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While most scholars working on resistance and decolonisation in Latin America and the Caribbean are familiar with the Zapatistas, far fewer have afforded committed attention to the parallel Maya land rights struggle and autonomous social movement in the region. Notably, a movement that is currently advancing in both Central America and the Caribbean, namely, Belize—a former colony of the British Crown. Accordingly, this piece offers a summary of the struggle of the Qʼeqchiʼ and Mopan Maya communities of Toledo District, Southern Belize. More specifically, it introduces readers to the Maya Leaders Alliance (MLA)—an ever-evolving grassroots coalition of Maya organisations, land defenders, and human rights activists that comprise the movement. We start by illustrating the current context of heightened tension that exists between the Maya and the state, and then share an overview of the movement's political aims and programme of activities in the face of the historical, structural, and ongoing colonial forces the Maya are up against. Ultimately, this profile will demonstrate how Maya communities in Belize are practising 'non-metaphorical decolonisation' and engendering 'Indigenous resurgence' whilst mobilising for land, dignity, and a peaceful future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species in the Lauraceae, Cinnamomum bladenense S.W. Brewer & G.L. Stott, is described from the Bladen Nature Reserve in southern Belize. The new species is similar to Cinnamomum brenesii (Standl.) Kosterm., from which it differs by its much smaller, narrowly-campanulate flowers, its inner tepals glabrous abaxially, its shorter petioles, its minutely sericeous younger twigs, and its abaxial leaf surfaces not glaucous and with prominent secondary venation. A description, preliminary conservation assessment, and photographs of the species as well as a key to and notes on the Cinnamomum of Belize are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the movement of Maroons across imperial frontiers in 18th century Belize and Yucatan. The author discusses flight stories of fugitive slaves as they attempted to escape Belizean logging settlements, compares the experiences of Belizean slaves and those that fled to Yucatan, and explores if non-slaves made the same migrations.

Abstract: Species vary in their vulnerability to extirpation or extinction in response to habitat loss, including deforestation. A variety of correlates of vulnerability have been found, but few empirical data have been gathered that provide insight into potential causation. We attempted to elucidate cause via a test of the “microclimate hypothesis” at two sites in the northern Neotropics. We censussed birds at 234 points that varied in distance from a deforested edge to >2km into a forest. At each of these points we recorded or calculated ten environmental and microclimate variables that allowed us to tie environmental data to bird assemblages directly. We found that canopy cover increased, wind decreased, and ambient temperature, vapor pressure density, and heat index varied little or not at all with distance from a forested edge. Yet light penetration was the key variable, as the light environment was affected within 50m of an edge, and many species were associated with low-light conditions. Crucially, on the basis of regional population trends, species in low-light environments are more vulnerable to extirpation. Our results provide the clearest support to date of the hypothesis that sensitivity to light is a key factor limiting occupancy of birds in fragmented tropical forests and lend support to at least this aspect of the microclimate hypothesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Hondo transboundary river basin is a territory shared by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. There is not enough information about mechanisms of cooperation in water issues in the river basil and the reasons that prevent this process. Nevertheless, we know about the existence of factors of conflicts that limit the cooperation. This article describes the factor of conflicts and their bonds with the cooperation around die water. The construction of the analysis was based in the grounded theory, with the use of the semi-structured interviews and the participant observation as tools of data collection. The data obtained was analyzed by a codification of information based on: the anthropic conflicts, their relation with the cooperation and the institutional paper as part of die factors of conflict. For the location of key stakeholders and the elaboration of interviews, it was necessary to take advantage of a hemerographic analysis and the existing relations as a result of a previous work in 2003, besides applying the technique of "snow ball" to identify new key stakeholders. The paper tries to highlight how existing potential anthropic conflicts in the river basin may affect processes and attempts for cooperation in water issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This report presents results of a study examining the ancient use of plants at four Late Classic (CE 600-900) Maya rural farmsteads in northwestern Belize. Our research specifically targeted residential middens for macrobotanical recovery. Samples yielded the remains of more than a dozen plant families, representing some genera that do not currently grow in the area. These plants were used in the Late Classic, countering the idea that ancient botanical remains do not survive in Neotropical archaeological contexts. We also evaluated two macrobotanical sample processing methods vis-à-vis one another: flotation and dry screening. Our results indicate that flotation recovered 58% more seeds than dry screening, while dry screening yielded almost twice as much charcoal and other wood as flotation. The divergent quantities in the types of material recovered suggest a comprehensive macrobotanical recovery program should include the use of both processing methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Diet of the barn owl (Tyto alba) has been well studied in temperate regions of the world, but there is a notable paucity of dietary data from the Neotropics. In this study, we examined diet of barn owls at Gold Button Lagoon in northern Belize. Pellets and prey remains were collected at roosting sites during 1997-1998. Diet was composed primarily of small mammals. Sigmodon hispidus was the most common prey in terms of frequency of occurrence and biomass, with lesser numbers of other rodents being consumed. Similar to other reports for the Neotropics, barn owls in our study consumed relatively larger prey than conspecifics inhabiting temperate regions. Birds and amphibians were a minor component of diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little is known about the food habits of neotropical harvestmen. We used Erginulus clavotibialis (Pickard-Cambridge 1905), a locally abundant species of cosmetid harvestman in Belize, in a food choice experiment. Individuals were presented with fresh fruit (pineapple) and live invertebrate prey (termites) in an experimental chamber. This species showed a strong preference for fruit, as 72% of individuals ate it first and 67% spent the most time in the fruit- containing portion of the experimental chamber. Five E. clavotibialis (13%) consumed termites, confirming this species' ability to capture and consume live invertebrate prey. Adult males located food more quickly than nymphs. Harvestmen feeding on fruit were also significantly more active than non-feeding individuals or those preying upon termites first. Opportunistic frugivory may be important to E. clavotibialis during times when fruit is available (e.g., wet season). We hypothesize that this species exhibits a generalist diet in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]