Abstract This paper analyzes a conflict in the communal lands of Tila, in the north of Chiapas, characterized by political violence. Groups of economic, social, and political power are here fighting to gain control over the territory. It is a scenario of multiple tensions between the communal land and municipal authorities, the former with a proposal for autonomy supported by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (ezln) and the latter linked to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (pri), under the new façade of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (pvem), which seeks to maintain control over the territory.

Resumen En este artículo se analiza el conflicto en el ejido Tila, un espacio ubicado en el norte de Chiapas caracterizado por la violencia política y donde grupos de poder económico, social y político se disputan el control del territorio. Se trata de un escenario de múltiples tensiones entre las autoridades ejidales y municipales, las primeras con una propuesta de autonomía con el respaldo del Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (ezln) y las segundas vinculadas con el Partido Revolucionario Institucional (pri), materializado en su nuevo rostro, el Partido Verde Ecologista de México (pvem), que busca mantener el control sobre el territorio.

Resumen Las narraciones de las mujeres del Congo de Espírito Santo son mostradas aquí como testimonios de prácticas de reexistencia ecologista. Basados en estudios con los cotidianos escolares y la perspectiva ecologista de educación y teniendo la pedagogía de Freire como eje central, buscamos enfatizar sus dimensiones ética, política, pedagógica y cultural. Las historias y luchas personales y colectivas de esas mujeres se entrelazan con otras luchas y "sujetos de la historia" del Brasil contemporáneo, incluyendo las nuestras, en los diferentes cotidianos escolares en que actuamos. Por medio de las narraciones de estas mujeres, nos aproximamos a modos de vivir construidos en la solidaridad y la resistencia con esperanza.

Abstract The narratives of the women in the Congo of Espiritu Santo are evidenced here as testimonies of practices of ecological re-existence. Based on studies with school daily, and the ecologist perspective of education having Paulo Freire pedagogy as the central axis, we try to emphasize its ethical, political, pedagogical, and cultural dimensions. Their stories and their personal and collective fights connect with other struggles and "subjects of history" in contemporary Brazil, including our own, in the different school daily lives where we operate. With the narratives of these women, we approach ways of living built on solidarity and resistance with hope.

Resumo As narrativas das mulheres no Congo do Espírito Santo são aqui evidenciadas como testemunhos de práticas de re-existência ecologista. Apoiados em estudos com os cotidianos escolares e na perspectiva ecologista de educação e tendo a pedagogia de Freire como eixo central, procuramos enfatizar suas dimensões ética, política, pedagógica e cultural. As histórias delas e suas lutas pessoais e coletivas se entrelaçam com outras lutas de "sujeitos da história" no Brasil contemporâneo, incluindo as nossas, nos diferentes cotidianos escolares em que atuamos. Com as narrativas dessas mulheres nos aproximamos a modos de viver construídos na solidariedade e na resistência com esperança.

Resumen Con carácter exploratorio y propositivo, el artículo pretende realizar un aporte a los estudios reconocidos dentro de la justicia espacial, abriendo un ámbito de reflexión teórico-empírica acerca de las formas y las estrategias que construyen lo justo. Para tal fin, el trabajo se desarrolla de dos partes: primero, se presentan algunas hipótesis y reflexiones en torno al concepto de justicia y las posibilidades del mismo al colocarlo en relación con la idea de lo común aportada por Pierre Dardot y Christian Laval. Segundo, se operativiza la reflexión teórica, analizando las estrategias llevadas adelante por la Coalición Ríos Vivos, enfocando en aquellos elementos que posibilitan observar las modalidades que va tomando el principio de lo común en una praxis concreta de lucha por lo que se considera justo.

Abstract This paper -through its exploratory and propositional nature- is intended to be a contribution to acknowledged studies dealing with spatial justice. It leads to a theoretical-empirical reflection on the modes and strategies which build up the fair by means of the development of two parts: first, the introduction of some hypotheses and reflections on justice along with the emerging possibilities of the concept when it is associated with the idea of the common as proposed by Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval. Second, the operationalization of the theoretical discussion through the analysis of Ríos Vivos Coalition’s strategies. The focus is on the features that highlight the different modes which the principle of the common entails within a specific praxis of struggle for the fair.

Resumen: Desde la década del cincuenta se desarrolla en Chile una línea de ensayistas y poetas ecologistas que denuncia el modelo depredador de crecimiento económico y hace un llamado a la acción colectiva. La publicación de Ecopoemas del poeta chileno Nicanor Parra en 1982 constituye un hito fundamental que recupera el pensamiento ecologista de varios autores anteriores, al tiempo que propone nuevos paradigmas ético-estéticos capaces de articular subjetividades disidentes en los tres registros ecológicos (Guattari). Con este trabajo me propongo estudiar los ecopoemas como un espacio agonista del disentimiento. El trabajo se centra en la pregunta por los modos en que la ecopoesía de Nicanor Parra configura una performatividad y afectividad del disentir político. Así, primero analizo cómo la ecología se construye como un discurso de resistencia instalado política y estéticamente como oposicional; segundo, describo cómo este discurso configura un nosotros ecocéntrico en el que nuevos actores serán capaces de producir los afectos y los gestos del disentir político que promete una acción colectiva. Por último, reflexiono en torno a la vigencia de la propuesta de Parra en el contexto de la Ecología Política latinoamericana.

Abstract: In Chile, since the fifties, we start to note a developing trend of ecologist poets and writers denouncing the predatory model of economic growth, calling for collective action. The publication Ecopoemas by the Chilean poet Nicanor Parra in 1982 became a milestone that recovers the environmental thinking of several previous authors while proposing new ethical-aesthetic paradigms capable of articulating dissenting subjectivities in the three ecological registers (Guattari). With this work, I intend to study ecopoems as an agonist space of dissent. The work focuses on exploring how Nicanor Parra’s ecopoetry configures performativity and affectivity of political dissent. First, I analyze ecology as a discourse of resistance installed politically and aesthetically as oppositional in Parra’s poems; second, I describe how this discourse configures an ecocentric us in which new actors will be able to produce affections and gestures of political dissent with the promise of collective action. Finally, I consider the validity of Parra’s ecopoetry in the context of Latin American Political Ecology.

Resumo: Desde os anos cinquenta, uma linha de ensaístas e poetas ecologistas se desenvolveu no Chile para denunciar o modelo predatório do crescimento econômico e chama por uma ação coletiva. A publicação de Ecopoemas pelo poeta chileno Nicanor Parra, em 1982, constitui um marco fundamental que recupera o pensamento ecológico de vários autores anteriores, propondo novos paradigmas ético-estéticos capazes de articular subjetividades dissidentes nos três registros ecológicos (Guattari). Com este trabalho, pretendo estudar os ecopoemas como um espaço agonista de dissidência. O trabalho enfoca a questão de como a eco-poesia de Nicanor Parra configura uma performatividade e afetividade da dissidência política. Assim, primeiro analiso como a ecologia é construída como um discurso de resistência instalado política e esteticamente como oposição; segundo, descrevo como esse discurso nos configura de maneira ecocêntrica, na qual novos atores serão capazes de produzir os afetos e gestos de dissidência política que prometem ação coletiva. Por fim, reflito sobre a validade da proposta do Parra no contexto da ecologia política latino-americana.

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the development of the suburban model in the Sunbelt cities in the decades after the 1973 oil crisis, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Paradoxically, in a moment when the economic crisis and the publication of the Meadows Report were expanding the ecologist sensibility all over the world, the Sunbelt continued supporting the suburban model, already discredited as unsustainable. The article studies the reasons of this success, mainly the insertion of office uses in the new suburbs, as well as the resulting environmental crisis at the end of the 1990s. It also analyzes the proposals of the “smart growth” movement in order to correct the most unsustainable aspects of the suburban model, and the counter-arguments of its defenders. Finally, the article considers that the wide social consensus that this model has in the Sunbelt has an ideological and economic basis.

RESUMEN El artículo analiza el desarrollo del modelo suburbano en las ciudades del Sunbelt en las décadas posteriores a la crisis del petróleo de 1973, especialmente 1980 y 1990. Paradójicamente, en un momento en que la citada crisis y la publicación del Informe Meadows expandían la sensibilidad ecologista por el mundo, el Sunbelt seguía apostando por el modelo de desarrollo suburbano, ya desacreditado como insostenible. En el artículo se estudian las razones que avalaron su éxito, principalmente la incorporación de áreas de oficinas a los nuevos suburbios, así como la crisis medioambiental que desató a finales de 1990. Igualmente se analizan los intentos del movimiento “smart growth” por corregir sus aspectos más insostenibles y los contraargumentos de los defensores del modelo suburbano. El artículo defiende que el consenso de la sociedad del Sunbelt en favor de este cuenta con una base ideológico-económica.

The sustainability of the production process of raw sugar from sugar cane in the UEB Fábrica de Azúcar "14 de Julio" is evaluated in present work. To accomplish this the Emergy Methodology developed by the American ecologist Howard T. Odum was used. It was determined that 51.44 % of the emergy of the process comes from the economy and 48.56 % from natural resources. The Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI) calculated was 1.12 which indicates that the process is not sustainable long range however it contributes moderately to the economy. The assessment allowed to know the main factory products transformities which are: 1.2328 E+08 seJ/J for the raw sugar and 1.2391 E+07 seJ/J for the electricity. Also, it was determined the specific emergy of other important co-products which are: 9.5501 E+09 seJ/g for the bagasse, 1.5957 E+10 seJ/g for the molasses and 1.7756 E+10 seJ/g for the filter cake which is meaningful for the subsequent studies in the industry of derivatives. These results indicate that the system should be reorganized to improve its efficiency and allow a better resources exploitation. That’s why possible alternatives which may contribute to a better performance of the system were identified.

En el presente trabajo se evalúa la sostenibilidad del proceso de producción de azúcar crudo a partir de la caña de azúcar en la UEB Fábrica de Azúcar "14 de Julio". Para ello se utilizó la Metodología Emergética desarrollada por el ecólogo norteamericano Howard T. Odum. Se determinó que el 51,44 % de la emergía del proceso proviene de la economía y que el 48,56 % de los recursos naturales. El índice de sostenibilidad emergética (ESI) calculado fue 1,12 que indica que el proceso no es sostenible a largo plazo, pero sí contribuye moderadamente a la economía. La evaluación permitió conocer las transformidades de los principales productos de la fábrica siendo: 1,2328 E+08 seJ/J para el azúcar crudo y 1,2391 E+07 seJ/J para la electricidad. Se determinó además la emergía específica de otros co-produtos importantes como son: 9,5501 E+09 seJ/g para el bagazo, 1,5957 E+10 seJ/g para la miel final y 1,7756 E+10 seJ/g para la cachaza lo que es significativo para posteriores estudios en la industria de derivados. Estos resultados indican que el sistema debe ser reestructurado para mejorar su eficiencia y permitir un mayor aprovechamiento de los recursos. Por ello se identificaron posibles alternativas que pueden contribuir a un mejor desempeño del sistema.

Jan Smuts (1870-1950), the famous South African statesman, politician and military commander, made significant intellectual contributions to society. There is difference of opinion as to whether these contributions are of such a nature that they entitle him to be called an intellectual. The aim of the article is to try and establish whether Smuts was indeed an intellectual and, if so, on which grounds he deserves to be classified as such. Smuts's extraordinary record as student at Stellenbosch and Cambridge confirms that he was highly intelligent. Even Einstein had a high regard for his intelligence. He was a scientist in his own right, a botanist with expert knowledge on grasses. He was a patron of the sciences and contributed to scientific literature and discourses. In this article an attempt is made to determine whether Smuts's intellectual achievements and contributions were of such a high order that they elevated him to the status ofan intellectual. The starting point was to try and measure Smuts's career against a generally accepted definition of what it means to be an intellectual and the accompanying criteria set for a person to be classified as an intellectual. However, from the extensive literature on the concept of the intellectual it is evident that it is such a fluid and changing concept that no single definition or single set of criteria for a person to qualify as an intellectual is possible. In the light of the evasiveness of the concept of the intellectual the following two questions were formulated to measure Smuts's intellectual contributions against some of the widely accepted characteristics of the intellectual: • Did Smuts make an original contribution to public discourse in his lifetime? • Was his contribution recognised and did it have a significant impact on society during and after his lifespan? The claim that Smuts deserves to be classified as an intellectual revolves around his concept of holism and its impact. He explained his concept, which he had been developing since his youth, in his book Holism and evolution, first published in 1926. Smuts is regarded as the "father of holism", although he was not the first person to reflect on the relationship between parts and wholes. Smuts introduced the concept of holism at a time when a paradigm shift was occurring in scientific thinking, which led people to view the universe as a dynamic ever-changing whole. Smuts was aware of the latest developments in scientific thinking. By incorporating the ideas of Kant, Freud, Einstein, Spinoza, Hegel, Leibniz and Darwin into his own holistic thinking, he tried to synthesise the existing knowledge available in his time. In Holism and evolution Smuts attempted to explain the relationship between matter, life and mind by arguing that holism was the creative and coordinating principle thatjoined these elements and kept the parts of complex organisms together. Although Smuts failed to explain the origin of life, his book was acclaimed. Holism became a prominent topic of discussion in scientific circles. Through the work of Smuts's contemporaries it became an influential concept in some disciplines, e.g. through Alfred Adler's and Adolf Meyer's work in psychology and psychiatry. Prominent scholars supported Smuts's holistic ideas. Smuts rose in esteem, he received invitations to address scientific associations and he was even elected as president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Smuts's ideas about holism had the effect of involving him in an intense dispute between the idealistic and materialistic approaches to the ecological sciences. Smuts resisted the materialistic approach that was becoming dominant at the time and preferred the teleologic view of purposiveness in creation, arguing that through evolution a hierarchy of wholes was being created that represented progression towards perfection in nature. Smuts was supported by other idealists, including Fredric Clements, the American plant ecologist whose theory of botanic succession towards a climax was influential. South African ecologists and botanists, including John Phillips and John Williams Bews, were also in Smuts's camp. Materialists, including Lancelot Hogben, Hyman Levy, H.G. Wells, Julian Huxley and G.P. Wells, opposed the teleologic-idealistic concept of ecological holism. Arthur Tansley, a leading British ecologist, was the main adversary of Smuts and his supporters. He strongly criticised the ideas that ecological succession was inherently progressive and that holism was the cause and effect of everything in nature. As counter he developed his materialistic-holistic ecosystem concept, that would supersede Clements's climax theory as the dominant paradigm in ecology. Tansley and others one-sidedly linked Smuts's ideas about race to his holism and alleged that he used holism to try and justify racial discrimination and oppression in South Africa. Some critics speciously argued that Smuts's racism compromised the value of his holistic insights. In the 1980s the concept of holism was revived as a central issue in scientific thinking. The explosion of knowledge made it obvious to scientists that reductionism, the study of constituent parts in isolation, was inadequate for the understanding of complex systems and that a holistic approach was indispensable. Holism became a basic concept in complexity studies, systems science and general systems theory and an important element in academic discourses in a variety of natural, applied, human and social sciences. Many prominent scientists in various fields of research associated themselves with holistic thinking. Holism found practical application in different disciplines. Several scholars, including J.C. Poynton, Daniel Christian Wahl, Claudius van Wyk and Dalene Heyns, have argued that Smuts, who had meagre scientific resources at his disposal, intuitively and imaginatively pointed the way towards future investigation. He was ahead of his time and holism has only recently come into its own as a key concept in scientific thinking as a counter to reductionism and mechanistic materialism. Smuts's concept of holism was part of the twentieth-century paradigm shift in scientific thinking and today remains a valid epistemological approach. My conclusion is that both questions posed above can be answered in the affirmative and that Smuts can indeed be regarded as an intellectual who has made significant contributions to public discourses in the twentieth and even the twenty-first centuries. Einstein's forecast that relativity and holism would be the key scientific concepts in the new millennium was not far off the mark.

Jan Smuts was uiters intelligent, 'n wetenskaplike in eie reg, 'n beskermheer van die wetenskappe en 'n bydraer tot wetenskaplike literatuur en diskoerse. Kwalifiseer hy deur sy intellektuele bydraes om as 'n intellektueel geklassifiseer te word? Sy aanspraak op die status van intellektueel sentreer om die konsep van holisme, wat hy oor dekades ontwikkel het en wat in Holism and evolution (1926) uiteengesit is. In hierdie boek het hy in 'n sintese van die bestaande kennis van sy tyd holisme voorgehou as die kreatiewe en koördinerende beginsel in die heelal, wat materie, lewe en gees saamvoeg. Hy het teleologies argumenteer dat evolusie 'n proses is wat al meer komplekse gehele tot stand bring en dat die natuur in die rigting van voortdurende verbetering beweeg. Smuts se konsep het positiewe openbare en wetenskaplike kommentaar uitgelok, maar hom ook betrek in 'n dispuut met Arthur Tansley, waarin sy idealistiese beskouing teen Tansley se materialistiese benadering te staan gekom het. Dekades later, in die 1980's, het holisme weer sterk op die voorgrond getree as teenvoeter vir reduksionisme. Dit het 'n sleutelkomponent van die sisteemteorie en -wetenskap geword, maar het ook prominent geword in diskoerse in verskillende soorte wetenskappe en in die werk van vooraanstaande wetenskaplikes in verskillende dissiplines. My gevolgtrekking is dat Smuts wel as 'n intellektueel kwalifiseer. Hierdie gevolgtrekking word eerstens gebaseer daarop dat Smuts se holisme die resultaat van oorspronklike denke was en intuïtief die weg aangedui het vir verdere ondersoek om die werklikheid te verklaar en te verstaan. Smuts het hiermee 'n konstruktiewe en steeds geldige bydrae tot die wetenskaplike paradigmaskuif in die twintigste eeu gelewer. Tweedens het holisme 'n beduidende impak op die samelewing gemaak, beide in Smuts se eie tyd en later. As intellektueel was en bly Smuts 'n belangrike rolspeler in openbare diskoerse.

Resumo O artigo analisa o trabalho realizado no Brasil pelo ecólogo canadense Pierre Dansereau (1911-2011), por meio de acordo científico firmado entre a Divisão de Cooperação Intelectual do Ministério das Relações Exteriores e a Embaixada do Canadá no país em 1944. Dansereau é considerado um dos principais nomes da ecologia no século XX e veio ao Brasil em 1945 como diretor do Serviço de Biogeografia da Província do Québec. Seu plano de estudos ecológicos previa expedições científicas, formação de pessoal especializado e perspectivas de cooperação internacional com instituições como o Museu Nacional, o Conselho Nacional de Geografia e o Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Sua viagem ao Brasil permite analisar as inter-relações entre a geopolítica do desenvolvimentismo brasileiro, o nacionalismo quebequense, o panamericanismo como movimento intelectual e a tentativa de estabelecimento de rede francófona de pesquisa em biogeografia, ecologia e sociologia vegetal.

Abstract The article analyzes work done in Brazil by Canadian ecologist Pierre Dansereau (1911-2011) under a scientific cooperation agreement between the Intellectual Cooperation Division of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Embassy, signed in 1944. Dansereau, a leading figure in twentieth-century ecology, came to Brazil in 1945 as director of the Quebec Province Biogeography Service. His proposed ecological research plan called for the organization of scientific expeditions, specialized staff training, and future international cooperation with such Brazilian institutions as the National Museum, the National Geography Council, and the Oswaldo Cruz Institute. His stay in Brazil affords an opportunity to analyze the interrelations between the geopolitics of Brazilian developmentalism, Quebec nationalism, Pan-Americanism as an intellectual movement, and the attempt to establish a francophone research network in biogeography, ecology, and plant sociology.

Este trabajo tiene por objetivo el desarrollo de una revisión y una reflexión acerca de la evolución de los vínculos entre naturaleza-sociedad y sus tendencias. Metodológicamente, en la primera parte, se describen estas relaciones en los diferentes periodos históricos y las interacciones que las caracterizaron. En la segunda parte se presentan las grandes tendencias que han guiado el pensamiento en torno a la relación naturaleza-sociedad, definidas como la tendencia naturalista, ecologista y ambiental, y se analiza cómo esta última permeó el enfoque del desarrollo durante el siglo XX y dio paso a la propuesta de desarrollo sostenible. Finalmente, se establecen los diferentes discursos que enmarcan la problematización de la relación naturaleza-sociedad dentro del marco del desarrollo sostenible.

The objective of this work is to develop a review and reflection on the evolution of the links between nature-society and its trends. Methodologically, in the first part these relations in different historical periods and the interactions that characterized them are described. In the second part the major trends that have guided the thinking around a nature-society relationship, defined as the naturalist, ecologist and environmental tendency are presented, and how the latter permeated the focus of development in the twentieth century and gave way to the proposal of sustainable development is analyzed. Finally, the different discourses that frame the problematization of the nature-society relationship within the framework of the sustainable development are established.

Abstract This paper seeks to explain the paradoxical character of a conservationist movement in Northern Morelos, Mexico, which emerges a few decades ago through the appropriation of spring’s water by Hueyapan’s inhabitants. We will show that, on the one hand, far from being the result of an organized movement about conservation of water located near of Popocatepetl’s volcano,what really impulse such ecologist actions is just a kind of economical rationality, which logic not only has transformed the agrarian regime of Hueyapan, but also has been summed to the defense of the territory addressed by the Permanent Assembly of Morelos Communities, particularly, against the construction of a gas pipeline and a thermoelectric dam. On the other hand, we argue that the economical rationality underlying the choice of the people of Hueyapan to appropriate of spring’s water, more than opposes to a reified notion of cultural value, it rests in a cosmopolitics hidden in an ontological equivocal about water’s guardians.

Resumen Este artículo da cuenta de una paradoja en torno a la impronta conservacionista suscitada en las últimas décadas en la región de los Altos de Morelos, México, a partir del proceso de apropiación de los manantiales por parte de la comunidad de Hueyapan. Para lograrlo mostraremos que, por un lado, lejos de ser el resultado de un movimiento organizadoex professo en torno a un proyecto de conservación de los mantos acuíferos de la sierra Nevada, el motor que ha impulsado dicha impronta ecologista es justamente un tipo de racionalidad económica, cuya lógica de maximización de utilidades, no solo ha transformado el régimen agrícola de una comunidad, sino que además constituye un insumo que se ha sumado a la defensa del territorio llevada a cabo por la Asamblea Permanente de los Pueblos de Morelos (APPM), en particular, en contra de la construcción de un gasoducto y de la presa termoeléctrica de Huexca. Por otro lado, haremos ver que, la racionalidad económica que motivó a los pobladores de la comunidad de Hueyapan a apropiarse de los manantiales del volcán Popocatépetl, más que oponerse a una noción reificada de valor cultural, se encuentra cimentada en una cosmopolítica oculta en el equívoco ontológico sobre los guardianes del agua.

Cognitive ecologist posits that the more efficiently an animal uses information from the biotic and abiotic environment, the more adaptive are its cognitive abilities. Nevertheless, this approach does not test for natural neurodegenerative processes under field or experimental conditions, which may recover animals information processing and decision making and may explain, mechanistically, maladaptive behaviors. Here, we call for integrative approaches to explain the relationship between ultimate and proximate mechanisms behind social behavior. We highlight the importance of using the endemic caviomorph rodent Octodon degus as a valuable natural model for mechanistic studies of social behavior and to explain how physical environments can shape social experiences that might influence impaired cognitive abilities and the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease. We consequently suggest neuroecological approaches to examine how key elements of the environment may affect neural and cognitive mechanisms associated with learning, memory processes and brain structures involved in social behavior. We propose the following three core objectives of a program comprising interdisciplinary research in O. degus, namely: (1) to determine whether diet types provided after weaning can lead to cognitive impairment associated with spatial memory, learning and predisposing to develop Alzheimer disease in younger ages; (2) to examine if early life social experience has long term effects on behavior and cognitive responses and risk for development Alzheimer disease in later life and (3) To determine if an increase of social interactions in adult degu reared in different degree of social stressful conditions alter their behavior and cognitive responses.

Although geneticists and population ecologist have considered in their explanations the importance of both horizontal -interspecific- and vertical -intraspecific- paths for the flow of information, energy or matter among organisms, community ecology and particularly network ecology have been strongly biased towards considering only horizontal effects. In this article our aim is to put on view of ecologists the concepts of vertical and horizontal transfer of disturbance effects in communities, and discuss the relevance of the interplay between both processes for ecological research. We support that incorporating this view into community ecology could be a promising new research avenue, and may improve our understanding about the responses of communities to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

Aunque genetistas y ecólogos de poblaciones han considerado en sus explicaciones la importancia de vías tanto horizontales -interespecíficas- como verticales -intraespecíficas- para el flujo de información, energía o materia entre organismos, la ecología de comunidades y particularmente la ecología de redes han estado fuertemente sesgadas hacia considerar solo efectos horizontales. En este artículo nuestro propósito es poner en vista de los ecólogos los conceptos de transferencia vertical y horizontal de efectos de perturbaciones en comunidades, así como discutir la relevancia de la interacción entre ambos procesos para la investigación ecológica. Sostenemos que la incorporación de esta perspectiva en ecología de comunidades podría constituir una línea de investigación promisoria y podría mejorar nuestro entendimiento acerca de las respuestas de las comunidades a perturbaciones antropogénicas y naturales.

Those of us who work in science have often to face the frustration that the knowledge produced in our labs is not taken into consideration by those who manage natural resources. This is a common feature of all disciplines that do not generate knowledge that gives rise to "appropriable" technological developments. Among the factors that contribute to a poor transfer of knowledge, in this article I highlight three of them. First, the lack of a professional profile in the disciplinary formation. Second, the "scientific illiteracy" of the society that does not perceive science as a process aimed at understanding the real world and operate on it. Lastly, the presence of diverse values and interests within the scientific community makes it very difficult to find unanimous positions.

Muchos de los que trabajamos en ciencia enfrentamos la frustración porque el conocimiento no es utilizado por quienes manejan los recursos naturales. Este problema es común a las disciplinas que generan conocimientos que no dan lugar a desarrollos tecnológicos "apropiables". Entre los factores que contribuyen a una deficiente transferencia de conocimientos en este artículo se destacan tres. Por un lado la falta de orientación de la formación disciplinaria a la actividad profesional. Por otro el "analfabetismo científico" de la sociedad (o de buena parte de ella) que no percibe a la Ciencia cómo un proceso para entender la realidad y operar sobre ella. Por último, la presencia de valores e intereses diversos dentro de la comunidad científica dificulta la definición de posiciones unánimes.

Global, human-induced changes are affecting a variety of processes ranging from biological evolution to human economy and well being, and Argentina is not an exception. Societies face new challenges, and researchers should rethink their role in our society. Particularly, ecologists should play an especially important role in designing strategies to mitigate global changes. However, when environmental problems appear in the media, Argentine ecologists have a very limited participation, both as individuals, or as members of a scientific community. In this context, we ask: is it our only role to generate scientific knowledge to be used by other professionals? Do we have a higher capacity to generate change than other stakeholders? Should we propose, or participate, in the formulation of environmental policies? Should we participate in the management of natural resources? Possibly, many ecologists have already asked themselves these questions and perform their work accordingly, but it is clear that as an Argentine scientific community, we need a deep discussion of these issues. We consider it necessary that ecologists play a much more active role in the management of natural resources, and believe that the coordination at the level of the scientific community (e.g., universities, associations, etc.) would allow much more efficient actions.

La intensa actividad de los seres humanos provoca cambios en el planeta. Estos cambios afectan desde la evolución de las poblaciones hasta a la economía y el bienestar de la gente, y Argentina no es ajena a ese fenómeno. Así, las sociedades enfrentan nuevos desafíos, y los investigadores deben, de manera ineludible, replantearse cuál es y/o cuál debería ser su papel en la sociedad. Los ecólogos, en particular, deberían constituir una pieza clave para poder afrontar estos cambios. Sin embargo, resulta notable su protagonismo limitado, tanto en el nivel individual como en el de comunidad científica, con respecto a la gestión de los recursos naturales o a problemas ambientales que despiertan la preocupación del público. Ante esta situación surgen preguntas obvias: ¿Es nuestra única función generar conocimiento para que -eventualmente- otros lo utilicen? ¿Tenemos mayor capacidad de cambio que otros actores sociales? ¿Debemos proponer, o participar, en la formulación de políticas ambientales? ¿Debemos participar en la gestión de los recursos naturales? Es posible que muchos ecólogos ya se hayan hecho estas preguntas, y actúen conforme a sus respuestas. No obstante, queda claro que como comunidad científica nos debemos una discusión profunda. Consideramos indispensable que los ecólogos desempeñen un papel más activo en la gestión de los recursos naturales del país y creemos que la coordinación en el nivel de la comunidad científica (e.g., universidades, asociaciones, etc.) permitiría acciones más eficientes de nuestra parte.