2011

This study was a necessary component of a larger study examining the varying response of species in the quail genus Callipepla to environmental change. In particular, researchers were testing the hypothesis that elegant quail (C. douglasiiare) of Sonora, Mexico are less behaviorally flexible and therefore more susceptible to environmental change than California quail (C. californica), a species that has successfully… Read Project SummaryThe life history of the elegant quail in Sonora Mexico

The Marine Turtle Center (MTC/Center) in La Coronilla, Uruguay, was established to promote conservation of marine turtles and their habitats through environmental education and responsible ecotourism. The Center had been closed for the past four years due to deterioration of the facilities, and this award funded a remodel of the visitor center as well as several community outreach efforts.

Read Project SummaryMarine Turtle Center: Active participation by coastal communities and tourists to ensure survival of marine turtles on the Atlantic Ocean coast, Uruguay

Paleoparasitology is focused on the parasitological examination of materials found in archeological and paleontological deposits. It has the potential to provide information about various cultural, paleoecological and evolutionary aspects. Parasitic relationships are sensitive indicators of developmental, ecological and cultural aspects of host populations – they can reveal potential exposure of humans and animals to zoonotic diseases, associations with wild animals, prey consumption, domestication, mobility and demographic trends. This study proposed the first paleoparasitological study of rodent coprolites (fossilized feces) from the Huenul 1 cave in Neuquén, Argentina, a site that contains stratified sequences of archeological and paleontological remains assigned to the late Pleistocene-early Holocene period and evidence of brief but repeated human use at different stages of settlement of northern Patagonia.Read Project SummaryPaleoparasitological study of zoonosis in Patagonia, Argentina

This is a continuation of a previously funded project (2010). Amphibians are important indicators of environmental health and play multiple functional roles in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Amphibian populations have declined worldwide and this trend has been attributed to a variety of causes, including chytridiomycosis – an infectious disease caused by the fungus Batrachotrytium dendrobatidis – and exposure to… Read Project SummaryAmphibian communities of agroecosystems in the Argentine Pampean green belt and their conservation challenges