The National Institute of Comparative Physiological Research

Abstract

The aim of this application is to create the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa em Fisiologia Comparativa (IFC) (The National Institute of Comparative Physiological Research), based on the association of groups which, until now, have been working either alone or with few circumstantial interactions, due to the punctual interest. The main aim of the IFC creation is the establishment of a net work for the execution of integrated projects which would be out of the scope of the research activity of any Brazilian research unity alone. The national interactions of the research centers, involved on the IFC creation, will provide structure for wide and comparative studies taken inedited advantage of the wide number of species and environments occurring in Brazil. Since implemented, the institute will effectively contribute to the cooperation of research groups in comparative animal physiology, promoting the development of a fast growing area in the country, taking as a goal the establishment of a research community able to generate knowledge and also form qualified professionals on the area. The IFC shall focus on the efforts to create the necessary conditions for the establishment of a high level Brazilian research community comparable to any of the best international groups on this area. With the basic structure dedicated to the research and education, the IFC will also be responsible for promoting interchanges of researchers, post-graduate and also high standards undergraduate students among the involved centers, and so implementing, in the strict sense, the cooperation and exchange of experience for the advancement of knowledge and Brazilian sovereignty. Once in full operation, the IFC will lead the improvement and establishment of emerging centers in various regions of the country which share Iines of research of integrative character. That promotion will occur during the cooperation on the research projects proposed, the conduction of post-graduation disciplines and mainly extension courses thus providing scientific and technical training of high quality for all involved. The international interchange will be an important tool for the implementation of new research Iines and techniques not existents in this country. The creation of the ICF also rely on the immense Brazilian potential, regarding on the use of the amount of different ecosystems and the biodiversity as basis of experimental models, that can be useful in the study of physiological adaptations under several ecological contexts. Initially, the research application gathers the new and the established centers working in herpetology. The remarkable plasticity in the amphibian and reptiles physiology can be of interest from evolutionary, physiological, and ecological viewpoints. The antiquity and irradiation of those groups make several species to occupy phylogenetic positions critical to our understanding of severaI fundamental questions in physiology. The great variety of both amphibians and reptiles species and several different niches current in Brazilian environments make this a rich field for testing a wide variety of hypothesis from environmental adaptation to the evolution of the function of the vertebrate physiological mechanisms. Furthermore, Neotropical region holds a peculiar herpetofauna, combining a unique phylogenetic and ecologically assemblage of groups. In this context, it is important that the newly-established emerging centers in different Brazilian regions working together with the IFC. Finally, the development and consolidation of a large productive and integrated national group, working on this subject, will give us support for the future incorporation and integration of other research groups related to the comparative physiology. (AU)