Scientific research in Neotropical protected areas: themes and gaps

Abstract

Protected areas are often used by scientists to observe natural processes and organisms in habitats that have been minimally influenced by human actions. In contrast to many PA objectives, their effectiveness for promoting and supporting scientific research can be easily quantified in terms of quantity and quality of scientific products (primarily peer-reviewed articles) that are based on research within a PA’s boundaries. In addition to their contribution to global scientific knowledge, these research products may support local conservation efforts and contribute to park management, monitoring and governance. Here, we investigate the effectiveness of Neotropical PAs at supporting scientific research based on data from the World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA). Specifically, we randomly selected 102 PAs from each designation from the Latin American and Caribbean region, to give a total of 612 PAs. A total of 444 PAS did not return any results and only 30 were associated with more than 10 publications. Research topics varied widely in the PAs in our dedicated sample, but we found an evident trend to research related to geosciences and paleontology. Conservation and biodiversity were secondary subjects. there seems to be a lack of influence of PAs type and presence of management plan on scientific productivity. On the other hand, we have seen that most areas do not present a management plan, the absence of which makes it more difficult to assess the effectiveness of these areas.