ONTA History

 

During the First Symposium on Tropical Nematology held at the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Puerto Rico (AES-UPR) in 1967 in Rio Piedras, Alejandro Ayala and Jess J Roman, both of the AES-UPR, and several others interested in tropical nematology discussed the needs for the formation of a new scientific society. The principal aim of creating the society was to promote cooperation between the nematologists of Latin America and those in the United States. The preliminary meeting was held on December 2, 1967 at the Excelsior Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Participants at the first meeting were nine scientists from five countries: Drs. A. Ayala, J. Roman, R. Chevres-Roman and L. F. Martorell of Puerto Rico; R. Barriga Olivares, Colombia; G. Blair, Trinidad; J. E. Edmunds, St. Lucia; and J. A. Winchester and A. C. Tarjan, U.S.A. The society was named “The Organization of Tropical American Nematologists” (OTAN), which later was translated into Spanish as ” Organizacion de Nemat\logos de los Tropicos Americanos” (ONTA) in order to avoid confusion with the Spanish language acronym of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (OTAN). Later the Spanish name was translated into English as “Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America” (ONTA). The group elected a board of directors and Armen C. Tarjan, University of Florida, U.S.A., was chosen to serve as the first president. The first scientific meeting of the Organization was held during November 1968 in Sarasota, Florida with the participation of 44 members from 10 countries (note group photo herein). In its second year the society had 105 members in 19 countries. The society now has 380 members representing over 45 countries.

 

The organization was duly incorporated in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1978. From its inception, Puerto Rican nematologists have assumed prominent roles in the conduct of the Organization, as have nematologists from South and Central American, and the United States.

 

Throughout its 34 years of existence, members of the Organization have published an extensive amount of their research results in the organizational newsletter starting in May, 1969 under the editorship of J. A. Winchester and A. Sanchez. In May 1971 the first issue of the bilingual publication “NEMATROPICA” was published under the editorship of J. A. Meredith with .A. Ayala and A. C. Tarjan as associate editors. This scientific journal, which compiles the results from scientific research in tropical and subtropical nematology, is distributed as printed and electronic version to members and subscribing libraries.

 

Honors annually are conferred upon those members who contribute to the strengthening and advancement of ONTA, and/or to the science of nematology. Awards also are presented for outstanding services and contributions to the science of nematology. These awards are: Honorary Member Award, Distinguished Service Award, Special Award, and Past President’s Award. In addition, another award is granted by Aventis CropScience Ecuador S.A., a commercial organization dealing in pesticides and other agricultural products. This award was funded previously by the chemical company Rhône Poulenc.

 

Since 1990 the society has sponsored a foundation, which receives and manages contributions and donations with the objective of awarding scholarships to students and subsidizing workshops, special courses and scientific programs. The following World Wide Web site <https://ontaweb.org> recently has been created for the electronic distribution to the membership of Nematropica, the newsletter, and other information regarding the organization:

Joint Meeting

ORGANIZATION OF TROPICAL AMERICAN NEMATOLOGIST and FLORIDA NEMATOLOGY FORUM

Sarasota, Florida-November, 1968