Academic literature on the topic 'Savannas – Guyana – Rupununi, South'

The Guiana Shield of South America contains savannas within one of the largest contiguous expanses of pristine tropical rainforest remaining in the world, but biodiversity in the grasslands is poorly known. In lowland Neotropical areas, bats typically comprise the most species-rich group of mammals. We compare the bat faunal community and phylogeography in the savanna habitats of the Llanos in Venezuela, Rupununi in Guyana, and Sipaliwini in Suriname. Measures of species diversity and relative abundance from standardized field survey methodology enable comparison among these three grassland regions. Genetic variation is summarized by DNA barcoding to examine biogeographic patterns across larger forest–savanna landscapes. A total of 76 species of bats is documented, of which 18 species are reported from all 3 savannas and 30 species are reported from only 1 of the savannas. Endemism is low with 5 taxa restricted primarily to dry, open habitats. However, 7 other species have divergent phylogeographic lineages associated with savanna populations. Although bat species are usually distributed over wide regions of the Neotropics, the habitat mosaics of the Guiana Shield have different faunal assemblages. Going back into the Miocene, the contractions and expansions of forest–savanna paleoenvironments over time have contributed to speciation and the current high levels of biodiversity in South America.

Background. Gold mining activities in forested areas across Guyana have been a common practice for more than a century. The intensification of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in recent decades caused by global market demand is contributing to the mobilization of mercury into aquatic systems. Indigenous populations who consume high levels of locally sourced fish are greater at risk for methylmercury poisoning from ingestion of contaminated fish. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to investigate the levels of mercury contamination and identify the risk factors associated with hair mercury levels in four indigenous communities in Guyana. Methods. Concentrations of total mercury were measured in hair samples from 99 participants from four indigenous communities in the south Rupununi region in Guyana. The findings of this study were compared with those of previous studies to assess the prevalence of mercury contamination in indigenous communities across Guyana. Results. Hair mercury levels were found to be above the World Health Organization (WHO) reference value for residents who live close to ASGM activities and who consume high quantities of locally sourced fish. Our results are not only consistent with those obtained in previous studies, but also evidence that mercury poisoning has become a generalized problem for indigenous communities in Guyana. Conclusions. Fish is the main source of protein for many riverine communities and consumption of mercury-contaminated fish poses a serious health hazard for these vulnerable populations. The situation is especially dire for community members of Parabara with 100% of participants showing elevated (>15 μg*g−1) hair mercury levels. It is therefore crucial that Parabara residents be evaluated by relevant health agencies for clinical symptoms related to mercury toxicity. Participant Consent. Obtained Ethics Approval. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Ministry of Public Health, Guyana. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

SummaryThe Bearded Tachuri Polystictus pectoralis occupies lowland grasslands with scrubby vegetation, generally near water, in the Andean grasslands of Colombia at two sites (threatened race bogotensis), savannas in eastern Colombia and the lowland and tepui grasslands of mainly southern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana and northern Brazil (race brevipennis), reappearing south of the Amazon in central-southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia (no recent records), Paraguay, Uruguay and northern and central-eastern Argentina (nominate pectoralis). It is an austral summer visitor (October/November to February/April) to central-east Argentina, nesting (commonly in thistles) around December, clutch-size three. It feeds on insects by perch-gleaning, sallying, hover-gleaning and still-hunting. It is unobtrusive and must be commonly overlooked, and in some localities may be moderately well represented. Overall, however, it is scarce and appears to be very patchy in occurrence; grassland habitats within its range have been converted wholesale to farming. New quantitative criteria support earlier qualitative judgement that the species is probably not (yet) threatened, but that it merits near-threatened status. Suggestions that one or all of its three subspecies may be good species are premature; it is not even clear how distinct these forms are as subspecies.

Orientador: Jose Luiz dos Santos
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas
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Resumo: A Revolta do Rupununi, acontecida em 1969, no sul da Guiana, foi um movimento armado preparado por fazendeiros com objetivo de criar um novo país na região. Apoiada pela Venezuela, que através do auxilio militar dado aos fazendeiros, anteviu a possibilidade de recuperar a Zona en Reclamación, a Revolta contou com a participação de alguns índios, principalmente aqueles tidos como parentes de H. P. C. Melville, o primeiro estrangeiro a criar gado no Rupununi. Depois de dois dias de iniciado o movimento, alguns fazendeiros, acompanhados por um grupo de índios, retiraram-se para a Venezuela na condição de exilados, outros fugiram para o Brasil ou foram capturados pela Guyana Defense Force, chamada por Forbes Burnhan, presidente da Guiana, para sufocar o movimento armado. A preparação, a organização, o desfecho e o fracasso do movimento explicam relações políticas e sociais densas entre a Venezuela e a Guiana, fazendeiros e índios, bem como revelam disputas étnicas conseqüentes da colonização britânica no país
Abstract: The Revolt of Rupununi, happened in 1969, in the south of Guyana, it was an armed movement prepared by farmers with the objective of creating a new country in the area. Leaning to Venezuela, the military help the farmers that saw the opportunity to recover the zona en reclamación, the Revolt counted with the participation of some Indians, mainly those had as relatives of H. P. C. Melville, the first stranger to grow up cattle in Rupununi. Two days after the movement, some farmers, accompanied by a group of Indians, left for Venezuela as political exiles', others fled to Brazil or were captured by the Guyana Defense Forces, which were ordered by Forbes Burnhan, president of Guyana, to quell the armed movement. The preparation, the organization, the ending and the failure of the movement revealed the profound relationship regarding the political and social sphere between Venezuela and Guyana, also between the farmers and the Indians, as well reveals the consequent ethnic disputes to the British colonization period
Doutorado
Doutor em Ciências Sociais

<i>Abstract</i>.—Although tropical inland fisheries provide important regional income and food security, these fisheries face severe management challenges that are amplified by distinct ecological, economic, and political factors. The arapaima (genus <i>Arapaima</i>) are of particular interest because of their large size (up to +3 m and +200 kg) and their substantial economic and cultural value in South America. Arapaima are among the most historically important and overexploited fisheries in South America. Unfortunately, traditional fishery management approaches have been ineffective, and arapaima populations have suffered drastic stock depletions and even local extinctions across much of their range. Fortunately, over the past 15 years, small-scale co-management efforts have promoted pockets of successful recovery for arapaima fisheries. In this analysis, we begin by introducing the history of arapaima fishing, the difficulties encountered by early management efforts, and subsequent improvements to arapaima management approaches using co-management at a small scale with local residents. We then evaluate the implementation of this promising approach across three regions: (1) Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Amazonas State, Brazil; (2) Santarém region, Pará State, Brazil; and (3) North Rupununi, Guyana. Specifically, each region was evaluated based on the presence and implementation of eight principles needed for the sustainable governance of common-property natural resources in situations with and without active management: (1) defined boundaries, (2) congruence between appropriation and provision rules and local conditions, (3) collective action arrangement, (4) monitoring, (5) graduated sanctioning, (6) conflict resolution mechanism, (7) minimum recognition and right to organize, and (8) nested enterprises. For each region, we examined how management was implemented and identified current and ongoing challenges. Based on our experience with these fisheries, we offer some lessons that can be instrumental for arapaima management and other inland fisheries: manage even when faced with uncertainties; monitor, evaluate, and adapt management efforts; bridge knowledge systems; foster genuine interest and cooperation of various stakeholders to ensure long-term success; and move toward an ecosystem-based approach. These lessons will be instrumental in overcoming management challenges in the future and could be applied to other fisheries.