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Papers by Roger Blanco Segura

Research paper thumbnail of Dna Barcoding a Collection of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Isla Del Coco, Costa Rica

Florida Entomologist, Dec 1, 2013

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Research paper thumbnail of Plan específico de gestión de residuos sólidos y aguas residuales del Área de Conservación Guanacaste (sectores Junquillal, Murciélago, Pocosol, Santa Rosa, Naranjo, Pailas y Santa María)

Research paper thumbnail of Guanacaste: del machete y la carabina a la computadora : en el Área de Conservación Guanacaste

Revista Del Patrimonio Mundial, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Costa Rican International Cooperative Biodiversity Group: Using Insects And Other Arthropods In Biodiversity Prospecting

Pharmaceutical Biology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Developing the Bioliteracy of School Children for 24 Years: A Fundamental Tool for Ecological Restoration and Conservation in Perpetuity of the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Ecological Restoration, 2010

The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Ric... more The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Rica in Central America was created to protect in perpetuity the rich natural diversity found there. The ACG contains an entire range of interconnected ecosystems from the Pacific coastal-marine zone, through dry and cloud forests, to the Caribbean rain forest. Generations of human pressures on the area, including ranching, agriculture, fires, timber extraction, and hunting, have degraded these ecosystems, which are now in a process of regeneration through protection from destructive human use. Although protection is an important part of conservation, the ACG’s most potent tool for the long-term conservation of its natural resources is the “biocultural restoration” of its neighbors. The ACG’s Programa de Educación Biologica (PEB, Biological Education Program) promotes the bioliteracy of local students, parents, and teachers through field-oriented workshops in its different ecosystems. Through the education of the surrounding community about its natural resources, PEB is restoring the biological understanding of its neighbors with the aim of creating a community that can make better-informed environmental decisions in the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Costa Rican International Cooperative Biodiversity Group: Using Insects And Other Arthropods In Biodiversity Prospecting

Pharmaceutical Biology, 1999

Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), which was designed to introduce insects and other arthro... more Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), which was designed to introduce insects and other arthropods as a source of pharmaceutical compounds, and to generate knowledge and economic resources for biodiversity conservation. The National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), collected, inventoried and processed insect samples directly from the ACG in northwestern Costa Rica, and developed infrastructure to screen and characterize compounds against microbes and tropical diseases at INBio and the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Cornell University supplied its expertise in chemistry and administration. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) passed samples through part of its screening batteries in six major therapeutic areas. The field team at ACG collected samples, produced vouchers, identified, and obtained natural history information for 1800 insect samples from more than 20 orders of arthropods and 250 species of food plants. Lepidoptera was the most frequently collected (47%), followed by Coleoptera (15%) and Hymenoptera (12%). The adult instar was the most frequent insect stage processed. About 75% of the extracted samples were sent to different screening sites. Analysis of extracts at BMS yielded no ongoing compounds of interest. Several active samples in antibacterial and antimalaria screens at INBio and UCR have entered into bioassayguided fractionation and structure elucidation. While the chemical characterization of all active samples is still in process, most of the active compounds studied so far are related to unsaturated fatty acids. A very active dehydrochalcone was detected in a host plant after first being detected in a sample of caterpillars that had been feeding on that plant. Costa Rica ICBG information reinforced the National Biodiversity Inventory. During the course of the project, 16 Costa Rican researchers at both professional and paraprofessional levels received training in the field and in laboratories of the collaborators.

Research paper thumbnail of Dna Barcoding a Collection of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Isla Del Coco, Costa Rica

Florida Entomologist, Dec 1, 2013

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Research paper thumbnail of Plan específico de gestión de residuos sólidos y aguas residuales del Área de Conservación Guanacaste (sectores Junquillal, Murciélago, Pocosol, Santa Rosa, Naranjo, Pailas y Santa María)

Research paper thumbnail of Guanacaste: del machete y la carabina a la computadora : en el Área de Conservación Guanacaste

Revista Del Patrimonio Mundial, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Costa Rican International Cooperative Biodiversity Group: Using Insects And Other Arthropods In Biodiversity Prospecting

Pharmaceutical Biology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Developing the Bioliteracy of School Children for 24 Years: A Fundamental Tool for Ecological Restoration and Conservation in Perpetuity of the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Ecological Restoration, 2010

The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Ric... more The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Rica in Central America was created to protect in perpetuity the rich natural diversity found there. The ACG contains an entire range of interconnected ecosystems from the Pacific coastal-marine zone, through dry and cloud forests, to the Caribbean rain forest. Generations of human pressures on the area, including ranching, agriculture, fires, timber extraction, and hunting, have degraded these ecosystems, which are now in a process of regeneration through protection from destructive human use. Although protection is an important part of conservation, the ACG’s most potent tool for the long-term conservation of its natural resources is the “biocultural restoration” of its neighbors. The ACG’s Programa de Educación Biologica (PEB, Biological Education Program) promotes the bioliteracy of local students, parents, and teachers through field-oriented workshops in its different ecosystems. Through the education of the surrounding community about its natural resources, PEB is restoring the biological understanding of its neighbors with the aim of creating a community that can make better-informed environmental decisions in the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Costa Rican International Cooperative Biodiversity Group: Using Insects And Other Arthropods In Biodiversity Prospecting

Pharmaceutical Biology, 1999

Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), which was designed to introduce insects and other arthro... more Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), which was designed to introduce insects and other arthropods as a source of pharmaceutical compounds, and to generate knowledge and economic resources for biodiversity conservation. The National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), collected, inventoried and processed insect samples directly from the ACG in northwestern Costa Rica, and developed infrastructure to screen and characterize compounds against microbes and tropical diseases at INBio and the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Cornell University supplied its expertise in chemistry and administration. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) passed samples through part of its screening batteries in six major therapeutic areas. The field team at ACG collected samples, produced vouchers, identified, and obtained natural history information for 1800 insect samples from more than 20 orders of arthropods and 250 species of food plants. Lepidoptera was the most frequently collected (47%), followed by Coleoptera (15%) and Hymenoptera (12%). The adult instar was the most frequent insect stage processed. About 75% of the extracted samples were sent to different screening sites. Analysis of extracts at BMS yielded no ongoing compounds of interest. Several active samples in antibacterial and antimalaria screens at INBio and UCR have entered into bioassayguided fractionation and structure elucidation. While the chemical characterization of all active samples is still in process, most of the active compounds studied so far are related to unsaturated fatty acids. A very active dehydrochalcone was detected in a host plant after first being detected in a sample of caterpillars that had been feeding on that plant. Costa Rica ICBG information reinforced the National Biodiversity Inventory. During the course of the project, 16 Costa Rican researchers at both professional and paraprofessional levels received training in the field and in laboratories of the collaborators.