8
Productivity fluctuations between the participating countries, over the years, do
not reflect immediate changes in their research efforts; however, they are a mere
consequence of each country’s distances to host the events. There is also an indirect
and very harmful consequence, the international economic crisis that has started in
recent years. SOLAMAC and local organizing committees are surviving with limited resources and, in most cases, non-existent ones.
Palacios et al. (2012) used a different array to measure the scientific production
among Latin American countries. Therefore, they considered the Latin American
Journal of Aquatic Mammals (LAJAM), but they reached to similar results with the
dominance of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA. In our assessment,
Chile appears in third place while Colombia and Peru are in sixth and seventh
places, respectively. These two readings can help future research programs to guide
the relevance of scientific production in Latin-America.
The importance given to each Taxa has also changed over the years. The pinnipeds
(sea lions, fur seals and seals) were losing ground, gradually, over the advancement of
studies with cetaceans (Fig. 1.3). In the case of sirenians and mustelids, despite the
small number of species, have been occupying, proportionally, the same space.
Behavioral and population ecology studies involving cetaceans and pinnipeds in
the natural environment have grown continuously (Fig. 1.4). In general, they are
related to acoustic issues or abundance and density estimates. The interest in skeleton anatomy, comparative morphology, zooarchaeology and paleontology have
also gradually increased, although less impressively. In this group, there are taxonomic and evolutionary studies. The focus on health or pathologies as well as in
parasites has not increased as we expected.
Fig. 1.1 Founding members of the SOLAMAC – The Latin American Society of Specialists in
Aquatic Mammals. From left to right: seated (Luiz Capozzo, Miriam Marmontel, Mario Cozzuol,
Jose Yanez, Mirtha Lewis, Vera Maria Ferreira da Silva and Lilian Flores-Gonzáles); standing
(Paulo C. Simões-Lopes, Marcela Junin, Hugo P. Castello, Claudio Campagna, Anélio Aguayo,
Jorge A. Oporto, Maria Cristina Pinedo, Monica Muelbert and Jorge Urban)
P.C. Simões-Lopes
Productivity fluctuations between the participating countries, over the years, do
not reflect immediate changes in their research efforts; however, they are a mere
consequence of each country’s distances to host the events. There is also an indirect
and very harmful consequence, the international economic crisis that has started in
recent years. SOLAMAC and local organizing committees are surviving with limited resources and, in most cases, non-existent ones.
Palacios et al. (2012) used a different array to measure the scientific production
among Latin American countries. Therefore, they considered the Latin American
Journal of Aquatic Mammals (LAJAM), but they reached to similar results with the
dominance of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA. In our assessment,
Chile appears in third place while Colombia and Peru are in sixth and seventh
places, respectively. These two readings can help future research programs to guide
the relevance of scientific production in Latin-America.
The importance given to each Taxa has also changed over the years. The pinnipeds
(sea lions, fur seals and seals) were losing ground, gradually, over the advancement of
studies with cetaceans (Fig. 1.3). In the case of sirenians and mustelids, despite the
small number of species, have been occupying, proportionally, the same space.
Behavioral and population ecology studies involving cetaceans and pinnipeds in
the natural environment have grown continuously (Fig. 1.4). In general, they are
related to acoustic issues or abundance and density estimates. The interest in skeleton anatomy, comparative morphology, zooarchaeology and paleontology have
also gradually increased, although less impressively. In this group, there are taxonomic and evolutionary studies. The focus on health or pathologies as well as in
parasites has not increased as we expected.
Fig. 1.1 Founding members of the SOLAMAC – The Latin American Society of Specialists in
Aquatic Mammals. From left to right: seated (Luiz Capozzo, Miriam Marmontel, Mario Cozzuol,
Jose Yanez, Mirtha Lewis, Vera Maria Ferreira da Silva and Lilian Flores-Gonzáles); standing
(Paulo C. Simões-Lopes, Marcela Junin, Hugo P. Castello, Claudio Campagna, Anélio Aguayo,
Jorge A. Oporto, Maria Cristina Pinedo, Monica Muelbert and Jorge Urban)
P.C. Simões-Lopes