Abstract

OLIVEIRA, Elisabeth Spinelli De  and  MAGRINI, Leandro. Ethology in Brazil (I): Doctoral Dissertations from 2010 to 2014. Rev. etol. [online]. 2015, vol.14, n.1, pp. 1-57. ISSN 1517-2805.

Here, we evaluate a sample of the academic production - doctoral theses earned from 2010 to 2014 - aiming to revisit Ethology at its origin, in order to establish future goals and correct courses. Sites, links and publications related to universities and research Institutions were assessed using keywords (e.g. ethology and animal behavior). Data were organized according to authorship, gender, institution, topic, and main taxonomic group. 295 theses were analyzed, 59±12 per year, all of them from public institutions. Authorship is numerically more feminine (58%) than masculine (42%), following a trend also observed regarding master theses and data from research groups of the Diretório de Grupos de Pesquisa do CNPq Lattes. The Southeast (62%) and the Northeast (17%) regions are responsible for 79% of total; all Brazilian regions are regularly represented, as well as 59% of the federative units. Institutions of São Paulo State are responsible for 145 theses (49%), followed by institutions of Rio Grande do Norte State with 37 theses (13%), Minas Gerais State, issuing 21 theses (7%), and Paraná as well as Pará States, represented by 15 works each (5%). Topics such as Cognition, Communication, Behavior Evolution, Neuroethology, Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Theory are all present, but Behavioral Ecology (26%) and Applied Ethology (20%) stand out. At least 223 species were studied: 64 families and 27 orders of Vertebrata, and 34 families and 10 orders of Arthropoda. Vertebrata is the major subject (208 theses, 70% of total): Mammalia correspond to 53% of total (155 theses), Aves 6% (18 theses) and Actinopterygii 5% (16 theses). Insecta is the subject of 63 theses (21%); Arachnida and Malacrostraca complete the Arthropoda group. Data demonstrate the consolidation of Ethology in Brazil, and its founder core at the Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de São Paulo, still plays a prominent role regarding theses production, but nowadays it shares this role with other research centers everywhere else in Brazil. We conclude that it is plausible to foresee an expansion of Ethology in Brazil regarding the number of Institutions and research topics. In this scenario, we emphasize the importance of public institutions of High Learning and research for the maintenance of Graduation Programs, in the present and probably for the future of Ethology in Brazil.

Keywords : Themes of Animal Behavior; Higher Education; Gender; Taxa.

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