University of Costa Rica

About: University of Costa Rica is a education organization based out in San José, Costa Rica. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Venom. The organization has 9817 authors who have published 16781 publications receiving 238208 citations. The organization is also known as: UCR & Universidad de Costa Rica.

The Quest for Universal Social Policy in the South: Actors, Ideas and Architectures

Abstract: Universal social policies have the power to reduce inequality and create more cohesive societies. How can countries in the South deliver universalism? This book answers this question through a comparative analysis of Costa Rica, Mauritius, South Korea, and Uruguay, and a detailed historical account of Costa Rica's successful trajectory. Against the backdrop of democracy and progressive parties, the authors place at center stage the policy architectures defined as the combination of instruments that dictate the benefits available to people. The volume also explores the role of state actors in building pro-universal architectures. This book will interest advanced students and scholars of human development and public and social policies, as well as policymakers eager to promote universal policies across the South.

Not everything is black and white: color and behavioral variation reveal a continuum between cryptic and aposematic strategies in a polymorphic poison frog.

Abstract: Aposematism and crypsis are often viewed as two extremes of a continuum of visual conspicuousness to predators. Theory predicts that behavioral and coloration conspicuousness should vary in tandem along the conspicuousness spectrum for antipredator strategies to be effective. Here we used visual modeling of contrast and behavioral observations to examine the conspicuousness of four populations of the granular poison frog, Oophaga granulifera, which exhibits almost continuous variation in dorsal color. The patterns of geographic variation in color, visual contrast, and behavior support a gradient of overall conspicuousness along the distribution of O. granulifera. Red and green populations, at the extremes of the color distribution, differ in all elements of color, contrast, and behavior, strongly reflecting aposematic and cryptic strategies. However, there is no smooth cline in any elements of behavior or coloration between the two extremes. Instead populations of intermediate colors attain intermediate conspicuousness by displaying different combinations of aposematic and cryptic traits. We argue that coloration divergence among populations may be linked to the evolution of a gradient of strategies to balance the costs of detection by predators and the benefits of learned aversion.

A review of the main drivers and variability of Central America’s Climate and seasonal forecast systems

Abstract: Central America is a region susceptible to natural disasters and climate change We reviewed the literature on the main atmospheric and oceanographic forces and climate modulators affecting Central America, for different spatial and time scales We also reviewed the reported correlation between climate variability, natural hazards and climate change aspects (in the past and future) In addition, we examined the current state of seasonal prediction systems being applied to the region At inter-annual scales, El Nino/Southern Oscillation is the main climate modulator; however, other indices such as the Tropical North Atlantic, Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, have shown a correlation with precipitation anomalies in the region Current seasonal forecast systems in the region have shown a constant development, including incorporation of different approaches ranging from statistical to dynamical downscaling, improving prediction of variables such as precipitation Many studies have revealed the need of including –in addition to the climatic information– socio-economic variables to assess the impact of natural disasters and climate change in the region These studies highlight the importance of socio-economic and human life losses associated with the impacts caused by natural hazards for organizations and governments Rev Biol Trop 66(Suppl 1): S153-S175 Epub 2018 April 01