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xx, 229 p. : ill. (some col.) / Reproductive effort is a central element of human biology and ecology. Particularly for females, reproduction is energetically demanding, with elevated metabolic costs during pregnancy and lactation, followed by high child care costs. To satisfy energetic needs, women can adopt various physiological and behavioral strategies. On a physiological level, the energetic requirements of offspring may be met by adjusting metabolic allocation and/or drawing on maternal bodily reserves. On a behavioral level, women may reduce energy expenditure and/or increase energy intake. This study examined reproductive trade-offs in activity and skeletal health among the indigenous Shuar forager-horticulturalists of Ecuadorian Amazonia and had two main objectives. First, this research examined trade-offs in energy use during female reproductive states and behavioral adjustments made by females and males to meet high reproductive demands. Second, this study investigated skeletal health profiles among Shuar, as well non-Shuar Colonos, to identify the relationships between female reproductive factors and skeletal health. Research was conducted among adults in four Morona-Santiago communities. Skeletal health was measured using calcaneal ultrasonometry, and physical activity was measured using accelerometry. Extensive information on sociodemographics and reproduction was assessed through structured interviews. Age-related declines in bone mineral density (BMD) were observed for Shuar and Colonos, while Shuar BMD was significantly higher than that of other populations. These results suggest that normative data from developed countries may reflect suboptimal bone density levels. Regarding reproductive effects on skeletal health, results indicate that earlier menarcheal age and greater stature are associated with better bone health in postmenopausal life. These conclusions suggest the importance of the timing of early developmental stages in establishing bone status in adulthood. Results demonstrate that physical activity levels were similar between pregnant/lactating (P/L) and other women. However, P/L women appear to compensate for elevated energetic demands by relying on a male partner who has increased his energy expenditure, suggesting greater participation in subsistence activities. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of biocultural strategies among women to meet high reproductive costs. Further, it emphasizes the utility of a life history framework for identifying trade-offs in physiology and behavior. This dissertation contains previously published and unpublished co-authored material. / Committee in charge: Dr. J. Josh Snodgrass, Chair; Dr. Lawrence S. Sugiyama, Member; Dr. John Lukacs, Member; Dr. John Halliwell, Outside Member

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on July 17, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Translation Studies, Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis explores how indigenous communities in the neotropics affect the biodiversity of the forests in which they live; and assesses how the culture, preferences and perceptions of communities can influence the outcome of this relationship. This is first investigated via a case study that compares primate populations between a protected area in the Ecuadorian Amazon and a territory in its adjacent buffer zone that is owned by an indigenous Kichwa community. I then use an ethnoprimatological approach to investigate the attitudes of this community to primates, namely looking at (a) whether primates are seen as a distinct group, (b) the relative importance of primates as sources of bushmeat and pets and (c) the perceived value of primates in terms of their value as a resource or their ecological role. I show that diurnal primates are seen as a cohesive group, but that tree-dwelling non-primates including sloths, kinkajous and tamanduas are also frequently classified as 'monkeys'. The community's perceptions of the value of primates are more closely associated with their potential as bushmeat and pets, whereas few respondents view their importance in terms of their role in the forest ecosystem. I compare our findings to those in studies of other indigenous groups and discuss how they could contribute to more effective conservation planning. Next, I assess how hunting preferences for mammals and birds vary across communities over the whole of central America, Amazonia and the Guianan shield. I show that primates, cetartiodactyls and rodents are the mammalian cornerstones of prey provision for hunters in neotropical communities, whereas Galliformes, Tinamiformes, Psittaciformes, Gruiformes, Piciformes are the most commonly hunted bird orders. The location of a community alone is a significant but weak predictor of the structure of its hunting profile in terms of order preferences. In addition, I found no relationship between a community's age and size and the average biomass of birds or mammals hunted, or the number of mammal species that are targeted. I discuss whether the age and size of communities are robust indicators of past and current hunting pressure, as well as the suitability of cross-sectional data for monitoring large-scale hunting patterns.

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Isaac J. Barrera, a noted scholar of Ecuadorian literature, succinctly described the nineteenth-century Liberal essayist, Juan Montalvo, in this way. "Two completely different aspects exist in the intellectual personality of Montalvo, that of the elegant, traditional writer ... and that of the terrible polemicist, possessing a scathing pen [and] ignited rage." Indeed, it was Montalvo's "scathing pen" and "ignited rage" combined with his exceptional mastery of the Castillian language which distinguished his writing from that of other Ecuadorian reformers. Yet, the Ecuadorian's insulting polemics and violent rhetoric encouraged and perpetuated an already existing "culture of revolution" in Ecuador. Indeed, the eyes of the country seemed fixed on Montalvo. He was at the center of Ecuadorian political thought and he personified the hope of those of radical opinion. For example, in 1875, after reading The Perpetual Dictator, his polemical pamphlet directed against the tyrannical practices of then Ecuadorian President, Gabriel Garcia Moreno, three of Montalvo's disciples assassinated the Dictator. Montalvo, believing he now had proof of the power of his words, exclaimed, "No doubt my ideas took root; ... it is my pen that killed him."This thesis will examine three aspects of Juan Montalvo and the culture of revolution in Ecuador. The second chapter entitled, "'It is My Pen that Killed Him!': The Assassination of Garcia Moreno," will examine Montalvo's rhetoric of violence and its results. Chapter three, "Montalvo as Icon: Nationalism, Personalism and Rebellion," will explore how a nation's heroes influence the cultural and revolutionary flavor of the particular region or country. The fourth chapter, "Indoctrination of the Innocent: Montalvo in Education," will analyze how the culture of revolution has not only penetrated Ecuadorian education but is perpetuated through the education of the Ecuadorian youth.This investigation will also provide supplemental awareness of Montalvo's general motives as well as a representative sketch of a nineteenth-century, Latin American liberal. An understanding of this Ecuadorian is also necessary for related research regarding other twentieth-century, Spanish speaking authors, such as Miguel Unamuno, for whom Montalvo was an influential figure. Furthermore, a clear assessment of Montalvo, and the forces against which he fought, portrays Latin American authoritarianism and personalism and reflects the social and religious mentality of the Ecuadorian elite and middle class in the nineteenth century. Despite Montalvo's influential position in Ecuador and his worldwide reputation as an opponent of tyranny and defender of liberty, only a few select passages of his writings have been translated into English. Likewise, English language scholarship on Montalvo is sorely lacking; most of the few existing articles are sparse, replete with errors, and tailored to a popular audience. / Department of History

The aim of this paper is to analyze and describe the historical, institutional and structural factors of deforestation taking into account the dynamics of intensification or «extensification» of land use in the Amazon region of Tena in Ecuador. A first conclusion was finding the reproduction of an extensive pattern of agriculture in Tena as an important direct agent of deforestation. We believe that this agricultural system originates in historical processes from the sixties, when the state intervenes promoting certain policies of extensive land use, through road construction and specific mechanisms of land titling. The current social and institutional dynamics have failed to reverse such situation, since deforestation is still playing, although there is a tendency to close the agricultural frontier. The indicated form of farming and the corresponding rates of deforestation are played today as a result of structural factors, such as farm size, proximity to roads, the type of technology used and unfavorable market linkages. / El objetivo del presente artículo es analizar y describir los factores históricos, institucionales y estructurales de la deforestación teniendo en cuenta la dinámica de intensificación o «extensificación» de uso del suelo en la región amazónica de Tena, en Ecuador. Una primera conclusión fue constatar la reproducción de una agricultura extensiva en Tena como un importante agente directo de la deforestación. Creemos que dicho sistema agrícola se origina en procesos históricos, desde la década de 1960, cuando el Estado ecuatoriano interviene fomentando ciertas políticas de ocupación extensiva del suelo, a través de la construcción de caminos de penetración y algunas modalidades específicas de titulación de tierras. Las dinámicas sociales e institucionales actuales no han logrado revertir tal situación, pues la deforestación se sigue reproduciendo, a pesar de que existe la tendencia a que se cierre la frontera agrícola. La indicada forma de agricultura y las correspondientes tasas de deforestación se reproducen en la actualidad como resultado de factores estructurales, tales como el tamaño del predio, cercanía a las carreteras, el tipo de tecnología utilizada y una desfavorable articulación con el mercado.

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