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What Do We Study in Evolutionary Ethnobiology? Defining the Theoretical Basis for a Research Program

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Abstract

Many scientific fields investigate the relationship between humans and nature from different perspectives and with a wide range of questions. These fields include, for example, human ecology, human behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology, and they are linked through the fact that they all adopt ecological and/or evolutionary hypotheses to understand this phenomenon. In this paper, we define for the first time the field of evolutionary ethnobiology, which seeks to understand these relationships in a broad perspective, considering an interdisciplinary program that integrates the advances, tools, and insights from different scientific fields. This theoretical and methodological integration is necessary for the formation of theoretical bases in ethnobiology and in other areas that investigate the relationship between humans and nature.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the National Council of Scientific and Technologic Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPq) for financial support through a scholarship and financing.

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  1. Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Social-Ecological Systems, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52.171-900, Brazil

    Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque

  2. Biology Department, Cidade Universitária, Pernambuco University-UPE, Petrolina, Pernambuco, 56300-00, Brazil

    Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior

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  1. Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque
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Correspondence to Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque.

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Albuquerque, U.P., Ferreira Júnior, W.S. What Do We Study in Evolutionary Ethnobiology? Defining the Theoretical Basis for a Research Program. Evol Biol 44, 206–215 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-016-9398-z

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