Evaluación de indicadores de calidad y funcionalidad en islas de recursos, de mezquite (Prosopis articulata) y cardón (Pachycereus pringlei) en una zona restaurada de Baja California Sur

Geovanna Zárate Camargo (2024)

"Las temperaturas extremas, radiación solar intensa, vientos fuertes, humedad limitada y la baja fertilidad de los suelos desérticos dificultan la recuperación de zonas degradadas en zonas áridas. Uno de los fenómenos naturales más importantes de revegetación en zonas áridas son las islas de recursos, conformadas por algunos tipos de plantas que actúan como nodrizas, las cuales, bajo su dosel, desarrollan un microhábitat favorable para el establecimiento de otras especies que trabajan en conjunto con una larga comunidad de microorganismos que se encuentran en el suelo. Entre las plantas nodriza que se observan con más frecuencia en el Desierto de Sonora, se encuentran las especies del género Prosopis. Las islas de recursos conformadas por mezquites han demostrado tener un efecto positivo como planta nodriza en zonas áridas. Las contribuciones del mezquite son el aumento del contenido de N en el suelo, temperaturas moderadas en el suelo y la superficie, altos niveles de humedad, mayor actividad microbiana, entre otros aspectos que hacen posible los efectos de las islas de recursos. En este estudio se evaluaron diferentes indicadores de calidad de suelo en islas de recursos establecidas hace 19 años, como parte de un proyecto de revegetación de suelos degradados, distintivo del Desierto Sonorense. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si existe un gradiente con respecto a la distancia y profundidad, en la actividad microbiana y enzimática presente en suelos de islas de recursos, resultado de la interacción de mezquite amargo (Prosopis articulata), como planta nodriza y cardón (Pachycereus pringlei), como planta objetivo. Los resultados demostraron que existe un aumento la actividad enzimática y carbono asociado a biomasa microbiana del suelo perteneciente a estas islas, con mayores resultados en zonas próximas a la planta nodriza que en zonas sin su influencia, también se encontró un aumento en la capa superficial del suelo mostrando mayores valores en los indicadores de calidad y funcionalidad bajo el dosel de las islas de recursos. Lo anterior sugiere que el uso de estas islas de recursos es una potencial alternativa en la restauración de suelos degradados, favoreciendo el ciclaje de nutrientes en suelos degradados."

"At desert, the high temperatures, intense solar radiation, strong winds, limited water, and low fertility, determine how challenging will be the recovery of degraded soils in arid lands. One of the most important natural phenomena of revegetation in arid lands are the “resource islands”, that consist of some trees or bushes acting as nurse plants, which under their canopy, develop a beneficial microhabitat for the establishment of other plant species the work with an extensive community of microorganisms found in the soil. Among the most common nurse plants observed in the Sonoran Desert, is the genus Prosopis. The resource islands formed with mesquite have shown positive effects as nurse plant in arid lands. The principal contributions of mesquite are the increase of N in the soil, moderate temperatures on soil and topsoil, high moisture levels, increased microbial activity, among other aspects that make possible the effect of resource islands. In this study, different quality indicators were evaluated in resource islands established 19 years ago, as part of a project for revegetation in degraded soils, distinctive from the Sonoran Desert. The aim of this research was to explore whether there is a correlation between distance, depth, microbial activity, and enzymatic activity in the soil surrounding resource islands formed by the interaction between mesquite amargo (Prosopis articulata) as the nurse plant and cardon (Pachycereus pringlei) as the objective plant. The results demonstrated that there is an increase in the enzymatic activity and microbial biomass carbon from the soil under the canopy of the resource islands, with higher results in zones near the nurse plant than zones without its influence, furthermore, there was found an increase in the topsoil showing higher values in the soil quality and functionality indicators under the canopy of the resource islands. The above indicates that the use of these resource islands is a potential alternative in the degraded soil restoration, supporting the nutrient cycling in degraded soils."

Master thesis

suelo, ecología, revegetación, actividad enzimática, ciclaje de nutrientes soil, ecology, revegetation, enzymatic activity, nutrient cycling CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS AGRONOMÍA FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO

In vitro Digestibility of Yarrowia lipolytica Yeast and Growth Performance in Whiteleg Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

ANA RUTH ALVAREZ SANCHEZ CLAUDIO HUMBERTO MEJIA RUIZ Héctor Gerardo Nolasco Soria Alberto Peña Rodríguez (2018)

"Marine yeasts used in aquaculture disease control can also be an important protein source for improving feeding and nutrition of crustaceans. Yarrowia lipolyticca has been studied for its capacity to secrete heterologous proteins and high content of unsaturated fatty acids, beta-glucan, and mannane polymers in the cell wall. We measured in vitro digestibility of Y. lipolyticca by whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei digestive enzymes, and an in vivo assay of Y. lipolytica in feed onwhiteleg shrimp growth. We found that digestive gland enzymes of shrimp digest Y. lipolytica, based on reduced optical density of a yeast suspension. Digestion was –0.00236 ± 0.00010 OD U min–1 for intact cells and –0.00325 ± 0.00010 OD U min–1 for lysed cells. Release of reducing sugars in intact cells (5.3940 ± 0.1713 μmol h–1), and lysed cells (0.8396 ± 0.2251 μmol h–1) was measured. Digestive gland treatment significantly reduced cell viability (near 100%), relative to the control. Electron microscopy shows that the cell wall of Y. lipolytica exposed to the digestive gland enzymes was severely damaged. Shrimp diet containing Y. lipolytica resulted in significantly higher weight gain and specific growth rate of whiteleg shrimp."

Article

Marine yeast, cell digestibility, cell viability, turbidimetry, reduced sugars BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOQUÍMICA BIOQUÍMICA DE ALIMENTOS BIOQUÍMICA DE ALIMENTOS

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

ALEJANDRO ARIAS DEL RAZO (2019)

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

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)

Assessing the Spatiotemporal Relationship between Coastal Habitats and Fish Assemblages at Two Neotropical Estuaries of the Mexican Pacific

VICTOR MANUEL MURO TORRES FELIPE AMEZCUA MARTINEZ Gerogina Ramírez Ortiz FRANCISCO JAVIER FLORES DE SANTIAGO Felipe Amezcua Linares Yareli Hernández Álvarez (2022)

"Differences in fish assemblages’ structures and their relations with environmental variables (due to the variations in sampled seasons, habitats, and zones) were analyzed in two adjacent estuaries on the north Pacific coast of Mexico. Environmental variables and fish catches were registered monthly between August 2018 and October 2020. Multivariate analyses were conducted to define habitats and zones based on their environmental characteristics, and the effect of this variability on fish assemblages’ composition, biomass, and diversity (α and β) was evaluated. A total of 12,008 fish individuals of 143 species were collected using different fishing nets. Multivariate analyses indicated that fish assemblages’ structures were different between zones due to the presence, height, and coverage of distinct mangrove species. Additionally, depth and salinity showed effects on fish assemblages’ diversity (α and β-nestedness), which presented higher values in the ocean and remained similar in the rest of the analyzed zones and habitats. These results and the differences in species replacement (β-turnover) indicate the singularity of fish assemblages at estuaries (even in areas close to the ocean) and the necessity to establish local management strategies for these ecosystems."

Article

mangrove forests, marine protected areas, alpha diversity, beta diversity, multivariate analyses CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE DINÁMICA DE LAS POBLACIONES DINÁMICA DE LAS POBLACIONES

Rapid effects of marine reserves via larval dispersal

Richard Cudney Bueno (2009)

Marine reserves have been advocated worldwide as conservation and fishery management tools. It is argued that they can protect ecosystems and also benefit fisheries via density-dependent spillover of adults and enhanced larval dispersal into fishing areas. However, while evidence has shown that marine reserves can meet conservation targets, their effects on fisheries are less understood. In particular, the basic question of if and over what temporal and spatial scales reserves can benefit fished populations via larval dispersal remains unanswered. We tested predictions of a larval transport model for a marine reserve network in the Gulf of California, Mexico, via field oceanography and repeated density counts of recently settled juvenile commercial mollusks before and after reserve establishment. We show that local retention of larvae within a reserve network can take place with enhanced, but spatially-explicit, recruitment to local fisheries. Enhancement occurred rapidly (2 yrs), with up to a three-fold increase in density of juveniles found in fished areas at the downstream edge of the reserve network, but other fishing areas within the network were unaffected. These findings were consistent with our model predictions. Our findings underscore the potential benefits of protecting larval sources and show that enhancement in recruitment can be manifested rapidly. However, benefits can be markedly variable within a local seascape. Hence, effects of marine reserve networks, positive or negative, may be overlooked when only focusing on overall responses and not considering finer spatially-explicit responses within a reserve network and its adjacent fishing grounds. Our results therefore call for future research on marine reserves that addresses this variability in order to help frame appropriate scenarios for the spatial management scales of interest. © 2009 Cudney-Bueno et al.

Article

article, environmental monitoring, fishery, larva, marine environment, marine species, Mexico, mollusc, nonhuman, oceanography, prediction, animal, biology, environmental protection, food industry, geography, growth, development and aging, larva, met CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Procesamiento emocional ante estímulos música-color y su respuesta electrofisiológica en personas con depresión

PABLO VALDÉS ALEMÁN (2024)

Dado el fenómeno del vínculo emocional que existe entre música y color, este

proyecto exploró los posibles efectos terapéuticos en personas con depresión, al

presentarles estímulos combinados de música con color que, en conjunto, evocan

emociones positivas y placenteras. El proyecto se dividió en tres partes, con el fin

de subsanar los vacíos en la literatura. Primero se evaluaron los 37 colores del

Berkeley Color Project como estímulos capaces de evocar emociones y placer,

distinguibles mediante los modelos de asimetría frontal de alfa (FAA) y de theta con

electroencefalografía (EEG). El segundo estudio exploró los posibles efectos

sinérgicos al combinar música y color de emoción congruente –i.e., misma

emoción–, mediante respuestas subjetivas y EEG. Por último, se probó el impacto

de estímulos música-color positivos y placenteros sobre el estado de ánimo de

personas con depresión, a partir de sus respuestas subjetivas y EEG. Se encontró

que los colores brillantes, alegres y placenteros se asocian con una mayor

activación –supresión de alfa– frontal izquierda, de acuerdo con el modelo de FAA.

En lugar de un efecto sinérgico, los hallazgos mostraron un predominio emocional

hacia la música, reafirmando su poder emocional por encima del color. Por último,

los resultados del tercer estudio demostraron una mejora en el estado de ánimo en

las personas con sintomatología depresiva tras la estimulación. Estos resultados

podrían informar a profesionales de la salud mental sobre nuevos métodos

terapéuticos para ayudar a pacientes con depresión, al conjuntar la musicoterapia

con la cromoterapia.

Given the phenomenon of the emotional link between music and color, this project

explored the possible therapeutic effects on people with depression by presenting

them with combined music-color stimuli that collectively evoke positive and pleasant

emotions. The project was divided into three parts to address gaps in the literature.

Firstly, the 37 colors from the Berkeley Color Project were evaluated as stimuli

capable of evoking emotions and pleasure, distinguishable through the frontal alpha

(FAA) and theta asymmetry models using electroencephalography (EEG). The

second study explored the potential synergic effects by combining music and color

of congruent emotion –i.e., the same emotion– using subjective responses and EEG.

Lastly, the impact of positive and pleasant music-color stimuli on the mood of

individuals with depression was tested based on their subjective responses and

EEG. It was found that bright, joyful, and pleasant colors are associated with

increased activation –alpha suppression– in the left frontal region of the scalp,

according to the FAA model. Instead of a synergic effect, the results showed an

emotional predominance towards music, reaffirming its emotional power over color.

Finally, the results of the third study demonstrated an improvement in the mood of

individuals with depressive symptoms following the stimulation. These findings could

inform mental health professionals about new therapeutic methods to assist patients

with depression by combining music therapy with chromotherapy.

Master thesis

MEDICINA Y CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD CIENCIAS MÉDICAS música, color y emoción; patrones de actividad EEG; Berkeley Color Project; musico-cromoterapia; depresión. music, color, and emotion; EEG activity patterns; Berkeley Color Project; music-chromotherapy; depression.

Enhancement of antibiotics antimicrobial activity due to the silver nanoparticles impact on the cell membrane

Roberto Vazquez-Munoz (2019)

The ability of microorganisms to generate resistance outcompetes with the generation of new and efficient antibiotics; therefore, it is critical to develop novel antibiotic agents and treatments to control bacterial infections. An alternative to this worldwide problem is the use of nanomaterials with antimicrobial properties. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been extensively studied due to their antimicrobial effect in different organisms. In this work, the synergistic antimicrobial effect of AgNPs and conventional antibiotics was assessed in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. AgNPs minimal inhibitory concentration was 10–12 μg mL-1 in all bacterial strains tested, regardless of their different susceptibility against antibiotics. Interestingly, a synergistic antimicrobial effect was observed when combining AgNPs and kanamycin according to the fractional inhibitory concentration index, FICI: <0.5), an additive effect by combining AgNPs and chloramphenicol (FICI: 0.5 to 1), whereas no effect was found with AgNPs and β-lactam antibiotics combinations. Flow cytometry and TEM analysis showed that sublethal concentrations of AgNPs (6–7 μg mL-1) altered the bacterial membrane potential and caused ultrastructural damage, increasing the cell membrane permeability. No chemical interactions between AgNPs and antibiotics were detected. We propose an experimental supported mechanism of action by which combinatorial effect of antimicrobials drives synergy depending on their specific target, facilitated by membrane alterations generated by AgNPs. Our results provide a deeper understanding about the synergistic mechanism of AgNPs and antibiotics, aiming to combat antimicrobial infections efficiently, especially those by multi-drug resistant microorganisms, in order to mitigate the current crisis due to antibiotic resistance. © 2019 Vazquez-Muñoz 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

ampicillin, antibiotic agent, aztreonam, beta lactam antibiotic, biapenem, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, silver nanoparticle, silver nitrate, antiinfective agent, metal nanoparticle, silver, antibiotic sensitivity, antimicrobial activity, Article, bact BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOFÍSICA BIOFÍSICA