Evolução do estudo de poríferos no Brasil: uma análise cienciométrica

Abstract

Poriferans are aquatic animals of simple morphology. Their great diversity, life history and biological associations make them relevant organisms from an ecological, evolutionary and economic point of view. In this work, our objective was to analyze all articles indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, from 1945/1960 to the end of 2019, in order to establish an overview of the current state and identify what are the main gaps in knowledge regarding the phylum Porifera in Brazil. After analyzing and processing the data, we found a total of 571 indexed articles, as well as a gradual and consistent increase in the number of publications and specialists over the years. The most studied class of Porifera in Brazil was Demospongiae (87%), followed by Calcarea (8%), Homoscleromorpha (4%) and Hexactinellida (1%). Most studies (> 77%) were concentrated in three categories: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Natural Products and Biochemistry (29%), Phylogeny, Evolution, Systematics and Biogeography (27%) and Ecology (21%). Other categories, such as Conservation; Cellular and Molecular Biology and Physiology; Genetics; Developmental and Reproductive Biology; and Microbiology, were the least studied, representing only 12% of published works. It is essential to encourage the training of qualified personnel and the allocation of resources for the development of these last three areas. Most researchers and institutions are concentrated in the Southeast and Northeast regions of the country. Similarly, the most intensively studied (sampled) areas are in these regions. In spite of that, the effort in the Northeast region is still unbalanced, with many biologically important areas not yet sufficiently sampled, such as Costa dos Corais (AL / PE) and Parrachos de Maracajaú (RN).