Estimados colegas
En estos tiempos que corren (literal y figuradamente) la evolución de las
pautas de diseminación de los resultados de la investigación parece
encaminarse a un sistema donde sólo unas pocas grandes editoriales dominan
el negocio. Ello lleva a que los resultados de una investigación financiada
con dinero público se publiquen en revistas de alto prestigio, pero que son
inaccesibles para la gran mayoría, por los precios prohibitivos que se cobra
por el acceso.
Existe en estos momentos una iniciativa europea que intenta cambiar esa
política, al menos en la EU. Os invito a leer, y si lo consideráis oportuno,
firmar la declaración disponible en :http://www.ec-petition.eu/
Saludos
Adolfo Cordero
Adolfo Cordero Rivera
Catedrático de Ecoloxía / Professor of Ecology
Universidade de Vigo
EUET Forestal, Campus Universitario,
36005 Pontevedra, Galiza, España / Spain
Grupo de Ecoloxía Evolutiva
adolfo.cordero@uvigo.es
http://webs.uvigo.es/adolfo.cordero/index.htm
tel: +34 986 801926
fax: +34 986 801907
móbil: +34 6473 43183
(43183 dende extensións da Universidade)
Etología - Primatología - Evolución Humana - Psicología
jueves, 25 de enero de 2007
Acceso libre a la investigación financiada con fondos públicos
miércoles, 17 de enero de 2007
Primates may have come along earlier than thought
Article published Jan 16, 2007
Jan 16, 2007
Primates that eventually gave rise to human beings came on the scene shortly after the extinction of dinosaurs, a full 10 million years earlier than the fossil record has ever conclusively illustrated, according to a new paper co-authored by a University of Florida faculty member.
Jonathan Bloch, curator of paleontology at UF's Florida Museum of Natural History, says his team's paper gives the first conclusive evidence that modern-day primates find their roots in mammals that lived 65 million years ago. Prior to this paper, the fossil record has only conclusively shown primates appearing 55 million years ago; what happened before then has been a matter of educated conjecture, Bloch said.
"The question (about primates) has been, where did they come from? What did they evolve from?" he said.
According to Bloch's conclusions, primates evolved from a mammal about the size of a small mouse with a skull no bigger than a grape. Other scientists have previously suggested these tiny archaic primates, called plesiadapiforms, could have been the earliest predecessors of primates. But Bloch was able to add new credibility to that hunch with a fossil discovery he made near Yellowstone National Park.
Accompanied by Doug Boyer, a graduate student in anatomical science at Stony Brook University and a co-author of the paper, Bloch ventured east of Yellowstone to Big Horn Basin near Cody, Wyo. By carefully dissolving freshwater limestone with acid, the crew uncovered the complete skeletons of two new species of plesiadapiforms, giving a holistic picture of the bodies of these animals and their primate features. Before that fossil discovery, scientists had been limited to fossil fragments like teeth, which didn't provide enough evidence for a scientifically acceptable conclusion about whether they were primates, Bloch said.
"(The new fossil) allows us to say these things are much more like primates than you could ever say looking at their teeth," Bloch said.
One of the species, called the Dryomomys szalayi, is the most primitive primate skeleton ever discovered, Bloch said, providing a picture of life tens of millions of years ago.
Bloch's paper, which will be the cover story in the Jan. 23 edition of "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," helps to form a picture about exactly what happened on Earth after the dinosaurs went extinct. Mammals that had formerly kept a "low profile" in order to avoid the tenacious dinosaur literally began to branch out, moving farther along tree limbs to access food.
During a period of some 10 million years after dinosaurs went extinct, the emboldened and evolving plesiadapiforms became more like primates we know today, Bloch said. The early fossils suggest these animals would have initially only been capable of rudimentary grasping like a squirrel. But over time they would take on the characteristics of modern primates, which have grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, relatively large brains and an ability to jump from tree to tree, Bloch said.
Bloch's research wouldn't have been possible without the fossil discoveries of the two new species of plesiadapiforms he found in Big Horn Basin. What's fascinating about one of these fossils, Bloch says, is that it so closely resembles a tree shrew. That observation may not mean much at a cocktail party, but for paleontologists it demonstrates something rather remarkable. The tree shrew is a close relative of the primate, and this fossil - not surprisingly - illustrates a common ancestor between tree shrews and primates further down the evolutionary chain.
So what can be learned about humans from this apparent breakthrough?
"Ultimately, what it does is helps us understand where humans fit into the tree of life," Bloch said.
Along with Boyer, Bloch's paper is co-authored by anthropology professors Eric Sargis of Yale University and Mary Silcox of the University of Winnipeg.
Jack Stripling can be reached at 374-5064 or Jack.Stripling@gvillesun.com.
Primates that eventually gave rise to human beings came on the scene shortly after the extinction of dinosaurs, a full 10 million years earlier than the fossil record has ever conclusively illustrated, according to a new paper co-authored by a University of Florida faculty member.
Jonathan Bloch, curator of paleontology at UF's Florida Museum of Natural History, says his team's paper gives the first conclusive evidence that modern-day primates find their roots in mammals that lived 65 million years ago. Prior to this paper, the fossil record has only conclusively shown primates appearing 55 million years ago; what happened before then has been a matter of educated conjecture, Bloch said.
"The question (about primates) has been, where did they come from? What did they evolve from?" he said.
According to Bloch's conclusions, primates evolved from a mammal about the size of a small mouse with a skull no bigger than a grape. Other scientists have previously suggested these tiny archaic primates, called plesiadapiforms, could have been the earliest predecessors of primates. But Bloch was able to add new credibility to that hunch with a fossil discovery he made near Yellowstone National Park.
Accompanied by Doug Boyer, a graduate student in anatomical science at Stony Brook University and a co-author of the paper, Bloch ventured east of Yellowstone to Big Horn Basin near Cody, Wyo. By carefully dissolving freshwater limestone with acid, the crew uncovered the complete skeletons of two new species of plesiadapiforms, giving a holistic picture of the bodies of these animals and their primate features. Before that fossil discovery, scientists had been limited to fossil fragments like teeth, which didn't provide enough evidence for a scientifically acceptable conclusion about whether they were primates, Bloch said.
"(The new fossil) allows us to say these things are much more like primates than you could ever say looking at their teeth," Bloch said.
One of the species, called the Dryomomys szalayi, is the most primitive primate skeleton ever discovered, Bloch said, providing a picture of life tens of millions of years ago.
Bloch's paper, which will be the cover story in the Jan. 23 edition of "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," helps to form a picture about exactly what happened on Earth after the dinosaurs went extinct. Mammals that had formerly kept a "low profile" in order to avoid the tenacious dinosaur literally began to branch out, moving farther along tree limbs to access food.
During a period of some 10 million years after dinosaurs went extinct, the emboldened and evolving plesiadapiforms became more like primates we know today, Bloch said. The early fossils suggest these animals would have initially only been capable of rudimentary grasping like a squirrel. But over time they would take on the characteristics of modern primates, which have grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, relatively large brains and an ability to jump from tree to tree, Bloch said.
Bloch's research wouldn't have been possible without the fossil discoveries of the two new species of plesiadapiforms he found in Big Horn Basin. What's fascinating about one of these fossils, Bloch says, is that it so closely resembles a tree shrew. That observation may not mean much at a cocktail party, but for paleontologists it demonstrates something rather remarkable. The tree shrew is a close relative of the primate, and this fossil - not surprisingly - illustrates a common ancestor between tree shrews and primates further down the evolutionary chain.
So what can be learned about humans from this apparent breakthrough?
"Ultimately, what it does is helps us understand where humans fit into the tree of life," Bloch said.
Along with Boyer, Bloch's paper is co-authored by anthropology professors Eric Sargis of Yale University and Mary Silcox of the University of Winnipeg.
Jack Stripling can be reached at 374-5064 or Jack.Stripling@gvillesun.com.
viernes, 12 de enero de 2007
Sis persones s'engabien en un zoo australià per estudiar les condicions dels grans simis en captivitat
Font: El Periódico de Catalunya
Una nena observa els participants del Zoo Humà, a Adelaide. Foto: REUTERS / MATT TURNER Un grup de sis homes i dones han reemplaçat avui els orangutans al tancat d'un zoo australià per participar en un projecte d'un mes batejat com el Zoo Humà.
Els nous espècimens del zoo d'Adelaida s'exhibeixen darrere de llargs panells de plexiglàs i són filmats per càmeres. Instal·lats en un recinte que anteriorment estava ocupat per orangutans, els participants faran rotacions d'una setmana en grups de sis, encara que tindran el dret de tornar a casa seva a la nit, quan el zoo tanqui al públic.
Els visitants del zoo són convidats a triar el seu humà preferit i els experts estudiaran el seu comportament, amb l'objectiu de millorar les condicions de vida en captivitat dels grans simis.
Observats per milers de visitants
Carla Litchfield, experta en psicologia animal de la Universitat d'Austràlia Meridional, serà l'única persona que passarà el mes sencer al Zoo Humà.
"Mai he sabut el que era [la captivitat]. Passar un mes en el tancat em donarà una bona idea de les olors, els sons i del que significa ser observada per milers de persones cada dia", ha explicat Litchfield a la ràdio ABC.
L'experiència pretén a més reunir fons per a un nou tancat per a ximpanzés.
Malgrat que el zoo d'Adelaida afirma que es tracta d'una primícia mundial, no es tracta d'un fet inèdit. L'agost del 2005, al zoo de Londres, vuit voluntaris també es van tancar durant alguns dies en una gàbia.
Veterinaris dels EUA recepten Prozac a gossos i gats per corregir el seu comportament
Foto d'arxiu d'un gos. Foto: ARXIU / EL PERIÓDICO AGÈNCIES
LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES
Els veterinaris dels EUA recepten tractaments antidepressius per curar les alteracions del comportament, l'ansietat i l'agressivitat dels animals de companyia.
Si un gat esgarrapa tots els mobles o fa pipí a cada cantonada de la casa és molt possible que estigui deprimit. Per corregir aquests comportaments, els veterinaris nord-americans recomanen que els felins ingereixin mitja pastilla de 10 mil·ligrams de Prozac una vegada al dia.
Aquest tractament s'utilitza en gats i gossos, però també és útil per a cavalls i altres animals que demostrin, a la seva manera, que necessiten ajuda.
Reduir l'agressivitat o estimular la gana
Richard Martin, propietari de la clínica veterinària Brentwood, ha afirmat a la publicació Los Angeles Times que fa cinc anys "s'administraven antidepressius a menys de l'1% dels nostres pacients. "Avui el 5% dels gossos i gats hospitalitzats a la clínica prenen fàrmacs per reequilibrar el seu comportament", ha afegit.
"Es tracta d'una solució a una patologia greu, que si no es resol pot portar els propietaris a abandonar els animals o a acabar amb ells", ha dit el veterinari.
Fàrmacs psicoactius
El 2001 la Universitat de Califòrnia va publicar una investigació que va demostrar que la fluoxetina, un component del Prozac, redueix el pipí compulsiu dels gats. Elyse Kent, directora sanitària de l'hospital per a gats de Los Angeles, assegura que fa 12 anys que cura els felins amb fàrmacs psicoactius perquè no "orinin de manera compulsiva o perquè no siguin agressius amb els propietaris".
Curtis Eng, cap de la unitat de metges del zoo de Los Angeles pensa que els antidepressius a vegades són necessaris per complementar les teràpies tradicionals i posa com a exemple el cas de Minyak, un mascle orangutan que, a causa d'una insuficiència respiratòria, no menjava prou i els antidepressius li van estimular la gana. Gràcies a la teràpia es va recuperar i va tenir un fill el 2005.
jueves, 11 de enero de 2007
Field Assistant - Social behaviour, stress and reproduction in rhesus macaques
Hiring Organization:
Roehampton University
Date Posted:
2007-01-09
Position Description:
A volunteer field assistant is needed for a 9-month study of the relationships between social behaviour, stress and reproduction in female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). The study is led by Lauren Brent (PhD student, Roehampton University) and will carried out on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Responsibilities include the collection of faecal samples for hormone analyses, as well as some behavioural data collection and data entry.
Qualifications/Experience:
Experience working with free-ranging non-human primates is highly desirable. Applicants must be in good physical fitness and fluent in English. The ability to work well with other researchers is critical.
Salary/funding:
None
Support provided for internship/volunteer positions (travel, meals, lodging):
Return airfare to Puerto Rico will be provided following completion of the 9 month position. Part of the subsistence costs in Puerto Rico might also be covered, but this is dependent on the outcome of pending grant applications.
Term of Appointment:
April 2007 – December 2007
Application Deadline:
ASAP
Comments:
Application via email: please submit 2-page CV along with contact information for 2 references.
Contact Information:
Lauren Brent
Whitelands College
London SW15 4JD
United Kingdom
E-mail Address:
L.Brent@roehampton.ac.uk
Field Assistant
Hiring Organization:
Sue Boinski -- University of Florida
Date Posted:
2007-01-09
Position Description:
Field assistants are needed for an ongoing field study of brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in Raleighvallen Nature Preserve, Suriname. Please see the listed website for more details.
Qualifications/Experience:
Though previous experience is not necessary, priority will be given to applicants with successful experience collecting detailed social and ecological data from individually recognized mammals, especially primates. Experience in situations demanding rigorous physical exercise in tropical conditions will be useful. Assistants must be able to work well as a team in isolated conditions. Both leadership and the ability to follow are necessary characteristics of field assistants, as well as the desire to learn, flexibility and the ability to cope with confined social situations.
Support provided for internship/volunteer positions (travel, meals, lodging):
Roundtrip airfare from Miami to Suriname, food and lodging at field site provided
Term of Appointment:
Starting in March/April 2007 for a minimum of 11 months
Comments:
Email CV, cover letter and 3 references to ufmonkeys@gmail.com
For additional information about Dr. Boinski's research please refer to the website listed below.
Contact Information:
Sue Boinski
1112 Turlington Hall, PO Box 117305
Gainesville, FL 32611
USA
Website:
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/~boinski/research/field.html
E-mail Address:
ufmonkeys@gmail.com
Research Fellow (.5 fte)
Hiring Organization:
University of Portsmouth
Date Posted:
2007-01-10
Position Description:
The Centre for the Study of Emotion, Psychology Department, University of Portsmouth, UK seeks to hire a Post-doctoral Research Fellow to work on FEELIX GROWING, a newly funded European grant,. The Portsmouth portion of the collaboration focuses on the roles played by emotion in the development of social referencing, of joint attention, and of attachment relationships.
The position is for 36 months, half-time (starting salary GBP14,000-15,000), and duties include developing a set of scenarios, methods, and evaluation metrics for key problems in socio-emotional development, working collaboratively with Dr. Bard, European, and International scientists, conducting studies in human and chimpanzees, and writing.
Qualifications/Experience:
The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Developmental Psychology, with a research focus on emotion and infancy. Knowledge of FACS, ChimpFACS, or BabyFACS, and chimpanzee behaviour would be an advantage.
Salary/funding:
The post is for 36 months with half-time salary of GBP 14,000 to 15,000
Term of Appointment:
36 months, fixed term contract, half-time
Application Deadline:
Applications due by 26th January 2007, interviews 16 Feb 2007
Comments:
Please note that only names of referees are required at application. Reference letters will be required prior to interview (~16th February 2007) only for short-listed candidates.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Bard for further information
Contact Information:
Dr. Kim A. Bard
Psychology- King Henry Building
Portsmouth PO1 2DY
United Kingdom
Telephone Number:
+44 23 92 846 332
Fax Number:
+44 23 92 846 300
Website:
http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/services/personnel/jobvacancies/researchstaff
E-mail Address:
kim.bard@port.ac.uk
Próximas conferencias y eventos de Primatología
AWEN CONFERENCE - ATOP IV
Date: February 9, 2007
Sponsor: The AWEN Group, Inc.
Location: Millennium Bostonian Hotel in Boston, MA
Web Site: http://www.theawengroup.com/
25TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE AUSTRALASIAN PRIMATE SOCIETY
Dates: March 9, 2007 - March 11, 2007
Sponsor: Australasian Primate Society
Location: University of Queensland St. Lucia Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Web Site: http://www.primates.on.net/apsconf.htm
THE MIND OF THE CHIMPANZEE
Dates: March 22, 2007 - March 25, 2007
Sponsor: Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes
Location: Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
Web Site: http://www.chimpmindconference.org/
ANNUAL IACUC CONFERENCE
Dates: March 26, 2007 - March 27, 2007
Sponsor: Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
Location: Town and Country Resort, 500 Hotel Circle North San Diego, CA 92108
Web Site: http://www.primr.org/education/2007_IACUC/overview_IACUC07.html
76TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS
Dates: March 27, 2007 - April 1, 2007
Sponsor: American Association of Physical Anthropologists
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Web Site: http://www.physanth.org/annmeet/
CALLITRICHID WORKSHOP 2007
Dates: May 12, 2007 - May 13, 2007
Sponsor: Roger Williams Park Zoo
Location: Providence, RI
Web Site: http://www.rwpzoo.org/calendar/callitrichid.cfm
30TH MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PRIMATOLOGISTS
Dates: June 20, 2007 - June 23, 2007
Sponsor: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Location: Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC
Web Site: http://www.asp.org/asp2007/index.htm
44TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR SOCIETY
Date: July 21, 2007
Sponsor: ABS
Location: Burlington Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, Vermont
Web Site: http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABS/Program/
6TH WORLD CONGRESS ON ALTERNATIVES & ANIMAL USE IN THE LIFE SCIENCES (WC6)
Dates: August 21, 2007 - August 25, 2007
Sponsor: the Japanese Society of Alternatives to Animal Experiments (JSAAE), the Alternative Congress Trust (ACT), and the Science Council of Japan (SCJ)
Location: Hotel East 21 Tokyo, Japan
Web Site: http://www.ech.co.jp/wc6/index.html
2ND CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION FOR PRIMATOLOGY
Dates: September 3, 2007 - September 7, 2007
Sponsor: the Czech Group of Primatologists at the Faculty of Education in Prague
Location: Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
Web Site: http://www.unipv.it/webbio/efp/efp_prague2007.pdf
XXIIND IPS CONGRESS
Dates: August 3, 2008 - August 8, 2008
Sponsor: Primate Society of Great Britain
Location: Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland
Web Site: http://www.ips2008.co.uk/index.html
PRIMER CONGRESO DE LA SOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE BIOLOGÍA EVOLUTIVA (SESBE)
Tarragona, 27-29 de septiembre de 2007
La Sociedad Española de Biología Evolutiva nace con la idea de crear un sociedad integradora que no pretende competir con ninguna otra, sino acoger a toda la comunidad científica española y personas aficionadas a la biología en general y a la teoría evolutiva. Durante los días 22 y 23 de septiembre de 2005 tuvo lugar el Congreso Fundacional en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de Granada, habiéndose inscrito en ese momento un total de 230 miembros fundadores. Ahora, la Universitat Rovira i Virgili y el Instituto de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social (IPHES) anuncian la celebración del Primer Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Biología Evolutiva, que tendrá lugar en Tarragona del 27 al 29 de septiembre de 2007.
Los temas generales del congreso serán:
1. Evolución Humana
2. Biología evolutiva de poblaciones
3. Las transiciones evolutivas: genes, desarrollo y fósiles
4. Evolución molecular
Además, se podrán presentar comunicaciones en turno libre sobre cualquier tema relacionado con la evolución biológica, entre ellos:
a) Historia y filosofía de la evolución
b) Modelos teóricos de la evolución
c) Genómica comparada
d) Paleobiología y evolución
e) Ecología evolutiva
f) Origen de la vida
g) Biología evolutiva experimental
h) Evolución y desarrollo
i) Especiación
j) Evolución del comportamiento
k) Medicina evolutiva
l) Didáctica y socialización de la evolución
Podrán presentarse comunicaciones en catalán, castellano o inglés. Su duración será de 15 minutos, seguidas de cinco minutos de discusión. El Comité Científico del Congreso supervisará el nivel científico de las mismas, reservándose el derecho de excluir o transferir las propuestas de comunicación a póster según su interés y calidad. El programa, extensible a las personas acompañantes, incluye una visita a la ciudad romana de Tarragona.
| Calendario | |
| Envío de la segunda circular | Marzo de 2007 |
| Recepción de comunicaciones | 1 de mayo de 2007 |
| Envío tercera circular | 30 de junio de 2007 |
| Celebración del Congreso | 27 – 29 de septiembre de 2007 |
| Tasas de inscripción: | ||||
|
| Socios Sesbe | No socios | Estudiantes | Acompañantes |
| Antes del 1 de junio de 2007
| 80 € | 100 € | 40 € | 40 € |
| Después del 1 de junio de 2007
| 100 € | 120 € | 70 € | 40 € |
Programa Provisional
| 26 de septiembre de 2007 | |
| 18:00h a 19:00h | Bienvenida, acreditación y recogida de documentación |
| 27 de septiembre de 2007 | |
| 9:00h a 9:45h | Primera Conferencia invitada |
| 9:45h a 11:15h | Sesiones científicas |
| 11:15h a 11:45h | Pausa-Café – Sesión de pósters |
| 11:45h a 13:30h | Sesiones científicas |
| 13:30h a 15:30h | Comida |
| 15:30h a 17:15h | Sesiones científicas |
| 17:15h a 17:45h | Pausa-Café – Sesión de pósters |
| 17:45h a 18:30h | Sesiones científicas |
| 18:30h a 19:30h | Homenaje al Profesor A. Prevosti. Recepción Universidad |
| 28 de septiembre de 2007 | |
| 9:30h a 10:30h | Sesiones científicas |
| 10:30h a 11:15h | Segunda conferencia invitada |
| 11:15h a 11:45h | Pausa-Café – Sesión de pósters |
| 11:45h a 13:30h | Sesiones científicas |
| 13:30h a 15:30h | Comida |
| 15:30h a 17:30h | Visita |
| 18:00h | Recepción en el Ayuntamiento de Tarragona |
| 29 de septiembre de 2007 | |
| 9:30h a 11:15h | Sesiones científicas |
| 11:15h a 11:45h | Pausa-Café – Sesión de pósters |
| 11:45h a 13:30h | Sesiones científicas |
| 13:30h | Acto de clausura del Congreso |
COMITÉ CIENTÍFICO
Montse Aguadé (Universidad de Barcelona)
Jaume Baguñà (Universidad de Barcelona)
Jaume Bertranpetit (Universidad Pompeu Fabra)
Enric Bufill (Hospital General de Vic)
Eudald Carbonell (IPHES-Universidad Rovira i Virgili)
Antonio Fontdevila (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)
Ricard Guerrero (Institut d´Estudis Catalans)
Mauro Santos (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)
Jesús Mosterín (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)
Jorge Wagensberg (Fundación “la Caixa”).
COMITÉ ORGANIZADOR
Jordi Agustí (Presidente; IPHES-Universidad Rovira i Virgili) jordi.agusti@icrea.es
Pili Chana (Secretaría; IPHES-Universidad Rovira i Virgili) pchana@prehistoria.urv.cat
Bernat Sentís (Administración; IPHES-Universidad Rovira i Virgili) bsentis@prehistoria.urv.cat
Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Àrea de Prehistoria.
Pl. Imperial Tarraco, 1. 43005 Tarragona
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