Journals at the University of Arizona
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Consequences of Treating Wyoming Big Sagebrush to Enhance Wildlife Habitats
No full textSagebrush (Artemisia L.) taxa historically functioned as the keystone species on 1 090 000 km2 of rangeland across the western United States, and Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) is or was dominant on a substantialamount of this landscape.Wyoming big sagebrush provides habitat for numerous wildlife species.Nevertheless,Wyoming big sagebrush communities are commonlymanipulated to decrease shrub cover and density and increase the productivity anddiversity of herbaceous plants.We examined relationships betweenmanagement-directed changes inWyoming big sagebrush and greater sagegrouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), elk (Cervus elaphus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), and mule deer (Odocoileushemionus), species commonly associated with these ecosystems.We focused on herbicide applications, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning, because they are commonly applied to large areas in big sagebrush communities, often with the goal to improve wildlife habitats. Specifically, our objective was to identify treatments that either enhance or imperil sagebrush habitats for these wildlife species. The preponderance of literature indicates that habitat management programs that emphasize treatingWyoming big sagebrush are not supported with respect to positive responses by sage-grouse habitats or populations. There is less empirical information on ungulate habitat response toWyoming big sagebrush treatments, but the value of sagebrush as cover and food to these species is clearly documented. A few studies suggest small-scale treatments (60-m width) in mountain big sagebrush (Artemisiatridentata ssp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) may create attractive foraging conditions for brooding sage-grouse, but these may have little relevance toWyoming big sagebrush.Recommendations ormanagement programs thatemphasize treatments to reduceWyoming big sagebrush could lead to declines of wildlife species.More research is needed to evaluate the response of sagebrush wildlife habitats and populations to treatments, and until that time, managers should refrain fromapplying them inWyoming big sagebrush communities
EXPLORING THE MESENTERIC LYMPHATIC APPARATUS: A MORPHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION WITH CLINICAL CORRELATIONS
No full textModern immunohistochemical techniques allow a detailed study of the lymphatic system in many organs and areas of the body. We performed an in-depth study on lymphatic vessels of the ileal and colonic mesenteries, together with the greater omentum where they appear particularly numerous and mainly represented by capillaries interconnected among themselves and with lymph nodes. The capillary wall consists of a fine single sheath of endothelial cells wrapped around by a subtle collagen membrane and deprived of valves. The progression of lymph flow is promoted by external forces acting on the capillary walls. Only at the mesenteric roots can pre- and post-lymph nodal collector vessels be observed. Our observations help to explain different patho-physiological correlations and the possible presence of skip lymph node metastases
The Importance of Pursuing Internship Opportunities
No full textThroughout students’ educational careers academic advisors, professors, and their own families often encourage them to apply to internships. But why are internships so important? This piece features student experiences as interns at the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy, Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) to better answer that question
Testing the water, challenging the narratives of sustainable development: student volunteer research promoting public health in rural Panama in the shadow of an "eco-playground"
No full textThis article describes challenges faced by a team of interns and students working for a not-for-profit sister company of a private U.S.-based land development company planning to build a "sustainable city" in the Panamanian forest. Testing the contaminated water of a nearby village, the team demonstrated that residents have been living with water-related illness. Despite the indifference and conflicting aims of the parent company, potentially impactful social capital connections were made. The author reflects on these efforts within the critique of student "voluntourism." He also explores the role of social media in the production of narratives of sustainable development within the context of a poorly regulated land market.Keywords: water access and water-related illness; sustainable development; medical anthropology; public health; tourism; voluntourism; social capital; social media narrative
Permacultures of transformation: steps to a cultural ecology of environmental action
No full textThis article examines a trend over the past two decades towards more explicit politicization in some areas of the ecovillage movement, particularly where covillages engage with related grassroots movements for environmental and social change. It does so using an expanded political ecology framework, also drawing upon 'Multi-level Perspective on Sustainability Transitions' and Gregory Bateson's Ecology of Mind. It argues that apparently apolitical focii on lifestyle change and personal development have in some cases given way to overt recognition of the need for global political change. It attributes this to the global political economy of sustainability becoming more evident and critiques of dominant social, political and economic regimes more compelling and widely accepted
'It's very not fair': Maize, money, and moral economies in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania
No full textOver the past decade there has been increased emphasis on agricultural development in Africa to meet a nexus of challenges including global food security, national and local economic growth and employment creation, energy security, and the search for new profit frontiers. This is occurring at a time of decreasing public funding for agricultural development, and a deeper focus on the potentially speculative and predatory nature of financial models in the wake of the financial crisis in the late 2000s. One outcome has been the development of innovative financing mechanisms. An example is social impact investing (SII), which aims to generate financial returns and positive social impacts for intended beneficiaries. In this article, I examine an SII programme in the Tanzanian agricultural sector. I unpack what happens when its vision of 'ethical capitalism' is implemented in the context of farmer livelihoods and moral economies, especially at a time of environmental disruption. In doing so, I argue for the continuing relevance of studying moral economies within political ecology
Public knowledge, attitudes and perception of ecological debt
No full textThe concept of ecological debt describes the ecological relations between industrialized (developed) and developing countries and the environment. It refers to the responsibility held by those who live in industrialized countries, as well as their accomplices in the South, for the continuing destruction of the planet due to production and consumption patterns. Ecological debt is a potentially powerful tool for re-discussing relations between North and South and for rethinking sustainable development policies. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the public's knowledge, attitude towards, and perceptions of topics related to the concept of ecological debt. A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire among residents of Athens, the capital of Greece. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that this issue has been explored, with regard to public opinion and this is the beginning of a discussion on public understanding of ecological debt. The survey reveals that the concept of ecological debt is not widely understood; but the participants seem to agree on the causes of its generation and on its association with external financial debt. The research findings guide alternative proposals to relevant social movements and/or organizations for the design of wake-up policies.Keywords: ecological debt, sustainable development, public acceptance, financial deb
Playing development roles: the political ecology of performance in agricultural development
No full textPerformance is a useful lens through which to analyze agrarian life, as performance illuminates the ways that farmers manage the complex socioecological demands of farm work while participating in social life and in the larger political economy. The dialectic of planning and improvisation in the farm field has produced scholarship at multiple scales of political ecology, including the global ramifications of new technologies or policies, as well as the hyper-local engagements between farmers and fields in the context of modernity and development. Political ecologists are also beginning to understand how affects, such as aspirations and frustrations, influence agriculture by structuring how farmers and other stakeholders make decisions about farms, households, capital, and environments. To understand farm work as a performance is to situate it within particular stages, roles, scripts, and audiences at different scales. The articles in this Special Section ask how farmers have improvised, planned, and performed in response to agroecological challenges, bridging scholarship in political ecology, development studies, and the study of agrarian landscapes through new empirical case studies and theoretical contributions. Agriculture both signals social values and fosters improvisations within farming communities' collective vulnerability to weather and the political economy. We argue that the lens of performance situates the political ecology of agriculture within the constraints of the political economy, the aspirations and frustrations of daily life, and the dialectic between improvised responses to change and planning in the field.Keywords: Performance, agriculture, planning, improvisation, agrarian studie