Description: This article offers comment by the author on the Patagonian Archipelago as the Final Frontier, as written about in a book by Matthew B. Martinic titled, 'Patagonia Archipelago. The Final Frontier.

Description: This article discusses the program of education and environmental ethics. The relationship between scientists and society theme of the Symposium of Mendoza, are addressed by the program of education and environmental ethics Omora Park on three interconnected levels: (1) level of ecological sciences, (2) level environmental ethics and (3) biocultural conservation level.

Description: This article discusses Senda Darwin Biological Station. Abstract: Senda Darwin Biological Station (SDBS) is a field research center immersed in the rural landscape of northern Chiloé island (42°S), where remnant patches of the original evergreen forests coexist with open pastures, secondary successional shrublands, Sphagnum bogs, Eucalyptus plantations and other anthropogenic cover types, constituting an agricultural frontier similar to other regions in Chile and Latin America. Since 1994, the authors have conducted long-term research on selected species of plants (e.g., Pilgerodendron uviferum) and animals (e.g., Aphrastura spinicauda, Dromiciops gliroides) that are considered threatened, poorly known or important for their ecological functions in local ecosystems, and on ecosystems of regional and global relevance (e.g., Sphagnum bogs, North Patagonian and Valdivian rain forests). Research has assessed the responses of species and ecosystems to anthropogenic land-use change, climate change, and the impact of management. During this period, more than 100 scientific publications in national and international journals, and 30 theses (graduate and undergraduate) have been produced by scientists and students associated with SDBS. Because of the authors' understanding of the key role that humans play in ecological processes at this agricultural frontier, since the establishment of SDBS the authors have been committed to creative ...

Description: This article discusses the phenology of Tayloria dubyi (Splachnaceae) in the peatlands of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. Abstract: The sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion harbors a high diversity of bryophytes, greater than the species richness of vascular plants. Despite this fact, phenological studies on bryophytes are lacking for this ecoregion and Chile. Based on the study of the sporophytic phase of Tayloria dubyi, an endemic moss from the sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion, the authors propose a methodology for phonological studies on austral bryophytes. The authors defined five phenophases, easily distinguishable with a hand-lens, which were monthly recorded during 2007 and 2008 in populations of T. dubyi at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park and Mejillones Bay on Navarino Island (55°S) in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. The sporophytic (or reproductive) phase of T. dubyi presented a clear seasonality. After growing in November, in three months (December - February) of the austral reproductive season the sporophytes mature and release their spores; by March they are already senescent T. dubyi belongs to the Splachnaceae family for which entomochory (dispersal of spores by insects, specifically Diptera) has been detected in the Northern Hemisphere. The period of spores release in T. dubyi coincides with the months of highest ...

Description: This article discusses field environmental philosophy and biocultural conservation at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park. Abstract: In order to effectively address the problems derived from global environmental change, environmental scientists, citizens and decision-makers now recognize the need to integrate more fully the human or social component into ecological research. The authors propose that to achieve this integration, Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) networks offer an ideal platform, because such sites enable research at ecological, cultural, and political local scales, and at the same time allow addressing these issues at a global scale. However, this socio-ecological work still requires better articulation of programs developed at multiple geographic, ecological and political scales. In addition, until now the social component considered in LTSER programs has focused on economic factors, omitting ethical dimensions. A central reason for this omission is the lack of methodologies to systematically integrate ethics into LTSER programs. As a contribution to resolve this limitation, here the authors develop a methodological approach that the authors call "field environmental philosophy." It integrates ecological research and environmental ethics into biocultural education and conservation through an interrelated four-step cycle: i) interdisciplinary ecological and philosophical research, ii) composition of metaphors, and communication through simple narratives, iii) design ...