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Extent of the 2023 coral bleaching event in the Nargana region of Guna Yala, Panama
Get PDFCoral reefs are diverse marine ecosystems that exist in tropical ecosystems all over the world. They provide a myriad of ecological services that are vital for marine organism biodiversity and human coastal communities. A major threat to coral reefs is a rise in sea surface temperature that causes coral bleaching. The effect of a coral bleaching event in Nargana, Guna Yala will be investigated to examine how the health status of coral reef ecosystems are being impacted. To guide these efforts, the extent of coral bleaching will be measured along with whether sea surface temperature (SST), human concentration, and El Niño are accurate predictors of coral bleaching. Point count data of coral species bleaching and other sessile organisms were collected at five fringing reefs in Guna Yala to produce results related to bleaching percent, the effect of high human concentration and variance in species bleaching. Results revealed significantly more coral bleaching cover than healthy coral cover, more coral bleaching cover at reefs near a high human concentration, significant differences in coral species dominance between reefs near high and low human concentrations and significant differences in bleaching cover between coral species. These findings suggest that an active El Niño event in 2023, as well as anthropogenic climate change, are driving the extent of coral bleaching and changes in coral reef assemblage. It is also found that degree heating weeks (DHW) and length of bleached state are important predictors of severity of coral individual bleaching and mortality
Aït Khbach Nomads and A Thousand Plateaus: An Investigation into the Challenges of Nomadism using Concepts from Deleuze and Guattari
No full textThe Aït Khbach nomads of Drâa-Tafilalet Region in Morocco face several challenges to their lifestyle. Namely, their obstacles relate directly to desertification and the state. Through interviews with the Aït Khbach, this paper seeks to present their narratives. Additionally, this paper grapples with the metaphysics of nomadism and the groundwork of its praxis. In their work, A Thousand Plateaus, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari construct concepts, such as smooth space, the state apparatus, and nomadism, which can be utilized pragmatically to complement and explore the narratives of Aït Khbach nomads
Surveillance Systems in Western Kenya: Methods, Perceptions, and Effectiveness
Get PDFSurveillance is an important tool in monitoring and evaluating infectious disease patterns and trends. Surveillance is vital because it aids public health officials and medical professionals in creating better prevention methods and efficiently managing outbreaks. Kenya is home to many noncommunicable diseases making it an important location to conduct disease surveillance. Within Kenya, each county has its own surveillance unit which tracks and controls outbreaks. In addition, government run surveillance systems were established to determine disease burden, incidence, and patterns in specific at-risk communities around Kenya. One of these major surveillance systems is Population-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance (PBIDS) which has been following the communities in Asembo, Siaya, and Kibera informal settlement, Nairobi since 2005.
My research question was: What methods are employed in the surveillance of infectious diseases in Kenya? My attachment involved a mixed method approach where I learned about quantitative and qualitative methods for surveillance. I was able to successfully answer my research question by gaining an understanding of surveillance data collection methods used in Kenya at the facility, sub-county, and county levels, calculating crude incidence and adjusted incidence rates, determining the limitations and strengths of the methods used during surveillance, and understanding the impacts surveillance data has on health policy decisions.
I was attached to PBIDS to learn how their surveillance system is organized and what type of data they collect. I visited St Elizabeth Lwak Mission Health Centre and visited multiple villages within Asembo to learn about the PBIDS platform. Additionally, I worked with the lab and data analysis team to learn how data is collected from the field and eventually published. Further, I attached with Samuel Osure, from the sub-county surveillance department, to learn how surveillance works at the county, sub-county, and facility levels. Here I learned how wastewater samples are collected and what active case search is. By attaching with these surveillance programs, I was able to meet my objectives and gain an in-depth understanding of how surveillance in Kenya is conducted, the limitations to surveillance, and the effects surveillance has on implementing new health interventions
Biocultural Diversity of Medicine in Tsum Valley
Get PDFHealth is intrinsically connected to biodiversity in the Himalayan mountains of Tsum Valley. Medicinal plants have historically been integral to primary health care in this region. The main objectives of this paper are to explore the role of biocultural diversity on perceptions of health and to demonstrate that medicinal plant knowledge contributes to health sovereignty in times of cultural and environmental change. The nutritional and medicinal significance of plants were examined in the daily lives of villagers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April to May 2023. Preliminary results are analyzed ethnographically. Interviews and participant observation will provide a rich understanding of biocultural influence on health perceptions within Tsum Valley. Further analysis of results must take place
Ecological living in Nepali Food Systems: A Synthesis of Circular Nutrient and Knowledge Flows in the Kathmandu Valley
Get PDFResearching food-systems in Nepal can feel like drinking from a fire hydrant. Sixty-six percent of the population is directly involved in agriculture and a diverse set of ecocultural understandings influence the practice across the country’s landscapes, ranging from the Himalayas to urban centers to southern plains. In the Kathmandu Valley and peripheral hills where I conducted my research, seemingly any spare land was under cultivation, enabled by fertile ground, optimal climate, and market potential. But despite the prevalence of farming in daily life throughout the country, Nepal’s food system is not domestically self-sufficient. A complex web of imports and exports confuse diversified local systems. Food, fertilizer, and other life-supporting resources are imported to the country at incredible rates. Meanwhile, the country’s major export is humans, emigrating in masses from farm life to opportunity in cities or abroad. Thus, fronts of change in food systems are incoming. In the face of urbanization and globalization, I set out to study the loss of intrinsically ecological ways of living and farming. My research focused on the viability of efforts to preserve traditional knowledge, keeping the flows of nutrient and knowledge locally contained, or circular. The initiatives included Everything organic training center, Raithaane restaurant, Hasera Permaculture training center, Himgri Organic Permaculture farm, and the Farmer’s Market at Le Sherpa. I also spent a week living with a dairy farming family that had not been trained in organic method, which serves as a respective look at what these initiatives are seeking to address. Over the course of a month, I met many passionate people working to stabilize Nepal’s food system, striking the balance between traditional ways of life and contemporary thinking
Gentrifying while Black: Exploring the Concept of an African Homeland through Gentrification in Accra, Ghana
Get PDFA Transition Point: The Role of the Global Power Shift in Facilitating Saudi Internal Reforms
Get PDFThe increasing political and economic influence of China represents a pivotal point within international relations. This paper aims to explore the implications of this global power shift on Saudi Arabia’s attempted economic reforms. The Kingdom’s reliance on oil has created an unsustainable economic model, and this model is intrinsically linked to Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States. Its growing relationship with China could create change. As such, this paper analyzes the intersection of economics and security in relation to the Saudi Vision 2030. I argue that, not only does China serve as an important source of the investment necessary to diversify the Saudi economy, its connectivity-based approach to security could ultimately allow Saudi Arabia to reallocate funds towards much-needed reform. This paper contributes to the literature on the economic and political implications of the global power shift, specifically its secondary effects on a country in transition
Tropical tree carbon storage at Drago Dos Forest in Boca Del Drago, Panama
Get PDFCurrently, anthropogenic carbon emissions pose a significant, global threat, contributing to Global Warming and Climate Change (CC). Today, the most effective carbon sinks are natural. Trees are highly effective carbon sinks that sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), most greatly in tropical areas. However, tropical tree carbon storage needs to be more accurately estimated to provide valuable information toward mitigating CC and its negative environmental effects. This study aimed to estimate CO2 sequestration at a tropical forest in Boca Del Drago, Panama, and compare it to that of a nearby mangrove forest. It was hypothesized that the tropical forest, named Drago Dos, would be found to store above average amounts of carbon, and that the mangrove forest would store carbon even more efficiently. To accomplish this, random plots within each forest were selected, totaling ~500 m2 at each site. Within each plot, trees were measured for diameter at breast height (DBH) using diameter tape and tree height using a range finder. Then, the stored carbon for each tree was calculated, summed, and converted using allometric equations developed for the respective ecosystems. It was found that Drago Dos stored 557 tons/ha CO2, higher than the regional average for a mature forest. The mangrove forest was estimated to store only 329 tons/ha CO2. However, tropical carbon storage was not significantly higher per hectare than mangrove carbon storage (p= 0.39). These results indicate that Drago Dos Forest is a healthy, mature forest storing substantial quantities of carbon, with minimal effects from nearby construction. However, it is possible that the mangrove forest estimate is an underestimate due to being in recovery, and most carbon being stored in soil and dead roots. These results only partially support the hypothesis and indicate surprising tropical forest carbon storage efficiency overall
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Reforestation in an Eastern Lowland Rainforest of Madagascar
Get PDFMost terrestrial plants worldwide make associations with mycorrhizal fungi, yet the fungal diversity of Madagascar is vastly unknown. This research project is a preliminary investigation into the mycorrhizal status of 19 tree species in and near Ranomafana National Park (RNP), a lowland tropical forest on the southeast coast of Madagascar. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization in these species was studied in root samples under the microscope in the laboratory of Centre ValBio (CVB). The degree of AM infection was assessed for three study areas: one directly adjacent to a protected area and two reforestation sites supported by CVB. For the 19 samples examined, 16 (84%) were determined AM colonized to varying degrees. Three species were inconclusive and require further analysis. Results also suggested that the degree of AM infection was reduced at the reforestation sites, with only 9% of samples being heavily infected compared to 25% of samples adjacent to the protected area. Additionally, above-ground fruiting bodies (mushrooms) were photographed and some later identified to describe the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi abundance in the study areas. These macroscopic observations simply suggested the presence of ECM associations with certain species, and mushrooms were much more abundance in the protected area of RNP. However, no real conclusions could be made about the ECM status of trees, and only a few fungal species could be confidently identified. To conclude, this study found that most native tropical trees in RNP make AM associations to varying degrees, including the more abundant species. Land degradation from previous cultivation may influence mycorrhizal abundance as well, though more research is necessary
An analysis of communication-related information and services offered to parents of deaf children in Puerto Rico
Get PDFThe period from birth to five years is a critical stage for human language acquisition, and inadequate access to language during this period can cause far-reaching negative effects. Young deaf and hard-of-hearing children face barriers to acquiring language through speaking and listening techniques, and their parents must make consequential decisions about what communicative strategies to pursue for their child. In Puerto Rico, information and support around communication approaches flow to parents from a variety of sources, including the Island’s local Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) system, three dedicated schools for the deaf, and a variety of community-based organizations. This study sought to analyze the information and services made available to parents, including whether they are adequate or balanced with regard to sign- vs. speech-centered approaches. Semi-structured interviews with seven Puerto Rican individuals knowledgeable in the information flow to parents revealed both strengths and areas for improvement in Puerto Rico’s existing network, and suggested the need for a more systematic approach to parent orientation, and a greater emphasis on early sign language exposure