Abstract
This article is a commentary on the experiences that motivated my decision to become a human ecologist and ethnobiologist. These experiences include the pleasure of studying and of having the sense of being within nature, as well as the curiosity towards understanding the world and minds of local people. In particular, such understanding could be driven by addressing the challenging questions that originate in the interactions of such individuals with their natural surroundings. I have been particularly interested in the sea and the riverine forests that are inhabited by coastal or riverine small-scale fishers. Sharing the distinctive world of these fishers enjoyably incited my curiosity and challenged me to understand why fishers and their families ‘do as they do’ for their livelihoods including their beliefs. This challenge involved understanding the rationality (or the arguments or views) that underlies the decisions these individuals make in their interaction with nature. This curiosity was fundamental to my career choice, as were a number of reading interests. These reading interests included political economy and philosophy; evolution and sociobiology; evolutionary, human, and cultural ecology; cultural transmission; fisheries; local knowledge; ecological economics; and, naturally, ethnobiology.
Highlights
This article is a commentary on the experiences that motivated my decision to become a human ecologist and ethnobiologist
Concluding remarks My work at Búzios Island was one of the most in-depth fieldworks I have ever performed
I entered into the fieldwork with great curiosity and an open mind
Summary
This article is a commentary on the experiences that motivated my decision to become a human ecologist and ethnobiologist These experiences include the pleasure of studying and of having the sense of being within nature, as well as the curiosity towards understanding the world and minds of local people. We stopped in villages and cities on the coasts of Espirito Santo, Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, and Pernambuco and continued to Paraiba. After this first trip to the coast, during my second year, three companions and I journeyed to the Araguaia River in Brazil. The fish was cooked by making a hole in the sand with wood and fire, putting the fish above it, and covering it with bananas leaves
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
