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California Academy of Sciences

In research, California Academy of Sciences stands highest in Life Sciences (#6,010 of 7,800 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#11,259 of 12,888 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#3,010 of 3,409 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Ecology — Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics is 47.6× its share of world research.

calacademy.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#13,608
of 28,054 · #8,631 all time
Rank in United States
#1,889
of 4,192
Research works
1.6k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Citations
35k
22.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
46%
world 28%

What is California Academy of Sciences known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Life SciencesDomain #6,010 of 7,800 19.5%102 #5118
Physical SciencesDomain #11,259 of 12,888 18.7%80 #9962
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #3,010 of 3,409 17.1%66 #3197

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where California Academy of Sciences sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Life Sciences#5,118 #6,010
  2. Physical Sciences#9,962 #11,259
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#3,197 #3,010
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does California Academy of Sciences specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics takes 47.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 45.3 works48×
  2. EcologySubfield · 23.7 works15×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 6.81× its world share, 66 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.07× its world share, 33 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.16× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.12× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 5.78× its world share, 18 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 5.46× its world share, 55 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.53× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.13× its world share, 5 worksMedicineNursing: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.91× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.56× its world share, 3 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.54× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.28× its world share, 7 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 6.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at California Academy of Sciences?

Ranked on the composite score, Michael T. Ghiselin, Galen B. Rathbun and Luis F. Baptista lead among researchers whose main affiliation is California Academy of Sciences.

  1. 1 Michael T. Ghiselin United States · #14,197 worldwide 518 citations · 56 works
  2. 2 Galen B. Rathbun United States · #190,610 worldwide 287 citations · 19 works
  3. 3 Luis F. Baptista United States · #250,692 worldwide 232 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Frank Almeda United States · #279,864 worldwide 86 citations · 30 works
  5. 5 Peter W. Fritsch United States · #301,874 worldwide 124 citations · 33 works
  6. 6 Gary C. Williams United States · #554,508 worldwide 72 citations · 26 works
  7. 7 Dennis E. Breedlove United States · #630,133 worldwide 85 citations · 16 works
  8. 8 James R. Shevock United States · #690,189 worldwide 28 citations · 25 works
  9. 9 Rolf L. Aalbu United States · #735,764 worldwide 29 citations · 15 works
  10. 10 Brian L. Fisher United States · #872,456 worldwide 112 citations · 66 works
All ranked researchers at California Academy of Sciences

Which keywords describe research at California Academy of Sciences?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Biogeography, Biodiversity, Invasive Species, Phylogeny, Conservation, Population Dynamics and Habitat Fragmentation.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change46▲ 8.4×34 topics
  2. Biogeography44▲ 84×17 topics
  3. Biodiversity35▲ 23×19 topics
  4. Invasive Species26▲ 30×21 topics
  5. Phylogeny26▲ 86×15 topics
  6. Conservation23▲ 27×18 topics
  7. Population Dynamics23▲ 45×11 topics
  8. Habitat Fragmentation22▲ 49×5 topics
  9. Molecular Phylogeny22▲ 69×10 topics
  10. Taxonomy19▲ 73×11 topics
  11. Global Change15▲ 28×4 topics
  12. Phylogenetic Analysis14▲ 23×11 topics
  13. Phylogenetics14▲ 156×3 topics
  14. Marine Ecosystems14▲ 130×2 topics
  15. Ecosystem Services14▲ 17×8 topics
  16. Diversification13▲ 162×2 topics
  17. Angiosperm Phylogeny12▲ 222×1 topic
  18. Evolutionary History12▲ 198×2 topics
  19. Flowering Plants12▲ 222×1 topic
  20. Plant-Animal Interactions12▲ 68×1 topic
  21. Pollinator Decline12▲ 68×1 topic
  22. Ecology12▲ 37×6 topics
  23. DNA Barcoding11▲ 33×9 topics
  24. Evolution10▲ 21×12 topics
  25. Ocean Acidification10▲ 69×3 topics
  26. Fisheries9▲ 119×2 topics
  27. Conservation Biology9▲ 43×4 topics
  28. Genetic Diversity9▲ 9.8×8 topics
  29. Benthic Communities8▲ 69×2 topics
  30. Marine Biodiversity8▲ 69×2 topics
  31. Ecosystem Functioning8▲ 21×6 topics
  32. Rays8▲ 189×1 topic
  33. Sharks8▲ 189×1 topic
  34. Species Delimitation7▲ 77×3 topics
  35. Bleaching6▲ 95×1 topic
  36. Coral Reefs6▲ 95×1 topic
  37. Morphology6▲ 18×6 topics
  38. Adaptive Evolution6▲ 53×2 topics
  39. Phylogenetic Relationships6▲ 41×2 topics
  40. Symbiosis6▲ 30×3 topics

Which research topics does California Academy of Sciences publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Plant Diversity and Evolution, Plant and animal studies, Ichthyology and Marine Biology and Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies.

Plant Diversity and Evolution: 12 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 12 fractional worksIchthyology and Marine B…8Ichthyology and Marine Biology: 8 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosyst…6Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 6 fractional worksPlant and Fungal Species Descriptions: 5 fractional worksMarine Biology and Ecology Research: 5 fractional worksAmphibian and Reptile Bi…4Amphibian and Reptile Biology: 4 fractional worksGenetic diversity and population structure: 4 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 4 fractional worksInsect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior: 4 fractional works
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsNature and Landscape ConservationEcologyMolecular Biology4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Plant Diversity and Evolution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 12 works
  2. 2 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 12 works
  3. 3 Ichthyology and Marine Biology Nature and Landscape Conservation 8 works
  4. 4 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 6 works
  5. 5 Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions Molecular Biology 5 works
  6. 6 Marine Biology and Ecology Research Oceanography 5 works
  7. 7 Amphibian and Reptile Biology Global and Planetary Change 4 works
  8. 8 Genetic diversity and population structure Genetics 4 works
  9. 9 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 4 works
  10. 10 Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Genetics 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available46.1%not open53.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors30.8%domestic only69.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has California Academy of Sciences's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 11% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in San Francisco

All research institutions in San Francisco

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.