Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-04-25"
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- Carob: A mediterranean resource for the futurePublication . Martins-Loução, Maria Amélia; Correia, Pedro José; Romano, AnabelaFor centuries, the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) has contributed to the economy of the Mediterranean basin, mainly as food for livestock. Nowadays, the value of the carob tree extends far beyond its traditional uses, encompassing a wide range of industries and applications that take advantage of its unique properties and nutritional benefits. Despite its high industrial demand and European indications, there has been a 65% reduction in the area cultivated throughout the Mediterranean area in the 21st century. Given the threats posed by climate change, including reduced water availability and nutrient-depleted soils, there is a growing need to focus on this crop, which is well placed to cope with unpredictable weather. In this review, we use a bibliographic search approach to emphasise the prioritisation of research needs for effective carob tree exploitation. We found enormous gaps in the scientific knowledge of this under-utilised crop species with fruit pulp and seeds of high industrial value. Insufficient understanding of the biology of the species, as well as inadequate agronomic practices, compromise the quantity and the quality of fruits available to the industry. In addition to industrial applications, carob can also be used in reforestation or restoration programmes, providing a valuable crop while promoting biodiversity conservation and soil restoration. The carbon sequestration potential of the trees should be taken into account as a promising alternative in fighting climate change. This bibliographic search has highlighted clusters with different knowledge gaps that require further research and investment. The carob tree has untapped potential for innovation, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
- Redescription of the Chilean angel shark Squatina armata (Philippi, 1887) (Squatiniformes, Squatinidae)Publication . Kraft, Sebastian; Fernández-Cisternas, Ítalo; Araya, Miguel; Concha, Francisco J.Angel sharks ( Squatina spp. Dum & eacute;ril, 1805) are a group of coastal benthic sharks distributed worldwide, currently including threatened and understudied species. Two species are formally described along the East Pacific coast, the California angel shark S. californica Ayres, 1859 and the Chilean angel shark S. armata (Philippi, 1887). The latter species occurs in the southeastern Pacific and has historically been understudied. Additionally, the original description of S. armata lacks sufficient data to confidently identify individuals of this species compared to modern descriptions, and no type specimen is currently available to ensure specimen identification. Detailed morphological descriptions for identifying species are an essential resource for solving taxonomic issues in groups of morphologically similar species and to promote the conservation of critically endangered species. Therefore, a neotype from the type locality is here designated for S. armata , and a detailed and standardized morphological characterization based on modern taxonomic works is provided. This work contributes in improving the knowledge on the Chilean angel shark taxonomy and provides an improved frame of reference for identifying angel sharks in the East Pacific, especially in areas where species may occur in sympatry.
- Intention to engage in ecotourism development: validation and extension of the resident empowerment through tourism scale (Version 2.1)Publication . Castillo-Vizuete, Danny; Gavilanes-Montoya, Alex; Woosnam, Kyle Maurice; Ribeiro, Manuel Alector; Chávez-Velásquez, Carlos; Sarmiento, Fausto O.; Hollas, Chadley R.This work, based on the conceptual work by Scheyvens and van der Watt [Scheyvens, R., & van der Watt, H. (2021). Tourism, empowerment and sustainable development: A new framework for analysis. Sustainability, 13(22), 12606. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212606], amends the original Resident Empowerment through Tourism Scale (RETS) by including three new dimensions: economic empowerment, cultural empowerment, and environmental empowerment. In so doing, the modified scale is applied in a region of Ecuador not known for its ecotourism opportunities, to determine how residents' (n = 500) perceived empowerment factors into their intent to engage in ecotourism endeavours through a modified theory of planned behaviour model. Psychometric properties of the 13-item modified RETS were strong. Six of the nine proposed hypotheses were supported via structural equation modelling using IBM Amos 28.0. The first-order model (of perceived empowerment) accounted for 33% of the variance in attitudes about engaging in ecotourism and 82% of the variance in behavioural intentions to engage in ecotourism. A second-order model increased variance explained in attitudes to 70% and in behavioural intentions to 89%.