Academic literature on the topic 'Insects – Colombia – Geographical distribution'

Arthropods (e.g., insects, spiders, mites, crustaceans) are the most diverse group of organisms in the biosphere. Several families of insects (e.g., staphylinid beetles, ichneumonid wasps) contain more species than all vertebrates combined. Most arthropods do not yet have scientific names. Little is known about the life histories of most species. The insects of Costa Rica and neighboring Panama have received more attention than any other tropical region of comparable size, but it is mainly limited to species descriptions and distribution records. I and colleagues who have contributed subsections throughout this chapter draw upon the published studies from Monteverde, but no attempt has been made to list all insect species reported from Monteverde. This chapter differs from others in that some contributors focus on tropical cloud forests in general rather than on only Monteverde. The justification is that for most insects, altitude is the single most important factor determining distribution. Most species show widespread geographic distributions but restricted altitudinal distributions. One intensively sampled cloud forest in Costa Rica is Zurqui de Moravia (1600 m), from which considerable information is drawn for this chapter. We have included most of the insect groups that have been studied in Monteverde: spittlebugs, treehoppers, rove beetles, scarab beetles, longhorn beetles, butterflies, social wasps, ants, and bees. Major orders of insects not included from this chapter are mayflies, cockroaches, termites, earwigs, barklice, thrips, and lacewings. Termites and other social insects are less prominent in cloud forests than in lowland forests. Spiders are the only noninsect arthropods included; the information is from a cloud forest at a similar elevation in Colombia. Cloud forests are defined here as forests higher than 1200 m. Our knowledge of cloud forest arthropods is so fragmentary that generalizations are premature. This chapter provides preliminary information on natural history to stimulate entomologists to consider cloud forests as distinct from lowland rain forests. We include practical information on the conservation of cloud forest arthropods, many of which are vital components of the ecosystem.

Travel-related problems have been reported in up to two-thirds of travellers to developing countries and approximately 10% of them seek medical advice during or after return from abroad. Furthermore, global migration from the developing to the developed world has increased over the past decades and these individuals may present with tropical infections soon after arrival in non-endemic settings. Fever, with or without localizing symptoms or signs, is a common presenting symptom in returning travellers. Most unwell travellers seek medical attention within one month of return from abroad. Travellers who visit friends and relatives (VFRs) in their countries of origin are disproportionately affected by the burden of imported infections, e.g. 70% of patients with imported malaria in the United Kingdom (UK) are VFRs. While most febrile travellers have common infections such as respiratory or urinary tract infection, it is of paramount importance not to miss potentially life-threatening tropical infections. Evaluation of fever in returning travellers requires an understanding of the geographical distribution of infectious diseases, risk factors for acquisition, incubation periods, and major clinical syndromes of travel-associated infections. The following points should be considered when assessing febrile international travellers: A. Travel dates: the relationship between the timing of the onset of symptoms and travel dates should be assessed. B. Geography: ● travel destination: a detailed itinerary is required. ● local setting: urban vs rural locations; type of accommodation, e.g. air-conditioned hotel room, outdoor camping, etc. C. Risk factors for acquiring infectious diseases: ● purpose of travel: visiting friends and family; social gatherings (e.g. funerals and weddings); mass gatherings (e.g. Hajj pilgrimage, Kumbh Mela religious festival, Olympic games, etc.); tourism; business; voluntary work. ● contact with unwell individuals. ● activities while abroad (examples): ■ food consumption: street food, seafood, raw food, unpasteurized dairy products, exotic foods, bush meat, etc. ■ contact with animals: visits to game parks, farms, caves, bites or scratches by bats or terrestrial animals, visits to ‘wet markets’, birding events, etc. ■ bites: ticks, insects, snakes, spiders, etc. ■ use of local healthcare system: dental or surgical procedures, blood transfusion, dialysis, tattoos, acupuncture.

This paper presents models of generation, extraction and distribution of travel for air cargo between the main cities of Colombia. To develop the work we use information of cargo movement in Colombia during 2012, from then, we make the performance analysis and modeling to estimate future behavior considering possible scenarios. The generation model analyzed statistical variables such as population, distance between the main cities of Colombia, the gross domestic product of the cities, indicators of industrial density, the level of unemployment, among other characteristics to determine their in