The Sardinilla plantation is a long-term facility for studying the links between tree species diversity and ecosystem function. Six native tree species were planted in 2001 in plots containing 1, 3 or 6 species. Soil respiration (SR) measurements were conducted from March to December 2004 on tree pairs. ANOVAs with repeated measure on days were used to test the main effects of species (monocultures), pair (single and two-species pairs), plot (pairs in monoculture, three-, and six-species plots), and season (dry vs. early wet season). ANCOVAs were run for each effect to determine possible biotic and abiotic covariates, including root, tree, and microbial biomass, soil moisture, surface temperature, and bulk density. Significant season and pair effects accounted for 89% and 2% of the variability in SR. Driven by soil moisture, SR increased seven fold during the seasonal transition. In the dry and wet season monocultures had significantly higher SR than two-species pairs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 529-547).

Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Karen Kilcup; submitted to the Dept. of English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 17, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-82).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, February 2010.

Th.--Géogr.--Toulouse 2, 1987.

Little research has been conducted in the Republic of Panama concerning mammalian predator and prey populations. New Technologies such as remote camera-traps, allow researcher to efficiently monitor elusive wildlife species within dense tropical vegetation. The general goal of this study was to establish concrete evidence of the felid population in EcoParque Panama-a newly designated protected area adjacent to Panama City. The specific objective of the study was to estimate the relative abundance of predators and prey species in order to determine the feasibility of releasing more felids into the area that were to be removed from the Panama Canal Expansion Zone. Camera-traps were purposefully located in likely felid habitat and data were collected for approximately 5 months. Photographs were analyzed according to species and location captured, and abundances were established. Using SPSS and Statistix statistical software, tests for association between likely habitat for felids and time activity periods for prey species were conducted. EcoParque was found to have a robust prey population with relatively few predators. Felid predators present include the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and jaguarundi (Felis yaguarondi). Results suggest that felid carrying capacity has not been reached and additional individuals could be released into the area. This preliminary study lays the ground work for further research in EcoParque as well as the rest of Panama concerning predator and prey species relationships.

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2016-04-05T19:49:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Eugenia.pdf: 9158326 bytes, checksum: b202aff5f22f15faabba8f8259433931 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2016-04-12T20:08:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Eugenia.pdf: 9158326 bytes, checksum: b202aff5f22f15faabba8f8259433931 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Almeida (maria.socorro@fgv.br) on 2016-04-16T16:24:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Eugenia.pdf: 9158326 bytes, checksum: b202aff5f22f15faabba8f8259433931 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-16T16:24:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eugenia.pdf: 9158326 bytes, checksum: b202aff5f22f15faabba8f8259433931 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-27 / As globalization increases integration, a new playing field is emerging which is driving the need for operational efficiencies and alignment of complementary capabilities among countries to build sustainable models and integrated offerings. As demands increase, companies are turning to effective project management as means to control operations and countries are increasing the amount of mega projects to boost their competitiveness and global footprint. Given the scale, complexity, political nature, multicultural makeup, and high level of visibility; mega projects rely on successful stakeholder management to effectively manage its operational, tactical, and strategic levels to execute their mission. This paper examines the success drivers of mega projects and presents an in depth stakeholder assessment of the Panama Canal Expansion mega project to identify the perceived value to its stakeholder community. The stakeholder categories include: the Panama Canal Authority, subcontractors executing the expansion project, customers of the canal in Panama and U.S., as well as the communities surrounding the Panama Canal and ports in the U.S. East Coast. The conclusion of this paper captures the relationship between the effective stakeholder engagement from the Panama Canal Authority, the perceived value of the Panamanian stakeholders, and compares it to U.S. based mega projects being executed simultaneously to allow the U.S. East Coast ports to accommodate increased cargo volumes.

Since the turnover of the Panama Canal from the U.S. to Panama, the Panamanian government has made increasing tourism to the country a high priority in order to increase foreign monetary revenue and the socio-economic status of the country's constituents. In 2008, the implementation of the Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism 2007-2020 was instated. The Master Plan was designed to increase sustainable tourism to the country by international and national promotion and supplying tax incentives for tourism development investors. Panama has also taken strides to declare nine different parts of the country as Special Tourism Zones, that are recipients of multiple tax exemptions and tax holidays, according to Law No. 8, the tourism incentive law. Included in the nine zones is Bocas del Toro. This study examines the perceived effects of macro-scale national and international laws and programs on micro-scale ecotourism operations in Bocas del Toro. Research includes interviews with managers, owners and affiliates of seven micro-scale ecotourism operations in Bocas del Toro. The research methods provide insight into how the macro-scale laws and programs have effected, if at all, the micro-scale ecotourism operations in Bocas del Toro. The research reveals that there is a need for more cohesion among the governmental programs that are designed to aid in the promotion and support of micro-scale ecotourism operations along with the need for enforcement of environmental sustainability at the local level (Bocas del Toro). Although the implementation of the Master Plan is still in the early stage, progress can still be made in Panama in order to increase tourism and environmental sustainability in the country.

TESIS PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE MAGÍSTER EN MARKETING / Claudia Lasso S. Batista [Parte I], Felix Urnaga Díaz [Parte II] / SpeedInk es una pequeña empresa dedicada a dar soluciones gráficas integrales. Cuenta con diez años realizando trabajos premium en el mercado. Su target se enfoca en clientes VIP que sean rentables y cuenten con un presupuesto elevado para el área de Marketing y Publicidad. Este Plan de Marketing se realizó para detectar y dar solución a las principales falencias de SpeedInk. Entre las cuales encontramos: la ausencia de pertenencia a la empresa por parte de los empleados, falta de capacitaciones, nula inversión en publicidad, bases de datos de clientes desactualizada y precios elevados. A esto podemos sumar la fuerte competencia a la que se ve enfrentada. Con una amplia variedad de sustitutos y competidores, diferenciarse resulta una tarea compleja. Existen tres empresas, además de SpeedInk, que ofrecen el servicio integral de empaques que estudiamos: Digital Color, Corporación Gráfica y Printex. Esta última se encuentra casi al mismo nivel de SpeedInk. Motivo por el cual es necesario realizar mejoras en el servicio. Es pues, que se han considerado tres estrategias que llevarán a SpeedInk al éxito. Primero: Calidad del Servicio, la cual se enfoca en incorporar y mejorar procesos. Segundo: Marketing Relacional, se refiere a mejorar el vínculo con los clientes actuales y nuevos. Tercero: Estrategia Comunicacional, busca aumentar la publicidad e imagen de la empresa. Creemos firmemente, que con estas acciones SpeedInk mejorará su posicionamiento en el mercado. El awareness de la marca se verá aumentado y esto le permitirá al cliente un mejor acceso al servicio integral.

The fish order Pleuronectiformes (flatfishes) include over 800 fish species, and are generally considered to be monophyletic. Phylogenetic relationships within the order remain largely unresolved, particularly for the Paralichthyidae, a very poorly defined family. In addition to the lack of consensus on intrarelationships within this order, flatfish diversification patterns are still poorly understood. Here we want to test the hypothesis that (i) a densely sampled phylogenetic tree will help to unravel the phylogenetic relationships within flatfish, and (ii) that the formation of the Isthmus of Panama has played a role in the diversification of flatfish, following their distribution in both oceans, Atlantic and Pacific. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyzes were performed on a dataset consisting of nine mitochondrial and nuclear loci on a set of 309 flatfish species. The heterogeneity of substitution rates, known to cause phylogenetic errors in large multigene alignments, can be corrected by data partitioning, or by using heterogeneous site models. Very few studies have compared the effects of using these approaches. We present a robust phylogenetic tree with different heterogeneous and well-supported models, and the intraordinal relationships of flatfish are discussed in light of these results. We present evidence for three new suborders within the flatfishes. The monophyletic status of most families is corroborated. The family Paralichthyidae and the family Poecilopsettidae were found to be polyphyletic. Heterogeneous models have not been able to solve the deeper relationships between flatfish. We also show that flatfish diversification occurred in a few families in at least two stages, related to distinct geological events.