature and field work performed between 2003 and 2011. The list includes 99 species and 32 genera, representing 27% of all Ithomiini species. We report 50 species of Ithomiini not formerly listed from Antioquia, and found the highest diversity of ithomiine species to be at middle elevations (900–1,800 m). The mean value of the Chao2 estimator for number of species in Antioquia is 115 species, which is close to a predicted total of 109 based on known distributions of other Ithomiini not yet recorded from the department. Nine species are potentially of particular conservation importance because of their restricted distributions, and we present range maps for each species. We also highlight areas in Antioquia with a lack of biodiversity knowledge to be targeted in future studies. This paper contributes to mapping the distribution of the Lepidoptera of Antioquia department in particular and of Colombia in general.     

Proteomic and biological characterization of the venom of the redtail coral snake, Micrurus mipartitus (Elapidae), from Colombia and Costa Rica

Venoms of the redtail coral snake Micrurus mipartitus from Colombia and Costa Rica were analyzed by "venomics", a proteomic strategy to determine their composition. Proteins were separated by RP-HPLC, followed by SDS-PAGE, in-gel tryptic digestion, identification by MALDI or ESI tandem mass spectrometry, and assignment to known protein families by similarity. These analyses were complemented with a characterization of venom activities in vitro and in vivo. Proteins belonging to seven families were found in Colombian M. mipartitus venom, including abundant three-finger toxins (3FTx; ~60% of total proteins) and phospholipases A(2) (PLA(2); ~30%), with the remaining ~10% distributed among l-amino acid oxidase, P-III metalloproteinase, Kunitz-type inhibitor, serine proteinase, and C-type lectin-like families. The venoms of two M. mipartitus specimens from Costa Rica, also referred to as M. multifasciatus in some taxonomic classifications, were also analyzed. Both samples were highly similar to each other, and partially resembled the chromatographic and identity profiles of M. mipartitus from Colombia, although presenting a markedly higher proportion of 3FTxs (~83.0%) in relation to PLA(2)s (~8.2%), and a small amount of acetylcholinesterase, not detected in the venom from Colombia. An equine antivenom against the Central American coral snake, M. nigrocinctus, did not recognize venom components of M. mipartitus from Colombia or Costa Rica by enzyme-immunoassay. Four major components of Colombian M. mipartitus venom were isolated and partially characterized. Venomics of Micrurus species may provide a valuable platform for the rational design of immunizing cocktails to obtain polyspecific antivenoms for this highly diverse group of American elapids.     

Genetic diversity and population structure of the Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus, Rodentia, Caviidae) in Colombia

The aim was to establish the genetic diversity and population structure of three guinea pig lines, from seven production zones located in Nari?o, southwest Colombia. A total of 384 individuals were genotyped with six microsatellite markers. The measurement of intrapopulation diversity revealed allelic richness ranging from 3.0 to 6.56, and observed heterozygosity (Ho) from 0.33 to 0.60, with a deficit in heterozygous individuals. Although statistically significant (p < 0.05), genetic differentiation between population pairs was found to be low. Genetic distance, as well as clustering of guinea-pig lines and populations, coincided with the historical and geographical distribution of the populations. Likewise, high genetic identity between improved and native lines was established. An analysis of group probabilistic assignment revealed that each line should not be considered as a genetically homogeneous group. The findings corroborate the absorption of native genetic material into the improved line introduced into Colombia from Peru. It is necessary to establish conservation programs for native-line individuals in Nari?o, and control genealogical and production records in order to reduce the inbreeding values in the populations.