Scientific journal made in the Island

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

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Cited from endi.com By: Larissa Vázquez Zapata Do you know where one of the most important scientific magazines of the Caribbean, which counts on the collaboration of experts from around the world, is published? In the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM). The Caribbean Journal of Science (CJS), published since 1961, belongs to the Academic Publication Center of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and since 2003, doctor Ines Sastre De Jesus, a botanist specialized in mosses, is its publisher. Although with the purpose of dedicating more time to research and teaching, Sastre De Jesus will pass baton to Dr John Uscian, also of the department of Biology, it is true that under her direction, the CJS experienced important transformations: it increased the amount of editions to three per year, plus the creation of an annual special number. The most recent one became the first marine atmosphere scientific guide of the province Bocas del Toro, near the border of Panama and Costa Rica, and was made in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research in Panama. This work, that serves as a reference manual for investigators, tourists and environmentalists of the region, gathers the spirit of the magazine, that besides serving the scientific community, looks to make interesting the reading of scientific subjects - on everything about the natural history of the Great Caribbean region- to those that don’t have a scientific background. “The function of a scientific magazine is to disclose the results of the research works, to scatter the new knowledge that is as well the base for the growth of science: new theories and postulates. But for the community in general, a specialized magazine is a primary source of information, where they can obtain initial data to support a position or something related to its environment”, says Sastre De Jesus. To capture a more diverse readership, “we published articles on the whales that visit the western coasts of the Island, bleaching of the Caribbean coral reefs, description of a new species of lizard in the Smaller Antilles, among others. In the next number, we will have an article on the origin of the Taíno societies of William Keegan and another one on the effects of hurricane Georges on the birds of the forest of Maricao”, advances the professor, whose tight day of work begins to 5:00 a.m. and frequently it extends to the weekends. “When I work on the magazine, I try not to think about research and classes and when I give my classes or I am investigating, then I do not think about the magazine”, comments. In addition to that strategy, “to maintain my mental health, I practice something yoga and pilates”, mentions the professor, who next to two students hers, will present her works in the Latin American Congress of Botany that will be celebrated in June in the Dominican Republic. Sastre De Jesus - whose name and last name are the same as the famous model and Spanish actress- remembers mainly that under the direction of the Dr Jose Mari Mutt she gained the experience to direct the CJS, “in the phase of work revision” and now, that is called on her take leave its direction, she wishes much success to Dr Uscian, who “has a jewel in his hands”.

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