Comparative biochemistry and physiology in Latin America over the last decade (1997-2006)

We investigate the distribution of Latin American comparative biochemistry and physiology across subject areas and systematic groups. Our study focuses on papers published over the last decade (1997-2006) in four leading topical journals. Brazil dominates the production of papers, followed by Argentina, Mexico and Chile, which together account for 91% of the production in numbers. These countries differ in a number of variables that we discuss in the text. Questions regarding the physiology of wild animals are particularly common, but comparative approaches to study practical issues are also well represented throughout the continent. The most frequent topics in the latter context include the action of snake venoms, the physiology of pathogens and their hosts, and the physiology of domestic or cultured species. The subjects of metabolism, thermoregulation and digestive physiology constitute 40% of the contributions in the database. Regarding systematic groups, most attention has been devoted to vertebrates, mostly anuran amphibians. Other highlighted groups are octodontid rodents, phocid mammals and characid fish. Among invertebrates, malacostracan decapods are by far the best studied group. Many taxa of wild animals are represented by just one or a few studies, thus limited information is available about a large number of Latin American species.