Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera Abstract: Urban ecology began in Costa Rica in the 1950s with the study of urban parasites, followed in the 1960s by the ecology of urban trees and in the 1990s by city ornithology. In 2008, with the creation of the first center in the world dedicated to the ecology of tropical settlements, the Urban Ecology Laboratory at UNED, the discipline began an institutional stage. The pioneers of the field in Costa Rica include Róger Bolaños, Luis Fournier, Gary Stiles and Zaidett Barrientos PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2034 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:David Aguilar Zúñiga Abstract: There are more than 189 slums in Costa Rica Metropolitan Area. The National Financial System for Housing has the eradication slums program. This financial model invests economic resources on those kind of settlements to improve infrastructure condition through construction processes. For this research, three slums assisted by PEPT were chosen to assess environmental and social conditions: Los Cuadros, Tirrases and Miramar. These settlements include five public spaces destined for parks, recreation, sports and urban areas, as well as a controlling space that is not managed by PEPT located in Los Cuadros. Environmental and social conditions were evaluated before and after the economic intervention to analyze indicators variation associated with water, soil, air, urban elements, waste, society and communal organization. A qualification system was created with similar structure used by the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA due to its acronym in Spanish) to evaluate the influence on construction projects. Four of five public spaces showed environmental improvements related to urban elements, lighting, water management, floor covering and waste management, and one of them showed social improvements related to occupants practices and customs. They are statistically significant after resources investment. The controlling space did not show representative statistical changes in the environmental characteristics assessed. Finally, the economic investment in public spaces located in slums offers not only social but environmental benefits. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2035 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Aarón Fallas Solano Abstract: Worldwide, the natural landscape is being substituted by urban spaces, where green areas are basic for the conservation of many species. I analyzed size and vegetation in 15 urban parks of the Central San José, Costa Rica, in late 2009. Field work and municipal data shows that parks are small (1 786,82 to 21 220,94m2) and dominated by exotic species (87% of vegetation). Half the parks have an important component of 5m tall strata. Carmen district has tree lanes that act as corridors, an example that should be followed by other districts. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2036 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Aarón Fallas Solano Abstract: With the exception of a few large cities, there is little knowledge about the urban birds of Latin America. I used linear transects in 15 urban parks in San José city between September and December, 2009 and found 40 species, mostly Tyrannidae (n=10) and Parulidae (n=9). There were 23 residents (mostly Tyrannidae), 15 northern migrants (mostly Parulidae) and one southern migrant. The most representative species were Contopus sp. and Setophaga petechia. Zenaida asiatica, Turdus grayi, and Quiscalus mexicanus were widespread, as was the pigeon, Columba livia, which could reach 122 individuals per park. Diversity and abundance were determined by park size, the complexity of vegetation and the proximity to vegetation fragments. The urban parks are being used as passing and permanent areas by the migratory birds and the biophysical characteristics of some parks favor Columba livia and Quiscalus mexicanus, generating competition, predation and displacement of another species, as well as infrastructure damage. These green areas could be used for bird watching and education PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2037 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Rose Marie Menacho-Odio Abstract: Bird-window collisions are an important cause of bird mortality worldwide. Reducing collisions requires understanding of the costs and benefits perceived by stakeholders. I consulted two focus groups, conducted 18-semi-strcutured interviews and applied surveys to 58 residents of Monteverde, Costa Rica, to understand their perception of the problem. Many reported collisions in their houses but there is a lack of information about the magnitude of the situation. Black silhouettes are the most frequent method of prevention, even though they are mostly ineffective. The main factors for selecting methods include unblocked views, aesthetics, effectiveness, ease of installation and removal, and ease of maintenance. The preferred effective method was cords (Acopian Bird Savers), and painted dots was the least liked. I recommend education about effective methods for Monteverde and similar communities. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2038 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Zaidett Barrientos, Carolina Seas Abstract: The Rock Pigeon, Columba livia, is rare in natural environments but extremely successful in urban areas all over the world. Management programs are important because it is considered a pest in many cities. Nevertheless, no appropriate evaluation of methods to estimate urban pigeon populations is available in the literature. We compared three methods: a) the frequently used Stratified grids; b) Point counts, i.e. total pigeon counts with a mechanic counter in sampling points with a 50m radius; and c) Panoramas, 360o panoramic photographs. In nine urban parks in central Costa Rica, we made 1350 counts in total and compared: coefficient of variation (to assess precision); accuracy; time counting or taking photographs in situ; time merging photographs, counting pigeons in photographs, or typing data; and advantages or disadvantages. The Panorama Method is cheap, precise, accurate, secure, fast and easy. It can be used as an indicator or to estimate the actual population. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2039 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Sergio Gabriel Quesada-Acuña, Carolina Porras Martínez, Oscar Ramírez Alán, Paola Gastezzi-Arias Abstract: Birds are the main seed dispersers in neotropical ecosystems and it is important to understand their role in the natural regeneration of degraded environments. Here, we analyze dispersion by resident birds in two remnants of riverine forest in the urban watershed of the Torres river, San José, Costa Rica. We visited the sites four times per season, in dry, rainy and transition periods. On each visit we set up standard-size mist nets to capture birds, collect their excreta and extract seeds. In total we captured 168 birds from 23 resident species (12 families, five orders). We captured more individuals and species in Dry-Rainy transition, without difference among sites. The Dry-Rainy transition had more total seeds; higher seed capture rate, and a higher seed mean per bird. Resident birds can adapt to different scenarios and their role in seed dispersion should be promoted in urban ecosystems. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2040 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera Abstract: In 1995, Costa Rica had one of the first citizen science projects on roadkills, which identified the most frequent species and their rates by road length, and currently it has one of the largest iNaturalist projects on the same subject. Here I assess what information can be extracted from this type of project and how results compare with those from professionals. I analyzed over 900 records from Fauna Silvestre en Carreteras de Costa Rica, from October 2013 through August 2017. There was no sexual difference in participation or productivity, but per capita output was 12 times higher than in the Brazilian CBEE project. Some species suffered higher mortality during reproduction, while the anteater T. mexicana suffered more in the dry season, when food was scarce. Roadkills matched seasonal changes in traffic routes and the geographic distribution of records in relation to urban areas reflected the ecology of each species. At least for this case, citizen science can provide reliable data about species frequency in roadkills, and data were detailed enough to identify seasonal and geographic differences at the species level for the mammals and reptiles that made up the majority of records. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2041 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera, Carolina Seas Abstract: The collection of scientific data by people without a science degree is at least as old as Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, but thanks to smartphones it now involves large numbers of volunteers, leading to studies about who the so called “citizen scientists” are, how they behave, and how to improve their work. There are, however, no worldwide studies about citizen science projects reporting fauna killed in road collisions. Here we analyze data from the 31 projects available in September 2017 in iNaturalist.org, the largest website for this subject. The USA and Europe have the most projects, but after correcting for population size, countries like Costa Rica and Canada are outstanding, possibly thanks to widespread Internet access and high educational levels. Projects had a mean of 431 observations, 48 species, of 32 volunteers who, on average, posted 19 observations each. Most volunteers contributed few records and were active only briefly. The roadkill data shows that, in the tropics, seasonal mortality trends match the movement of animals in search of water for drinking and for reproduction, while in temperate sites project differences depended mostly on which particular species is studied. We recommend future consideration of how the behavior of volunteers and projects changes along time, a subject that has seldom been considered in previous studies PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2042 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Pablo R. Gutiérrez-Martínez Abstract: Ants have specific feeding preferences and daily activity cycles, but there are almost no data on tropical urban species. Through field collection and application of baits in Alajuela, Costa Rica, I obtained 902 records. I identified 15 urban ant species, with preference for certain foods, and daily cycles affected by food availability and the presence of dominant species. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2043 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Sergio Gabriel Quesada-Acuña Abstract: The GAM is a small geographic area that concentrates most of the Costa Rican population, but it that does not contain all the biodiversity that makes the country famous. Here I review information on snakes that coexist with humans in the area. From a total of 142 species, 73 occur in the GAM: 21 species dwell in leaf litter (harmless), two are semi-aquatic species (harmless), 16 tree species (13 harmless) and 34 terrestrial species (26 harmless). Only 11 species pose a real danger to human health but, we can coexist with them in peace PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2044 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera Abstract: Velvet worms, fragile invertebrates from an ancient lineage, are prone to extinction because of their small populations, low vagility and limited geographic ranges. However, I found that 19 species, nearly all of them Latin American and Caribbean peripatids, have been reported from heavily urbanized areas. Onychophoran worms lack most of the characteristics of successful urban animals, but I hypothesize that they survive in cities because diet and undetectability favor them. Citizen scientists could help with the urgent need of learning more about urban onychophorans. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2045 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera, Zaidett Barrientos Llosa Abstract: Many methods to prevent bird deaths at windows are ineffective, and some useful methods are expensive or displeasing. Here we offer, for free download, an image that ended bird accidents on large windows near a tropical cloud forest area, and propose hypotheses for its experimental evaluation PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2046 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera Abstract: Fluorescent lamps in kitchens accumulate grease from cooking oil fumes and become traps for insects, particularly dipterans. New smaller lamps may be less harmful for urban insect populations. PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2047 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Authors:Julián Monge-Nájera Abstract: Reintroduction of species to their former habitats -after they have been built upon- will become more important as urbanization increases worldwide, but it should follow ethical guidelines. Here I propose ten guidelines that exclude species that threaten human life, health and property; protect organisms from significant suffering; provides them with proper habitat and assistance; includes experimental protocols, and is based on information gathered according to scientific standards PubDate: 2018-02-28 DOI: 10.22458/urj.v10i1.2048 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2018)
Open Access journal
