SPINELLI OLIVEIRA, E. et al. A glimpse at Ethology in Latin America. []. , 13, 1, pp.10-27. ISSN 1517-2805.

The state of the art of Ethology in five Latin America countries is briefly presented here. The overall outlook regarding research laboratories and themes is promising: the community is numerous, active and there are topics addressing all aspects of animal behavior, especially in large countries like Brazil and Argentina. Ethology as an undergraduate discipline is generally a sub-category of Biology, being taught mainly at Zoology/ Psychology/ Ecology/ Agriculture Courses and at Medical Veterinary Schools, often as an eligible discipline. Ethology as a formal major Graduate Program is rare and mainly restricted to Brazil. Regular Ethology meetings are held in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. In Chile and Venezuela there is a small but very active community. Studies of animal behavior are often carried out in other areas than Biology, and there is a clear overlap of interest regarding the major topics of Ethology. Behavioral ecology, conservation, management and animal welfare are a priority in most countries, probably reflecting a general concern regarding endangered species and habitats of the continent. Here we present information aiming to create a network that will increase collaborations among researchers working within the ethological framework in Latin America. The IV Simpósio de Etologia na América Latina, entitled "Desarrollo de la Etología en Latinoamérica:¿ hacia un futuro regional ?" was held in November, 2013, as part of the XXXI Encontro Anual de Etologia (EAE), in São Paulo, SP, Brazil. The state of art of Animal Behavior in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela were presented there and a set of six questions guided the presentations: 1) What are the main Ethology topics being studied in laboratories in your country? - 2) Are there undergraduate or graduate programs in the main universities? - 3) Is there an Animal Behavior Society? How interested is the community in establishing close ties among institutes or laboratories elsewhere in Latin America? - 4) Is there a site, a journal, a page on a social networking site for contact, communication and divulgation of original data? - 5) How active is the community regarding the wiliness to organize congresses, symposia, meetings, workshops, on-line courses regarding Ethology? - 6) Are there funding agencies to support exchange programs and research in Ethology? Additional data were collected from the last two EAE regarding researchers from Latin America that attended EAE meetings and a list of names and laboratories was compiled (see appendix). It should be emphasized that the compilation of information presented here is far from complete. It represents a brief overview of the current status of Ethology in only five Latin American countries, and therefore it should be updated continuously with new data from the countries treated here as well as supplemented with data from other countries. Such a constantly updated list would facilitate the creation of networks that should increase collaborations among researchers working within the ethological framework in Latin America.

: Ethology; network; animal behavior; Latin America.

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