title: The current status of ethnobiological research in Latin America: gaps and perspectives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent reviews have demonstrated an increase in the number of papers on ethnobiology in Latin America. Among factors that have influenced this increase are the biological and cultural diversity of these countries and the general scientific situation in some countries. This study aims to assess the panorama of ethnobiological research in Latin America by analyzing its evolution, trends, and future prospects.
  
  
  METHODS
  To conduct this study, we searched for papers in the Scopus (http://www.scopus.com) and Web of Science (http://www.isiknowledge.com) databases. The search was performed using combinations of keywords and the name of each Latin American country. The following countries were included in this study: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to our inclusion criteria, 679 ethnobiological studies conducted in Latin America were found for the period between 1963 and 2012. Of these studies, 289 (41%) were conducted in Brazil, 153 in Mexico (22%), 61 in Peru (9%), 58 in Argentina (8%), 45 in Bolivia (6%), and 97 (14%) in other Latin American countries. The increased number of publications related to this area of knowledge in recent years demonstrates the remarkable growth of ethnobiology as a science. Ethnobiological research may be stimulated by an increase in the number of scientific events and journals for study dissemination and by the creation of undergraduate courses and graduate programs to train ethnoscientists who will produce high-quality studies, especially in certain countries.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Etnobiologia Aplicada e Teórica (LEA), Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife/PE CEP: 52171-900, Brazil. upa@db.ufrpe.br.
authors.forename: Ulysses Paulino
authors.initials: UP
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
authors.forename: Josivan Soares
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Juliana Loureiro Almeida
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Rosemary Silva
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Taline Cristina
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Alves
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015706:Bibliometrics; D016208:Databases, Factual; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007843:Latin America; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000639:trends*; D011643:Publishing / Q000639:trends; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D015046:Zoology / Q000639:trends*