Alternative cropping and feeding options to enhance sustainability of mixed crop-livestock farms in Bangladesh

Timothy Joseph Krupnik Jeroen Groot (2024, [Artículo])

We investigated alternative cropping and feeding options for large (>10 cows), medium (5–10 cows) and small (≤4 cows) mixed crop – livestock farm types, to enhance economic and environmental performance in Jhenaidha and Meherpur districts – locations with increasing dairy production – in south western Bangladesh. Following focus group discussions with farmers on constraints and opportunities, we collected baseline data from one representative farm from each farm size class per district (six in total) to parameterize the whole-farm model FarmDESIGN. The six modelled farms were subjected to Pareto-based multi-objective (differential evolution algorithm) optimization to generate alternative dairy farm and fodder configurations. The objectives were to maximize farm profit, soil organic matter balance, and feed self-reliance, in addition to minimizing feed costs and soil nitrogen losses as indicators of sustainability. The cropped areas of the six baseline farms ranged from 0.6 to 4.0 ha and milk production per cow was between 1,640 and 3,560 kg year−1. Feed self-reliance was low (17%–57%) and soil N losses were high (74–342 kg ha−1 year−1). Subsequent trade-off analysis showed that increasing profit and soil organic matter balance was associated with higher risks of N losses. However, we found opportunities to improve economic and environmental performance simultaneously. Feed self-reliance could be increased by intensifying cropping and substituting fallow periods with appropriate fodder crops. For the farm type with the largest opportunity space and room to manoeuvre, we identified four strategies. Three strategies could be economically and environmentally benign, showing different opportunities for farm development with locally available resources.

Ruminant Feed Pareto-Based Optimization Farm Bioeconomic Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA RUMINANT FEEDING BIOECONOMIC MODELS MIXED CROPPING FARMS LIVESTOCK

Recent advances on research of native prawn Macrobrachium americanum (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) with aquaculture and conservation purposes

Yuneisy Milagro Agüero Fernández MIRIAM VICTORIA MARTIN MANZO MARITZA LOURDES SOBERANES YEPIZ Marcelo Ulises García Guerrero Yuniel Méndez Martínez Luis Hector Hernandez Hernandez Laura S López Greco Edilmar Cortés Jacinto (2022, [Artículo])

"Where good management practices on aquaculture are mandatory. The economic and ecological importance of prawns of the Genus Macrobrachium cause an impact at a global level involving economic, academic and social aspects. Macrobrachium americanum appears as one of the genus species with high nutritional value and an economic demand in the national and international markets, as well as a vital income for fisherman and producers of this species. For researchers, it is a challenge to find solutions to culture and propose conservation measures for M. americanum with emphasis on development, nutrition and reproduction. Although there are scientific studies supporting the economic importance of this species, our knowledge about its cultivation, reproduction and conservation is limited. This paper summarizes the latest studies made in cooperation with M. americanum in research lead by the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, Mexico. After several years of continuous research, it is considered that those efforts have produced useful information for the sustainable exploitation, conservation and basic management practices of this species."

Freshwater ecosystem, growth rate, native prawn species, conservation, sustainable fishing BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL

EVALUACIÓN DE LA INTERACCIÓN ENTRE LAS ACTIVIDADES PRIORITARIAS DE PESCA Y CONSERVACIÓN EN EL SISTEMA SOCIOAMBIENTAL DEL GOLFO DE ULLOA. ESTUDIO DE CASO: Caretta caretta y Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)

JEHIEL ZACIL RETANA ARELLANO (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

"El Golfo de Ulloa (GU) es un ecosistema de gran importancia socioeconómica y ecológica por su abundancia de recursos; se encuentra localizado en la costa occidental de Baja California Sur (BCS) bajo la influencia de la Corriente de California (CC). Debido a las artes de pesca empleadas en la zona, existe la interacción incidental con especies que no son el objetivo de la pesca, tal es el caso de las tortugas marinas, todas ellas sujetas a protección especial en la legislación nacional e internacional, sin embargo, a la fecha se desconoce una medición puntual de estas interacciones en el área; al respecto, en el presente trabajo se caracterizaron y dimensionaron las interacciones entre la actividad pesquera realizada con chinchorros y dos especies de tortugas marinas en la zona; para ello se consideró la información obtenida durante el censo pesquero de 2015 así como también la base de datos con información de avistamientos e interacciones de tortugas marinas con las actividades extractivas de la pesca realizada de junio 2015 a julio de 2016. Sobre la base de la información analizada, se registraron 5,661 chinchorros, de los cuales, el 95 % cumple con las medidas autorizadas en los permisos de pesca correspondientes. Por su parte, se registraron 458 avistamientos de tortugas marinas, de los cuales, el 56 % correspondió a tortuga amarilla y el resto a tortuga verde. Las interacciones de las tortugas con los sitios activos de pesca se categorizaron como: (1) viva sin enredo; (2) muerta sin enredo; (3) viva con enredo; y (4) muerta con enredo. Considerando ambas especies y estas categorías, para el periodo analizado, se observaron 85 registros, de los cuales, seis correspondieron a la categoría 1; cinco en la categoría 2; 42 en la categoría 3; y 32 en la categoría 4. Se determinó que la tortuga verde presentó mayor interacción (68.23 %) con respecto a la tortuga amarilla, con registros máximos en junio para ambas especies. Sobre estos registros, se creó un índice de interacción de artes de pesca y las tortugas marinas (IIAT), con el cual, se observó que el área de alto riesgo y daño dentro de la ZRP es muy reducida (<1 % del área total). Adicionalmente, a través de un análisis de probabilidad de Poisson se determinó que es considerablemente más probable (≈30 %) observar una tortuga viva y sin enredo que en cualesquiera de las otras tres categorías para las que se calculó una probabilidad máxima de observación de ≈12 % por cada cuadrante de 10 x 10 km..."

"The Gulf of Ulloa (GU) is an ecosystem of significant socioeconomic and ecological importance due to its abundance of resources. It is located on the western coast of Baja California Sur (BCS) and is influenced by the California Current (CC). Due to the fishing methods used in the area, there is bycatch with species that are not the target of fishing, such as sea turtles, all of which are subject to special protection under national and international legislation. However, there has been no specific measurement of these interactions in the area. In this study, the interactions between fishing activities using seine nets and two species of sea turtles in the area were characterized and quantified. The information obtained during the 2015 census and the database containing information on sea turtle sightings and interactions with fishing activities from June 2015 to July 2016 was considered. Based on the analyzed information, 5,661 seine nets were recorded, of which 95 % complied with the authorized measures in the corresponding fishing permits. Additionally, 458 sea turtle sightings were recorded, with 56 % corresponding to yellow turtles and the rest to green turtles. The interactions of turtles with active fishing sites were categorized as: (1) alive without entanglement; (2) dead without entanglement; (3) alive with entanglement; and (4) dead with entanglement. Considering both species and these categories, 85 records were observed during the analyzed period, of which six corresponded to category 1, five to category 2, 42 to category 3, and 32 to category 4. It was determined that the green turtle had a higher interaction rate (68.23 %) compared to the yellow turtle, with peak records in June for both species. Based on these records, an index of interaction between fishing gear and sea turtles (IIAT) was created. It was observed that the area of high risk and damage within the ZRP (Fishery Refuge Area) is very small (<1 % of the total area). Additionally, a Poisson probability analysis determined that it is considerably more likely (≈30 %) to observe an alive without entanglement turtle than in any of the other three categories, for which the maximum observation probability was ≈12 % for each 10 x 10 km quadrant..."

tortuga marina, captura incidental, pesca y conservación, refugio pesquero Sea turtle, bycatch, fishing and conservation, Fishery Refuge Area CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE PROTECCIÓN DE LOS PECES PROTECCIÓN DE LOS PECES

Diseño de arreglos de antenas para entornos de 5G utilizando técnicas de simplificación en la red de alimentación

Design of antenna arrays for 5G environments using simplification techniques in the feeding network

ELIZVAN JUAREZ PACHECO (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

En los últimos años, las redes de comunicaciones inalámbricas de quinta generación (5G) han tomado gran relevancia debido al crecimiento del número de usuarios móviles que se conectan a estas redes inalámbricas. Estas redes utilizan arreglos de antenas para generar haces de radiación directivos que pueden escanearse en una o múltiples direcciones en el espacio mediante el control de una red de alimentación. En una red de alimentación convencional cada elemento de antena se alimenta con un dispositivo amplificador y desfasador, lo que resulta en sistemas costosos y complejos de implementar. Por lo tanto, esta tesis de investigación propone nuevas técnicas de diseño que simplifican la red de alimentación al reducir el número de puertos de entrada y dispositivos desfasadores necesarios en el sistema de antenas. Las configuraciones propuestas consideran como requisitos de diseño el nivel de lóbulo lateral (SLL por sus siglas en inglés), rango de escaneo del haz principal y ancho de banda de operación adecuados para sistemas de 5G. Así, se introduce la técnica de bloques CORPS (Estructuras Periódicas de Radiación Coherente, en inglés) como una solución para simplificar la red de alimentación en arreglos lineales y planares. Esta técnica aprovecha la propiedad de interpolación de fase de las redes CORPS de una capa para generar los valores cofasales ideales necesarios para escanear el haz principal. Además, la aplicación de una excitación de amplitud de coseno alzado genera un haz de radiación con bajo SLL. Adicionalmente, se aplica la técnica de bloques CORPS en configuraciones con subarreglos para mejorar la reducción de desfasadores en comparación con la implementación individual de cada tecnología. Los resultados obtenidos mediante simulación electromagnética y mediciones experimentales validan los diferentes diseños propuestos. Todo esto contribuye al estado del arte al presentar diferentes diseños de arreglos de antenas que simplifican la red de alimentación manteniendo buenas características en el patrón de radiación en comparación con diseños tradicionales.

In recent years, fifth-generation wireless networks (5G) have become very relevant due to the exponential growth in the number of mobile users connecting to wireless networks. These networks employ antenna arrays to generate directional radiation beams that can be scanned in one or multiple directions in space by controlling a feeding network. In a conventional feeding network, each antenna element is fed with an amplifier and phase shifter device, which results in expensive and complex systems to implement. Therefore, this thesis proposes novel design techniques that simplify the feeding network by reducing the number of input ports and phase shifter devices required in the antenna system. The proposed configurations take into account requirements such as side lobe level (SLL), scanning range, and bandwidth appropriate for 5G systems. Thus, the CORPS (Coherent Radiation Periodic Structures) blocks technique is introduced as a solution to simplify the feeding network in linear and planar phased arrays. This technique takes advantage of the phase interpolation property of single-layer CORPS to generate the ideal cophasal values necessary for the main beam scanning. Furthermore, the application of a raised-cosine amplitude distribution generates a radiation beam with low SLL. Additionally, the CORPS blocks technique is applied in subarrays configurations to improve the phase shifters reduction compared to the individual implementation of each technology. The results obtained by electromagnetic simulation and experimental measurements validate the different proposed designs. This contributes to the state of the art by different designs of antenna arrays that simplify the feeding network while maintaining good radiation pattern characteristics when compared to traditional designs.

Arreglo de antenas, Red de alimentación, Quinta generación, Arreglo lineal, Arreglo planar Antenna array, Feeding network, Fifth Generation, Linear array, Planar array INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS TECNOLOGÍA DE LAS TELECOMUNICACIONES ANTENAS ANTENAS

Do marine reserves increase prey for California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals?

ALEJANDRO ARIAS DEL RAZO (2019, [Artículo])

Community marine reserves are geographical areas closed to fishing activities, implemented and enforced by the same fishermen that fish around them. Their main objective is to recover commercial stocks of fish and invertebrates. While marine reserves have proven successful in many parts of the world, their success near important marine predator colonies, such as the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), is yet to be analyzed. In response to the concerns expressed by local fishermen about the impact of the presence of pinnipeds on their communities’ marine reserves, we conducted underwater surveys around four islands in the Pacific west of the Baja California Peninsula: two without reserves (Todos Santos and San Roque); one with a recently established reserve (San Jeronimo); and, a fourth with reserves established eight years ago (Natividad). All these islands are subject to similar rates of exploitation by fishing cooperatives with exclusive rights. We estimated fish biomass and biodiversity in the seas around the islands, applying filters for potential California sea lion and harbor seal prey using known species from the literature. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that the age of the reserve has a significant positive effect on fish biomass, while the site (inside or outside of the reserve) did not, with a similar result found for the biomass of the prey of the California sea lion. Fish biodiversity was also higher around Natividad Island, while invertebrate biodiversity was higher around San Roque. These findings indicate that marine reserves increase overall fish diversity and biomass, despite the presence of top predators, even increasing the numbers of their potential prey. Community marine reserves may help to improve the resilience of marine mammals to climate-driven phenomena and maintain a healthy marine ecosystem for the benefit of both pinnipeds and fishermen. © 2019 Arias-Del-Razo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, biodiversity, biomass, climate change, ecosystem resilience, environmental exploitation, fish stock, fishing, marine environment, marine invertebrate, nonhuman, Phoca vitulina, Pinnipedia, prey searching, Zalophus californianus, animal, biom BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes

MARICELA JUAREZ RODRIGUEZ (2020, [Artículo])

There is limited information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) colonies. While scat analysis has been used to determine the diet of some colonies, the integrative characterization of its feeding habits on broader temporal and spatial scales remains limited. We examined potential feeding grounds, trophic niche width, and overlap, and inferred the degree of dietary specialization using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in this subspecies. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N on fur samples from pups collected at five sites along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Fur of natal coat of Pacific harbor seal pups begins to grow during the seventh month in utero until the last stage of gestation. Therefore pup fur is a good proxy for the mother's feeding habits in winter (∼December to March), based on the timing of gestation for the subspecies in this region. Our results indicated that the δ13C and δ15N values differed significantly among sampling sites, with the highest mean δ15N value occurring at the southernmost site, reflecting a well-characterized north to south latitudinal 15N-enrichment in the food web. The tendency identified in δ13C values, in which the northern colonies showed the most enriched values, suggests nearshore and benthic-demersal feeding habits. A low variance in δ13C and δ15N values for each colony (&lt;1‰) and relatively small standard ellipse areas suggest a specialized foraging behavior in adult female Pacific harbor seals in Mexican waters. © 2020 Juárez-Rodríguez et al.

carbon, delta carbon 13, delta nitrogen 15, isotope, nitrogen, unclassified drug, carbon, nitrogen, Article, correlational study, feeding behavior, latitude, Mexico, nonhuman, organism colony, Pinnipedia, population abundance, species richness, troph BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)