SOLAMAC

Award

Robin Best Award

Since 1994, recognizing the best student work presented at the Working Meetings.

The award

The Robin Best Award was established by the family of Robin Christopher Best, a researcher at Brazil’s National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), after his death in 1987. It was created while Dr. Robert Brownell Jr. was president of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM), in the United States, and is funded by the Robin Best Memorial Fund.

Who was Robin Best

Robin was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was involved in wildlife research and conservation from an early age, encouraged by his father, Alan Best, who got him involved in several projects, including volunteering at the Stanley Park Zoo and the Vancouver Aquarium. He earned a degree in zoology from the University of British Columbia and moved to Ontario for graduate studies at the University of Guelph, where he studied the biology and ecology of polar bears.

In 1976 he joined the team of INPA’s Manatee Project and in 1980 became its head, expanding the research to river dolphins and otters. He had an inquisitive mind and many other interests, from anteaters and sloths to turtles and bush dogs. Deeply committed to the conservation of the Amazon, he never missed a chance to champion the cause and to encourage students interested in the Amazon and in aquatic mammals.

Robin Christopher Best
Robin Christopher Best

Call open

Robin Best Research Support Program 2026

On September 30, 2026, SOLAMAC opens applications for the 2026 edition of the Robin Best Research Support Program.

The Program will support projects by undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students conducting research on aquatic mammals in South America or Mexico, regardless of the applicant’s nationality.

To apply, candidates must be active SOLAMAC members and meet the other criteria set out in the 2026 Call and in the Program’s Permanent Regulations.

The Robin Best Program seeks to support the training of students from Latin America and to strengthen research on aquatic mammals in the region.

Future calls will be published on this page and announced to members by email.

Award history

Up to three grants

Undergraduate
up toUS$ 650
Master’s
up toUS$ 850
Doctorate
up toUS$ 1.000

Applications

September 30 to October 30, 2026

Program contact

robinbest.solamac@gmail.com

Rules

The award aims to encourage the development and dissemination of aquatic mammal research in South America, where Robin worked for more than ten years. It is presented at each RT to the best student work and was first awarded at the 6th RT, in Florianópolis, in 1994.

Who can apply

  • Full-time undergraduate or graduate students at a recognized higher education institution, with proof of enrollment.
  • Each student may enter a single work, as first author.
  • If there are co-authors, all must confirm that the work was carried out on the student’s initiative and responsibility.

Categories and prizes

  • Entries compete in two categories: undergraduate and graduate.
  • The best in each category are chosen by a selection committee, following SMM guidelines.
  • The best overall work receives a cash prize and an SMM certificate. The best in each category also receive a cash prize.

Winners

Titles in the original language of each work.

2025Mazatlán, México

  • Best overall presentation

    El bacterioma entérico de la ballena azul (Balaenoptera musculus): Una primera exploración en el Golfo de California

    María Fernanda Félix Huergo · Graduate

    Evaluators: Fernando Lopes; Larissa Oliveira

  • 1st place, Graduate, oral

    El bacterioma entérico de la ballena azul (Balaenoptera musculus): Una primera exploración en el Golfo de California

    María Fernanda Félix Huergo · Graduate

    Evaluators: Fernando Lopes; Larissa Oliveira

  • 2nd place, Graduate, oral

    Enfoque genómico para identificar selección positiva y adaptación local en poblaciones de rorcual común (Balaenoptera physalus) del Pacífico Oriental

    Omar Ramírez Flores · Graduate

    Evaluators: Fernando Lopes; Larissa Oliveira

  • 3rd place, Graduate, oral

    Partición intraespecífica local de recursos entre delfines moteados y tornillos en el Pacífico sur mexicano

    Arturo Bell Enríquez García · Graduate

    Evaluators: Carol Meirelles; Geraldine Busquets Vass

  • 1st place, Undergraduate, oral

    Caracterización de la dieta del lobo marino común Otaria byronia (De Blainville, 1820) en dos loberas de la subcuenca central del Estrecho de Magallanes, Chile

    Constanza Paola Aguilar Cheuque · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Alicia Guerrero; Geraldine Busquets Vass

  • 2nd place, Undergraduate, oral

    La autofagia y la dinámica mitocondrial en el cáncer urogenital del lobo marino de California: una primera exploración transcripcional

    Mónica Valdez Lugo · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Carol Meirelles; João Carlos Gomes Borges

  • 3rd place, Undergraduate, oral

    Presencia de microplásticos en estómagos de Tursiops truncatus y Peponocephala electra varados en la Isla del Carmen, Campeche, México

    Samantha Paola Garcia Villafan · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Guilherme Maricato; Bianca Romeu

  • 1st place, Graduate, poster

    Ingestão de microplásticos por pequenos cetáceos encalhados na região do Banco dos Abrolhos, Brasil

    Joice de Souza Soares · Graduate

    Evaluators: Daniela Haro; Guilherme Maricato

  • 2nd place, Graduate, poster

    Evaluación del ciclo reproductivo en machos de ballena azul del Pacífico Noreste mediante análisis de testosterona e isótopos estables en barbas

    Kimberly Georgette Murguia Perez Negron · Graduate

    Evaluators: Daniela Haro; Clarissa Ribeiro Teixeira

  • 3rd place, Graduate, poster

    ¿Contamos con el hábitat necesario para el restablecimiento de nutrias marinas en México?

    Adair Cázares Hernández · Graduate

    Evaluators: Miriam Marmontel; Vera M. F. da Silva

  • 1st place, Undergraduate, poster

    Evaluación de la condición corporal de la ballena azul (Balaenoptera musculus) en el Golfo de California con base a dos métodos de fotogrametría aérea

    María Fernanda Tlachi Celorio · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Marta Cremer; Karina Acevedo

  • 2nd place, Undergraduate, poster

    Helmintos pulmonares del delfín manchado tropical Stenella attenuata en costas de Yucatán

    Andrea Carolina Contreras Cano · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Rodrigo de Souza Amaral; Carol Meirelles

  • 3rd place, Undergraduate, poster

    Análisis de marcas naturales y antropogénicas en cetáceos varados en el sur del Golfo de México

    Giselle Lowe Palos · Undergraduate

    Evaluators: Carolina Loch; Diana Szteren

2022Praia do Forte, Brasil

  • Best overall presentation

    Un centinela dimórfico: expresión del MHC clase II en el contexto de las anomalías climáticas en el mar

    Verónica Torres Solórzano; Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse

  • Graduate, oral

    O sistema endocanabinoide: uma peça desconhecida da fisiologia do reino Animalia

    Joshua Benjamin Andrés Polanco Stuart; Jean Guilherme Fernandes Joaquim

  • Graduate, poster

    Forty years of Amazonian manatee release: challenges, progress and future perspectives

    Diogo Alexandre de Souza; Eduardo Venticinque; Vera da Silva

  • Undergraduate

    Cuando los lobos perdieron los pelos. ¿Una patología emergente del lobo fino de Guadalupe?

    Ariadna A. Guzmán-Solís; Fernando Elorriaga-Verplancken; Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse

2018Lima, Perú

  • Best overall presentation

    Propuesta de protocolo de detección de manatíes antillanos mediante drones livianos en el Caribe mexicano

    Sarah Landeo; Nataly Castelblanco Martínez; Carlos Niño Torres; Eric Ramos; Yann Hénaut; Jaime Cuevas Domínguez

  • Graduate

    Spying on genomes through windows: the Otariidae phylogeny in the age of genomics

    Fernando Lopes; Larissa Oliveira; Enrique A. Crespo; Susana Cárdenas-Alayza; Patricia Majluf; Maritza Sepúlveda; Robert L. Brownell Jr.; Valentina Franco-Trecu; Diego Páez-Rosas; Jaime Chaves; Carolina Loch; Bruce Robertson; Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse; Fernando Elorriaga-Verplancken; Stephen P. Kirkman; Eduardo Eizirik; Claire Peart; Jochen B. W. Wolf; Sandro L. Bonatto

  • Undergraduate

    Achados anatomopatológicos em Sotalia guianensis e interação com a pesca

    Lucas Carreira; Andressa Rorato; Daniela Nóbrega; Jessica Moreira; Victor Hugo Marutani; Vivian Sampaio; Camila Domit; Ana Paula Bracarense

2016Valparaíso, Chile

  • Best overall presentation

    Primeros registros en la fauna parasitaria de Arctocephalus australis spp. en lobo marino fino (Mammalia: Otariidae) procedente de la población peruana en Punta San Juan, Perú

    Karla Calderón

  • Graduate, oral

    Same-sex socio-sexual interactions among a group of captive male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

    Natalia Botero

  • Graduate, poster

    Análisis de la variación morfológica de cráneos de delfín oscuro (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) de la costa patagónica argentina

    Ailin Sosa Drouville

  • Undergraduate, oral

    Distribution and structure of reproductive units of southern sea lion, Otaria byronia, during mating season in Punta Chaiguaco rookery, southern Pacific

    Daniel Cárcamo

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Morfometría de fetos abortados de lobos marinos sudamericanos (Arctocephalus australis ssp.) en Punta San Juan, Perú

    Fernando Vílchez

2014Cartagena, Colombia

Edition coordinationCarolina Loch (NZ); Fernando Trujillo (COL); Susana Caballero (COL)

  • Best overall presentation

    Eric Ramos

  • Graduate, oral

    Pedro Fruet · Graduate

  • Graduate, poster

    Agostina Negri · Graduate

  • Undergraduate, oral

    Carla Fiorito · Undergraduate

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Igor Oliveira · Undergraduate

2012Puerto Madryn, Argentina

  • Best overall presentation

    Dimorfismo sexual em sincrânios de Tursiops sp. nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil

    Janaína C. Wickert; S. M. Von Eye; L. R. Oliveira; I. B. Moreno

  • Best oral presentation

    Urinary hormone patterns during the estrous cycle in Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis)

    Rodrigo S. Amaral; F. C. W. Rosas; L. H. Graham; V. M. F. da Silva; P. Viau; C. A. Oliveira

  • Best poster

    Novel papillomavirus identified from epithelial tissue of Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis)

    Waleska Gravena; V. M. F. da Silva; T. Hrbek; A. D'Affonseca; F. Rosas; I. P. Farias

2010Florianópolis, Brasil

No award at this edition.

2008Montevideo, Uruguay

  • Best overall presentation

    Heridas en ballenas francas del sur producidas por gaviotas cocineras en Península Valdés, Argentina

    Ana Fazio; M. Bertellotti

  • Best oral presentation

    Ontogenia alimentaria del lobo marino de California Zalophus californianus: interpretación de firmas isotópicas de nitrógeno y carbono en colágeno dental

    Fernando Elorriaga-Verplancken; D. Aurioles-Gamboa

  • Best poster

    The comet assay: assessing UV-induced DNA damage in cetaceans

    Laura M. Martínez; J. E. González; D. Gendron; R. Knell; K. Acevedo-Whitehouse

2006Mérida, México

No award at this edition.

2004Quito, Ecuador

  • Best overall presentation

    Social organization of marine tucuxi dolphins, Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853), at the Cananeia estuary, Brazil

    Marcos César de O. Santos; Sergio Rosso

  • Graduate, oral

    Condiciones oceanográficas asociadas a la distribución de la marsopa espinosa (Phocoena spinipinnis) en el Atlántico y Pacífico Sur

    Daniza Molina-Schiller; Thales R. O. Freitas

  • Graduate, oral

    Uso de hábitat y comportamiento de Sotalia fluviatilis en el extremo austral de su distribución, Brasil

    Mariel Bazzalo; P. A. C. Flores

  • Undergraduate, oral

    Training manatee Trichechus manatus manatus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Sirenia) as handling procedure to species conservation

    Danielle S. Lima; J. E. Vergara-Parente; R. J. Young; E. Paszkiewicz

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Interacción de orcas (Orcinus orca) y cachalotes (Physeter macrocephalus) con la pesca industrial de merluza negra (Dissostichus eleginoides) en los alrededores de las Islas Georgias del Sur en 1998 y 1999

    Alejandra de Giorgi Peirano

2002Valdivia, Chile

  • Best overall presentation

    Feeding ecology and prey selectivity of Antarctic fur seals at Cape Shirreff, South Shetlands, Antarctica

    Layla P. Osman; R. Hucke-Gaete

  • Graduate, oral

    Skull morphology of spotted dolphins, Stenella frontalis and Stenella attenuata (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in western Atlantic Ocean

    Ignacio Benites Moreno; Luiz Roberto Malabarba

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Los elefantes marinos y la segregación sexual durante la alimentación: ¿separación de bienes?

    Elena B. Eder; M. Lewis; R. Lewis

  • Honorable mention

    Relevamiento de ballena franca Eubalaena australis, en la costa atlántica uruguaya

    Paula Costa; M. Pietra

  • Honorable mention

    Changes in dental formula of southern sea lion Otaria byronia (Pinnipedia, Otariidae) from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina: evolutionary implications

    César J. Drehmer; Marta Elena Fabián

2000Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • Best overall presentation

    Estimativa do tamanho da população de botos, Tursiops truncatus, do estuário da Lagoa dos Patos, RS, a partir da foto-identificação de indivíduos com marcas naturais e da aplicação de modelos de marcação-recaptura

    Luciano Dalla Rosa; P. G. Kinas; R. Both

  • Best oral presentation

    Variabilidad genética de la región D-loop del ADN mitocondrial en poblaciones del delfín de río Inia spp. (Cetacea: Iniidae) en las cuencas de los ríos Orinoco, Amazonas y Beni-Mamoré

    Eulália Banguera-Hinestroza; H. Cárdenas-Henao; H. Hamilton; M. Ruíz-García; E. Gaitán; R. Vásquez; F. García-Vallejo

  • Best poster

    Variación de la región de control del ADN mitocondrial en franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei) de la costa uruguaya

    María Lázaro; E. P. Lessa

  • Undergraduate

    Experimento de preferência alimentar de dois peixes-bois marinhos, Trichechus manatus, em sistema de cativeiro, no ambiente natural na barra de Mamanguape/PB

    Juliana de Abreu Vianna; R. P. Lima; J. E. Vergara; C. V. Zanon

1998Recife, Brasil

  • Best overall presentation

    Skull morphology and the taxonomic status of southern hemisphere minke whales

    Alexandre Novaes Zerbini; Paulo C. Simões-Lopes

  • Best oral presentation

    Annual mortality estimation of franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei, in coastal gillnet fishery in the northern Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil

    Paulo H. Ott; Ignacio B. Moreno; Daniel S. Danilewicz

  • Best oral presentation

    Bioacoustics as a tool in behavioural analysis and in the management of sirenians in Brazil

    Renata S. Sousa-Lima; Gustavo A. B. Fonseca

  • Honorable mention

    Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei (Fraser, 1956) in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

    José Lailson-Brito Jr.; A. F. Azevedo; A. B. L. Fragoso; H. A. Cunha; S. Siciliano

  • Best poster

    Preliminary assessment of age at sexual maturity and reproductive rates of Pontoporia blainvillei from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil

    Daniel S. Danilewicz; Eduardo R. Secchi; Paulo H. Ott; Javier Claver

  • Best poster

    Geographic variation in the skull of southern fur seal, Arctocephalus australis (Zimmermann, 1783)

    Larissa R. de Oliveira; Luiz R. Malabarba; Patrícia Majluf

  • Honorable mention

    Uma proposta de informação ambiental para o Centro Nacional de Conservação e Manejo de Sirênios na Ilha de Itamaracá, PE

    Gustavo A. Borges; M. Picanço

1996Viña del Mar, Chile

  • Graduate, oral

    Dieta de Mustela vison en el Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales: un acercamiento de las interacciones con Lutra provocax

    Jorge Ruiz T.; R. Schlatter; D. Bücher B.

  • Graduate, oral

    Helmintofauna gastrointestinal de franciscana no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, e sua utilização como marcadores biológicos na identificação de estoques

    Ana L. V. Andrade; M. C. Pinedo; J. Pereira Jr.

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Estudios de cachalote pigmeo, K. breviceps (de Blainville, 1838), varado en la costa de Chile

    Jean Paolo Sanino; J. Yáñez

  • Undergraduate, poster

    Avistagens de cetáceos na costa brasileira (1992-1996)

    Ignácio Benites Moreno; P. H. Ott; F. P. Carneiro; D. S. Danilewicz

  • Honorable mention

    Aspectos do hábito alimentar da lontra (Lutra longicaudis) no sul do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

    Helen Francine Waldemarin; E. P. Colares

1994Florianópolis, BrasilFirst edition of the award

  • Best overall presentation

    El uso de técnicas microscópicas para estimar la edad en el delfín chileno, Cephalorhynchus eutropia (Gray, 1846)

    Daniza Molina Schiller; J. C. Reyes

  • Best oral presentation

    Parámetros electrocardiográficos en crías de elefante marino del sur

    Valeria Fallabella; M. Lewis

  • Best poster

    Comportamiento reproductivo de las hembras del león marino del sur, Otaria flavescens, en Península Valdés, Argentina

    Valeria Szapkievich; L. H. Cappozzo