Variation in Indigenous Forest Resource Use in Central Guyana

Sustainable forest conservation strategies should be based on local as well as landscape-scale forest resource use data. Using ecological and sociological techniques, we test the hypotheses that (1) forest resource use differs between ethnic and socioeconomic indigenous groups and (2) that this difference results in differing spatial patterns of resource use, with implications for forest diversity and for conservation planning. In the North Rupununi Guyana, three adjacent indigenous communities (differing in their indigenous/immigrant balance) were recorded using 73 animal and 164 plant species (plus several unidentified ethno-species). Farm sites formed important foci for most forest based activities and ex-farm sites supported similar floristic diversity to surrounding forest. Resource usage differences between communities could be attributed to socio-cultural drivers, e.g. mammal meat consumption and the use of the fruits from the palm tree A. maripa were higher in more traditional households. When extracting household construction timber, lower income groups created small scattered felling sites akin to tree fall gaps whereas higher income groups created larger gaps. Lower income (indigenous) households tended to clear larger but more contained sites for farming while mixed or non-Amerindian household tended to clear smaller but more widely dispersed farm sites. These variations resulted in different patterns of forest disturbance originating from agriculture and timber extraction.     

Double Displacement: Indigenous Australians and Artefacts of the Wet Tropics

The history of dispossession of Indigenous Australians as a result of government policies has been well documented. Going beyond this established literature, this paper explores connections between the displacement of Aboriginal people of the rainforest region of North Queensland to reserves and the ethnographic trade in museum artefacts. I provide an analysis of how Aboriginal people and some of their material products were historically sent along different trajectories. The paper sheds light on debates about the political and economic aspects of a history of displacement, circulation, and emplacement that continues to produce inequalities today.     

Artists as Harvesters: Natural Resource Use by Indigenous Woodcarvers in Central Arnhem Land,Australia

Plant resources are used, managed and conserved by local communities in many parts of the world. However, very few studies have examined the site-specific factors and mechanisms that affect resource extraction. We apply methodology from the social and biological sciences to examine the cultural and socio-economic factors that influence the harvest practice and resource use of indigenous wood carvers in the Maningrida region of central Arnhem Land. Woodcarvers from this region use a small number of carving timbers with two species dominant, Bombax ceiba and Brachychiton diversifolius. There were many cultural differences in harvest practice, with artists from the Kuninjku/Kunibeidji language community harvesting a greater number of tree species, larger quantities per harvest trip and smaller sized stems. Socio-economic factors also played an important role in facilitating the collection of stems as artists owning a vehicle acquired more stems than those who did not. Harvest sites closest to the township of Maningrida had higher visitation frequencies than those further away. These influences on harvest practice have significant implications for the ecological sustainability of timber harvesting in this region and we highlight the need to examine such localised factors when assessing the sustainability of indigenous wildlife harvests.     

Neglected Tropical Diseases among Two Indigenous Subtribes in Peninsular Malaysia: Highlighting Differences and Co-Infection of Helminthiasis and Sarcocystosis

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections have been documented among these minority groups since 1938. However the prevalence of STH is still high among these communities. Most studies tend to consider the Orang Asli (indigenous) as a homogenous group. In contrary, different subtribes have their own cultural practices. To understand this variation better, we studied the prevalence and associated factors of STH and other gut parasitic infections among two common subtribes (i.e. Temuan and Temiar). Results showed that the prevalence of the overall STH infections was higher in the Temuan subtribe (53.2% of 171) compared to the Temiar subtribe (52.7% of 98). Trichuris trichiura (46.2%) was the most prevalent parasite in the Temuan subtribe, followed by Ascaris spp. (25.7%) and hookworm (4.1%). In contrast, Ascaris spp. (39.8%) was more prevalent among the Temiar subtribe, preceded by T. trichiura (35.7%) and finally hookworm (8.3%). There were also co-infections of helminthiasis and intestinal protozoa among both Temuan and Temiar subtribes with rates being three times higher among the Temiar compared to Temuan. The most common co-infection was with Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii (n = 24; 24.5%, 16.0–33.0), followed by Giardia spp. (n = 3; 3.1%, −0.3–6.5). In Temuan, STH infection individuals were also infected with Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii (n = 11; 6.4%, 5.0–13.8), Cryptosporidium spp. (n = 3, 1.8%, −0.2–3.8) and Giardia spp. (n = 2, 1.2%, −0.4–2.8). In comparison, there was no Cryptosporidium spp. detected among the Temiar. However, it was interesting to note that there was an occurrence of co-infection of intestinal helminthiasis and sarcocystosis (intestinal) in a Temiar individual. The last report of sarcocystosis (muscular) among the Orang Asli was in 1978. The present study highlighted the importance of understanding the variation of infections amongst the different Orang Asli subtribes. It is vital to note these differences and use this knowledge to customise effective control measures for the various subtribes.     

Factors Influencing the Health Behaviour of Indigenous Australians: Perspectives from Support People

Disparities between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations continue to be prevalent within Australia. Research suggests that Indigenous people participate in health risk behaviour more often than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and that such behaviour has a substantial impact on health outcomes. Although this would indicate that reducing health risk behaviour may have positive effects on health outcomes, the factors that influence Indigenous health behaviour are still poorly understood. This study aimed to interview people who support Indigenous groups to gain an understanding of their views on the factors influencing health behaviour within Indigenous groups in Western Australia. Twenty nine people participated in the study. The emergent themes were mapped against the social ecological model. The results indicated that: (1) culture, social networks, history, racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the psychological distress associated with some of these factors interact to affect health behaviour in a complex manner; (2) the desire to retain cultural identity and distinctiveness may have both positive and negative influence on health risk behaviour; (3) strong social connections to family and kin that is intensified by cultural obligations, appears to affirm and disrupt positive health behaviour; (4) the separation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social connection/networks that appeared to be fostered by marginalisation and racism may influence the effect of social networks on health behaviour; and (5) communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people may be interrupted by distrust between the groups, which reduces the influence of some non-Indigenous sources on the health behaviour of Indigenous people.     

Investigating the Signature of Aquatic Resource Use within Pleistocene Hominin Dietary Adaptations

There is general agreement that the diet of early hominins underwent dramatic changes shortly after the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record. It is often assumed that this change is associated with dietary expansion to incorporate large mammal resources. Although other aspects of the hominin diet, such as aquatic or vegetal resources, are assumed to be a part of hominin subsistence, identifying evidence of these adaptations has proved difficult. Here we present a series of analyses that provide methodological support for the inclusion of aquatic resources in hominin dietary reconstructions. We suggest that bone surface modifications in aquatic species are morphologically distinguishable from bone surface modifications on terrestrial taxa. We relate these findings to differences that we document in the surface mechanical properties of the two types of bone, as reflected by significant differences in bone surface microhardness values between aquatic and terrestrial species. We hypothesize that the characteristics of bone surface modifications on aquatic taxa inhibit the ability of zooarchaeologists to consistently diagnose them correctly. Contingently, this difficulty influences correspondence levels between zooarchaeologists, and may therefore result in misinterpretation of the taphonomic history of early Pleistocene aquatic faunal assemblages. A blind test using aquatic specimens and a select group of 9 experienced zooarchaeologists as participants was designed to test this hypothesis. Investigation of 4 different possible explanations for blind test results suggest the dominant factors explaining patterning relate to (1) the specific methodologies employed to diagnose modifications on aquatic specimens and (2) the relative experience of participants with modifications on aquatic bone surfaces. Consequently we argue that an important component of early hominin diets may have hitherto been overlooked as a result of (a) the paucity of referential frameworks within which to identify such a component and (b) the inability of applied identification methodologies to consistently do so.     

Molecular Markers and the Management of Tropical Trees: the Case of Indigenous Fruits

Millions of people in the tropics benefit from the harvest, cultivation and consumption of indigenous fruit trees (IFTs). Knowledge concerning the structuring of genetic variation within these species is crucial for sustainable use and conservation, but the availability of such information has been limited. By reference to case study species that are currently the subject of active domestication initiatives, in this essay we provide guidance for the suitable application of molecular marker methods for characterising IFTs. We discuss three particular areas where molecular markers are able to provide unique insights for further promotion activities: (i) in understanding the past domestication of taxa, (ii) in determining effective population sizes; and (iii) in assessing the value of a decentralised approach for future domestication. Despite the potential utility of molecular markers, a disjunction between assessment and practical application is evident, which reflects a lack of integration of laboratory research with other species promotion activities. Greater emphasis is required on team-based research and partnerships, more work should be undertaken in agricultural landscapes, and further research on mating systems and gene flow are crucial. Our essay provides a model for molecular marker studies on other trees that are important to rural communities in the tropics.     

Production and Resource Use Efficiencies in N- and P-Limited Tropical Forests: A Comparison of Responses to Long-term Fertilization

At two sites at the extreme ends of a soil development chronosequence in Hawaii, we investigated whether forest responses to fertilization on young soils were similar to those on highly weathered soils and whether the initial responses were maintained after 6–11 years of fertilization. Aboveground net primary production (ANPP) was increased by nitrogen (N) application at the 300-year-old site and phosphorus (P) application at the 4.1-million-year-old site, thus confirming earlier results and their designations as N- and P-limited forests. Along with ANPP, application of the limiting element consistently increased leaf area index (LAI), radiation conversion efficiency (RCE), and foliar and litter nutrient concentrations. Fertilization did not consistently alter N or P retranslocation from senescent leaves at either site, but a comparison with other sites on the chronosequence and with a common-garden study suggests that there is a genetic basis for low foliar and litter nutrients and higher retranslocation at infertile sites vs more fertile sites. N limitation appears to be expressed as limitation to carbon gain, with long leaf lifespans and high leaf mass per area. P limitation results in high P-use efficiency and disproportionally large increases in P uptake after fertilization; a comparison with other studies indicates large investments in acquiring and storing P. Although the general responses of ANPP, LAI, and RCE were similar for the two sites, other aspects of nutrient use differ in relation to the physiological and biogeochemical roles of the two elements. Received 2 June 2000; Accepted 4 April 2001.     

The Contribution of Geography to Disparities in Preventable Hospitalisations between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians

Objectives

To quantify the independent roles of geography and Indigenous status in explaining disparities in Potentially Preventable Hospital (PPH) admissions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Design, setting and participants

Analysis of linked hospital admission data for New South Wales (NSW), Australia, for the period July 1 2003 to June 30 2008.

Main outcome measures

Age-standardised admission rates, and rate ratios adjusted for age, sex and Statistical Local Area (SLA) of residence using multilevel models.

Results

PPH diagnoses accounted for 987,604 admissions in NSW over the study period, of which 3.7% were for Indigenous people. The age-standardised PPH admission rate was 76.5 and 27.3 per 1,000 for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people respectively. PPH admission rates in Indigenous people were 2.16 times higher than in non-Indigenous people of the same age group and sex who lived in the same SLA. The largest disparities in PPH admission rates were seen for diabetes complications, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and rheumatic heart disease. Both rates of PPH admission in Indigenous people, and the disparity in rates between Indigenous than non-Indigenous people, varied significantly by SLA, with greater disparities seen in regional and remote areas than in major cities.

Conclusions

Higher rates of PPH admission among Indigenous people are not simply a function of their greater likelihood of living in rural and remote areas. The very considerable geographic variation in the disparity in rates of PPH admission between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people indicates that there is potential to reduce unwarranted variation by characterising outlying areas which contribute the most to this disparity.     

Ethnic Differences in the Quality of the Interview Process and Implications for Survey Analysis: The Case of Indigenous Australians

Comparable survey data on Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are highly sought after by policymakers to inform policies aimed at closing ethnic socio-economic gaps. However, collection of such data is compromised by group differences in socio-economic status and cultural norms. We use data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey and multiple-membership multilevel regression models that allow for individual and interviewer effects to examine differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in approximate measures of the quality of the interview process. We find that there are both direct and indirect ethnic effects on different dimensions of interview process quality, with Indigenous Australians faring worse than non-Indigenous Australians in all outcomes ceteris paribus . This indicates that nationwide surveys must feature interview protocols that are sensitive to the needs and culture of Indigenous respondents to improve the quality of the survey information gathered from this subpopulation.     

The Politics of the Gap: Indigenous Australians, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the End of the Self-Determination Era

ABSTRACT  Since the 1970s, "self-determination" has been the dominant trope for expressing national aspirations for Indigenous Australians. Through the principles of self-determination, the liberal multicultural state has attempted to deliver postcolonial justice to its first peoples. In this new century, the sheen of the self-determination era has faded. Once heralded as the antidote to the racist assimilation era, it is now depicted as the cause of social ills. In this article, I draw on an ethnographic study of White antiracists working in Indigenous health in northern Australia to analyze the brand of liberal rationality that dominated the discourse of the self-determination era. By engaging with a "tribe" of White people who identify with the aims of the self-determination era, we can decipher the logic of self-determination as an instrument of the liberal state and better understand the internal contradictions and ambiguities that have led to its recent demise.     

Forest Productivity and Efficiency of Resource Use Across a Chronosequence of Tropical Montane Soils

We tested the hypothesis that plants adjust to nutrient availability by altering carbon allocation patterns and nutrient-use efficiency (NUE = net primary production [NPP] per unit nutrient uptake), but are constrained by a trade-off between NUE and light-use efficiency () = NPP per unit intercepted light). NPP, NUE and ) were measured in montane Metrosideros polymorpha forest across a 4.1 x 10⁶ yr space for time substitution chronosequence in which available soil N and P pools change with site age. Although the range of N and P availability across sites was broad, there was little difference in NPP between sites, and in contrast to theories of carbon allocation relative to limiting resources, we found no consistent relationships in production allocation to leaves, fine roots or wood. However, canopy nutrient pools and fluxes were correlated with the mass of fine roots per unit soil volume and there was a weak but positive correlation of NPP with LAI. Patterns of ) and NUE across the soil developmental sequence were opposite to each other. ) increased as nutrient availability and nutrient turnover increased, while NUE decreased in response to the same influences but reached its highest values where either N or P availability and turnover of both N and P were low. A negative correlation between ) and NUE supports the hypothesis that a trade-off exists between ) and leaf characteristics affecting NUE.     

Genetic Connections and Convergent Evolution of Tropical Indigenous Peoples in Asia

Tropical indigenous peoples in Asia (TIA) attract much attention for their unique appearance, whereas their genetic history and adaptive evolution remain mysteries. We conducted a comprehensive study to characterize the genetic distinction and connection of broad geographical TIAs. Despite the diverse genetic makeup and large interarea genetic differentiation between the TIA groups, we identified a basal Asian ancestry (bASN) specifically shared by these populations. The bASN ancestry was relatively enriched in ancient Asian human genomes dated as early as ∼50,000 years before the present and diminished in more recent history. Notably, the bASN ancestry is unlikely to be derived from archaic hominins. Instead, we suggest it may be better modeled as a survived lineage of the initial peopling of Asia. Shared adaptations inherited from the ancient Asian ancestry were detected among the TIA groups (e.g., LIMS1 for hair morphology, and COL24A1 for bone formation), and they are enriched in neurological functions either at an identical locus (e.g., NKAIN3), or different loci in an identical gene (e.g., TENM4). The bASN ancestry could also have formed the substrate of the genetic architecture of the dark pigmentation observed in the TIA peoples. We hypothesize that phenotypic convergence of the dark pigmentation in TIAs could have resulted from parallel (e.g., DDB1/DAK) or genetic convergence driven by admixture (e.g., MTHFD1 and RAD18), new mutations (e.g., STK11), or notably purifying selection (e.g., MC1R). Our results provide new insights into the initial peopling of Asia and an advanced understanding of the phenotypic convergence of the TIA peoples.     

The Gradual Loss of African Indigenous Vegetables in Tropical America: A Review

Economic Botany - Leaf vegetables and other edible greens are a crucial component of traditional diets in sub-Saharan Africa, used popularly in soups, sauces, and stews. In this review, we trace...     

Socialization, Land, and Citizenship among Aboriginal Australians: Reconciling Indigenous and Western Forms of Education

Socialization, Land, and Citizenship among Aboriginal Australians: Reconciling Indigenous and Western Forms of Education . Raymond Matthew Nichol. Lewiston, NY: Edward Mellen Press, 2005. 480 pp.     

BasinBox: A Generic Multimedia Fate Model for Predicting the Fate of Chemicals in River Catchments

Multimedia fate models have proven to be very useful tools in chemical risk assessment and management. This paper presents BasinBox, a newly developed steady-state generic multimedia fate model for evaluating risks of new and existing chemicals in river basins. The model concepts, as well as the intermedia processes quantified in the model, are outlined, and an overview of the required input parameters is given. To test the BasinBox model, calculations were carried out for predicting the fate of chemicals in the river Rhine basin. This was done for a set of 3175 hypothetical chemicals and three emission scenarios to air, river water and cropland soils. For each of these hypothetical chemicals and emission scenarios the concentration ratio between the downstream area and the upstream area was calculated for all compartments. From these calculations it appeared that BasinBox predicts significant concentration differences between upstream and downstream areas of the Rhine river basin for certain types of chemicals and emission scenarios. There is a clear trend of increasing chemical concentrations in downstream direction of the river basin. The calculations show that taking into account spatial variability between upstream, midstream and downstream areas of large river basins can be useful in the predictions of environmental concentrations by multimedia fate models.     

Indigenous Land Use in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A Cross-cultural and Multilevel Analysis

Among the remaining tropical forests of lowland Latin America, many are inhabited by indigenous peoples, and the sustainability of their land uses is a point of heated debate in the conservation community. Numerous small-scale studies have documented changes in indigenous land use in individual communities in the context of expanding frontier settlements and markets, but few studies have included larger populations or multiple ethnic groups. In this paper we use data from a regional-scale survey of five indigenous populations in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon to describe their agricultural land use practices and investigate the factors that affect those practices. We find the areas cultivated by indigenous households to be small compared to those of nearby mestizo colonists, but a large proportion of indigenous cultivated area is in commercial land uses. We also construct multilevel statistical models to investigate the household and community-level factors that affect indigenous land use. The results reveal significant influences on cultivated area from contextual factors such as access to markets, oil company activities, and the land tenure regime, as well as from household characteristics such as demographic composition, participation in alternative livelihood activities, and human, social and physical capitals. Overall the results are most consistent with market integration as an underlying driver of land use change in indigenous territories of the study area.

Aquatic macrophytes and water current velocity in the Danube River

Water currents are among the strongest environmental variables determining the occurrence and/or abundance of aquatic plants and the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) considers river morphology and current conditions important aspects of reference conditions. We used the database of the Joint Danube Survey JDS-2, organised by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR, Vienna), to assess the relationship between water flow velocity and the occurrence and abundance of aquatic macrophyte to be species along the navigable reach of the Danube River. Species abundance was assessed in accordance with European Standard EN 14184-2003. Flow velocities were assessed close to the plant stands and estimated in 4 classes, worked out in earlier studies in combination with flow meter measurements, which is appropriate for the conditions in this large river. Statistical analysis revealed that only survey units with either no visible flow or those with fast flow were characterised by indicator species with high significance. Still water conditions or barely visible flow (flow class 1) were indicated by Potamogeton friesii, Nitellopsis obtusa and Trapa natans, and by Potamogeton perfoliatus, Potamogeton nodosus and Stuckenia pectinata. Lemna minor, indicative for flow class 1 as well, was detected in all the other flow classes, too: in all these cases it established its stands closely intermingled with other aquatic species. For survey units with slow (flow class 2) or intermediate flow (flow class 3). No statistically significant indicator species could be determined. The highest flow velocities (flow class 4) were significantly indicated by Fissidens rufulus, Cinclidotus fontinaloides and Cinclidotus riparius. Occurrence of aquatic mosses was also highly related to the Berger–Parker dominance index in NMDS analysis. In the same analysis, but towards the smallest flow velocities, the majority of vascular species and the Simpson diversity index were closely related. The spectrum of life forms was considerably reduced under medium and high flow velocity conditions. With regard to Simpson species diversity, our analysis indicates an agglomeration of diversity in the Middle Danube reach that includes the Iron Gates impoundment. Our results offer a first look at the macrophyte/water flow relationship of a very large river in Europe, the Danube.     

Export of DOM from Boreal Catchments: Impacts of Land Use Cover and Climate

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important fraction in carbon (C) and nutrient budgets for aquatic ecosystems and can have broad effects on food webs and nutrient cycling. To look at the role land use cover and climate might play in DOM transport from the boreal region, the export of total organic carbon (TOC), total organic nitrogen (TON) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) was estimated for Finnish main rivers and their sub-catchments, altogether 86 catchments, situated between latitudes 60° N and 69° N and covering 297,322 km², 88% of the total area of Finland. On an average, 94% of the TOC, 90% of the total nitrogen (TN) and 40% of the total phosphorus (TP) in Finnish rivers was in a dissolved form. The majority of the DOM export from Finnish catchments consists of organic C. The TOC export increased with increasing peatland proportion (r = 0.39, p = 0.003), while TON export increased with the increasing percentage of agricultural land (r = 0.60, p <0.001). Although upstream lakes covered only on average 9% of the catchment area, they were the most important predictor for TOC, TON and DOP export (r = −0.83, r = −0.82 and r = −0.61, respectively). The higher the upstream lake percentage, the lower the export indicating organic matter retention in lakes.