Vol. 72 No. Suppl. 1 (2024): Ocean and Coastal Research: An ocean of science, worms, and humaneness: a tribute to Paulo Lana (Special Article Collection)
The sudden and unexpected loss of Paulo da Cunha Lana on June 29, 2022 was a great shock for the marine science community in Brazil and abroad. Paulo was greatly respected as a world class scientist and held in high esteem as a human being. He was, and will continue to be in our memories, a truly inspiring ocean scientist.
Paulo acted as a taxonomist, ecologist, and oceanographer. As a researcher and teacher, he supervised and published in areas such as benthic ecology, mangrove and saltmarsh ecology, taxonomy, biology, ecology of polychaete annelids, environmental impact assessment, and coastal environmental management, with distinguished global recognition.
He has established a solid line of research at the Center for Marine Studies of the Federal University of Paraná (CEM/UFPR) in Brazil since 1981, a research facility he helped to consolidate, serving as Director from 1991 to 1994. He reached a Full Professor position in 2010 and retired in 2020. His greatest professional pride was to have effectively supervised more than 120 undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. Paulo had a great passion for devoting countless hours introducing students to the rationales of scientific thinking, especially hypotheses formulation, as well as teaching how to observe and set up experiments in the field.
He participated in the creation, implementation, and coordination of an Oceanography bachelor’s course (where he worked since 2000), and two postgraduate degrees - in Coastal and Oceanic Systems (2006), and in Environment and Development (1992), both at UFPR. He also intensively acted as supervisor and lecturer on the Postgraduate Program in Zoology at UFPR since 1984. As a lecturer, he was honored during graduation ceremonies multiple times during his career.
Paulo published 35 books or book chapters, and more than 160 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals with his students, frequently collaborating with foreign colleagues. Paulo and his students helped consolidate polychaetology in Brazil, including systematic phylogenetic inference. He was president of the International Polychaetological Association from 2010 to 2013.
Paulo was an enthusiastic scientist and advisor, showing creativity and geniality. The combination of charisma and simplicity as a human being, with his commitment to research and scientific thinking guided by hypotheses that reflect cause-effect relationships has inspired students and fellow scientists worldwide. He always promoted exhaustive deductive reasoning exercises, training his audience to construct "if/then" hypotheses whenever possible. Paulo used his commitment to Brazilian education as a motivation, understanding the difficulties of promoting science with quality when training citizens and scientists with different backgrounds. He dedicated himself to a dream of building science for everyone, and with everyone who had the luck of having crossed his path.
The aim of this special article collection is to pay homage to our dear friend Paulo. We welcomed manuscripts on the broad scope of ocean, marine and coastal sciences, authored by people who cherished Paulo or feel their lives and careers were somehow touched or inspired by him.
This is the Volume 72, Suppl. 1 (2024) of the Ocean and Coastal Research.
