Impacto de COVID-19 en la investigación de la Biodiversidad en Ecuador

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, thus the study of its diversity is a world priority. On March 16, 2020, the Ecuadorian government decreed a state of emergency, mobility restriction, suspension of the working day and closure of borders in the national territory as protection and mitigation measures in the face of the declaration of pandemic because of the COVID-19 disease. These resolutions had a direct effect on the development and progress of biodiversity studies in the country. OBJECTIVE. The aim of this research is to assess the effects of measures to tackle COVID-19 into the development of research related to the biodiversity of Ecuador. METHOD. We used quantitative methodology. A survey of 14 questions was carried out to 130 researchers within this field of study. The questionnaire was anonymous and distributed by email and social media. RESULTS. Until the time of publication, researchers are mostly carrying out scientific activities, such as writing papers (56%) and data analysis (61%). However, they project budget (55%) and scientific production reduction (46%). If we analyze the expected scientific production by gender, women anticipated to publish less (58%) than men (36%). Furthermore, up to 25% of researchers have considered ceasing the activities of their research project before its completion and this trend is higher in the case of graduate students (52%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Our survey identifies an environment of uncertainty among researchers, in which a reduction in scientific production is expected, possibly affecting more women and students.