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No description available.

Graduation date: 2006 / I examined the avian biogeography of the islands of Lago Gatun, Panama, in an effort to better understand the effects of forest fragmentation in this biodiverse region, and specifically to understand the importance of fragment isolation and the mechanism behind its effects on tropical bird distribution. I combined exhaustive surveys of 29 islands with an experimental release program. Analyses of these data were conducted in a hierarchical fashion to evaluate evidence for avian dispersal limitation at multiple scales. First, I assessed the potential roles of area and isolation in determining avian species richness across this series of fragments, and how these relationships may differ for edge and forest dependent birds. Next, I analyzed community structure and species distributions to determine the relative contributions of island area and isolation in creating patterns of species-specific insular occurrence. Lastly, I assessed the results of the experimental investigation to evaluate the hypothesis that dispersal limitation explains the insular distribution patterns of several tropical forest birds. Isolation is a significant predictor of avian species richness, but only after accounting for the stronger effect of area. Species-isolation relationships are different in this archipelago for birds that rely on forest and edge habitats, respectively. Species-specific distributions are significantly nested when islands are ordered by area, and by isolation once the effect of area is considered. Occurrence of most forest species is sensitive to area and isolation of the archipelago. Examination of guild structure suggests that multiple mechanisms are responsible for these occurrence patterns. There are distinct species-specific differences in ability to cross small gaps, and species which are better able to cross these gaps are more widely distributed across the archipelago than those species that negotiate the same barriers poorly. Species that performed uniformly well in release experiments were much less likely to have suffered insular extinction in the preceding 25 years than those species that showed moderate to poor experimental performance. There is strong evidence of a morphological basis for the patterns. The cumulative evidence from these analyses is the most comprehensive evidence to date of local-scale dispersal limitation in volant birds.

The thesis is an ethnographic account of the belief system surrounding disease and curing among the Kuna Indians of San Blas, Panama. It is an attempt to describe this system in its own terms, and to interpret its meaning by attending to the various symbolic, ritual, and social contexts in which it finds expression. Above all, the ethnography strives to understand Kuna theories of disease causation and cure. Theoretical assumptions and methodological suggestions have been borrowed from the anthropological sub-fields of ethnoscience, symbolic anthropology, and sociolinguistics. The ethnography is loosely organized around the natural progression taken by the Kuna when they discover that someone has fallen ill, diagnose his illness, and then set about devising strategies for restoring him to health. Earlier chapters scrutinize the component parts of this belief system, and these are brought together in a synthetic manner in the penultimate chapter. The ultimate theoretical objective is to demonstrate that cultural symbols can only be properly understood when viewed within the natural context in which they are used. The final chapter deals with cultural and social change in San Blas, with special emphasis on the island of Ustuppu, over the past 70 years.

The thesis analyzes the role of Panama in international trade. The first chapter is dedicated to basic information about Panama. It describes its history and briefly describes the specifics of Panama's market. The second chapter discusses the business environment, its general characteristics. Its main ingredient is a special tax regime, because of which Panama is considered as a tax haven. It analyzes the economic situation in Panama and it is dedicated more to two major pillars of the economy of Panama, the Panama Canal and the Colon free zone. It focuses on potential investment opportunities in Panama, which are stimulated by tax incentives. Characteristic of the social environment focuses on the facilities of Panama's population as workforce and education level in the country. It describes the evolution of culture and Panama is characterized by its cultural peculiarities of the universal cultural dimensions of Hofstede. Also describes specifics relating to business dealings and activities associated with it. The technological environment draws attention to the technological amenities of the country, the government organizations that are specialized to promote its activities in this area. The third chapter deals with foreign trade of Panama. It describes the national strategy designed for the years 2004 to 2009, government institutions supporting the Panamanian foreign trade and agreements that Panama has signed for development of foreign trade. It also discusses evolution foreign trade indicators in 2008. The last chapter focuses on trade cooperation between Panama and the Czech Republic.

Anthropologists have long recognized the central role of social systems in enhancing environmental sustainability, but few have attempted to accurately assess the conditions under which traditional social institutions can equitably and effectively manage access to natural resources for the purposes of their use and conservation. By failing to look closely at how resource management practices are shaped both by local-level cultural institutions and the political and economic forces of government policies and markets, anthropologists have compounded the confusion surrounding the functions and capacities of traditional resource management institutions. / This dissertation examines the connections between institutional and economic incentives and resource use and management decisions among the Naso indigenous people in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The study incorporates insights from development anthropology, common property systems and political ecology to develop a multi-sited approach that uses multiple research methods. A detailed household survey (n=54 or 18% of Naso households located within the eight villages surveyed in 2004) was used to obtain socio-demographic data and to establish patterns of land tenure and resource use. Preliminary and follow-up interviews were also conducted with community leaders, government officials and representatives of various national and international organizations with a stake in the conservation and/or development of the Naso region. / As a group, the Naso were found to use both indigenous and imported technologies to manage a wide range of natural resources towards ensuring the economic, cultural and ecological viability of their communities. However, recent legislation intended to recognize Naso land rights and a hydroelectric project nearing construction on Naso lands have sought to modify the formal rules and organizations that have traditionally served to order local resource tenure and management practices. This thesis analyses the guidelines and criteria invoked by the various stakeholders involved with these projects in order to assess the equity of the distribution of their social and environmental impacts. It highlights the need to become more sceptical and sophisticated when assessing the objectives and justifications provided by the academics, government agencies, local authorities and private companies involved in the conservation and development of indigenous peoples' territorial resources.

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No description available.

L'isthme de Panama se situe en bordure SW de la plaque Caraïbe, à la jonction de trois plaques lithosphériques: les plaques Amérique du Sud, Nazca et Cocos. Cet isthme est constitué de deux arcs volcaniques formant l'Amérique Centrale. Leurs présences reflètent une histoire complexe de convergence, en subduction. L'événement majeur de cette région correspond à la collision de l'Amérique Centrale contre l'Amérique du Sud entre 12-25 Ma. L'objectif de cette thèse est de documenter les déformations avant, pendant et après le processus d'accrétion continentale. Le but est de mieux comprendre comment un arc volcanique s'accrète sur une marge continentale pour reconstruire l'histoire géodynamique de cette région de 70 Ma jusqu'à nos jours. Cette thèse combine: - une étude sédimentologique et paléontologique, - une étude structurale à partir de données spatiales, géophysiques, et de terrain, - une étude thermochronologique (AFT), - et une étude interprétative sismique. Je propose ainsi une accrétion progressive et oblique de l'Amérique Centrale sur l'Amérique du Sud, s'initiant au sud de la région d'Istmina à partir de 40-37 Ma. La plaque Caraïbe, piégée entre l'arc volcanique et la marge continentale sud-américaine, disparaît progressivement sous l'Amérique du Sud. Vers 15 Ma, l'accrétion de l'arc dans la partie colombienne se termine. Au Panama, la convergence continentale se poursuit, mais le système s'inverse. Une nouvelle subduction s'initie : la plaque Caraïbe subducte sous l'isthme. Les déformations compressives engendrées par l'accrétion contrôlent la migration des masses sédimentaires et permettent la surrection progressive de l'isthme créant le pont inter-Amériques. / The Panama Isthmus is located on the SW boundary of the Caribbean plate, at the junction of the South American, Nazca and Cocos plates. The isthmus is composed of two island arcs forming Central America. It formed by a complex history of plate subductions. The major tectonic event in this region is attributed to the accretion of Central America with South America between 12 and 25 Ma. The aim of this thesis is to document the deformation before, during and after the accretionary continental process. The main purpose is to better understand how a volcanic arc collides against a continental margin in order to reconstruct the tectonic history of this region since 70 Ma until today. This thesis combines: - a sedimentological and paleontological studies, - a structural study from spatial, geophysical and field work data, - a thermochronological study (AFT), - and an interpretative seismic study. I propose the initiation of progressive and oblique arc-continent collision during 40-37 Ma. The Caribbean plate, trapped between the arc and the continent, progressively disappeared beneath the South American continent. Around 15 Ma, the Colombian part of Central America was accreted and the convergence of Panama toward the continent progressed and produced a new subduction zone whereby the Caribbean plate subducted beneath the Panama Isthmus. Compressive deformations, caused by the collision, still actively control the migration of sedimentary masses, allowing the progressive emergence of the isthmus and forming the inter-American land bridge.