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Government institution · Wellington · New Zealand

Department of Conservation

In research, Department of Conservation stands highest in Life Sciences (#4,377 of 11,023 worldwide), Environmental Science (#2,574 of 5,407 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#3,083 of 5,126 worldwide), over all time. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ecology (Ecology is 30.8× its share of world research).

doc.govt.nzROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#19,327
of 22,385 · #14,432 all time
Rank in New Zealand
#49
of 61
Research works
708
▲ 28% vs 2018-21
Citations
15k
21.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.3%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.97×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
52%
world 40%
International
29%
world 18%
Department of Conservation

What is Department of Conservation known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Life SciencesDomain #4,377 of 11,023 6.5%203
Environmental ScienceField #2,574 of 5,407 4.9%347
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #3,083 of 5,126 6.5%141
EcologySubfield #846 of 1,384 4.4%194
Physical SciencesDomain #13,035 of 17,446 5.1%410

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Department of Conservation 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Department of Conservation work in?

In 2022-now, 55% of research at Department of Conservation is in Physical Sciences, 22% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Environmental Science (46%), Agricultural and Biological Sciences (11%), Arts and Humanities (8%). It does 1.6× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 64 fractional works · 54.7% of its workEnvironmental Science: 53 fractional works · 45.6% of its workEcology: 28 fractional works · 24.2% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 7 fractional works · 6.4% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 6 fractional works · 5.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 5 fractional works · 4.6% of its workEcological Modeling: 3 fractional works · 2.9% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPollution: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4 fractional works · 3.8% of its workOceanography: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPaleontology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSpace and Planetary Science: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 4 fractional works · 3.2% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBuilding and Construction: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArchitecture: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Science: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workComputer Science Applications: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workLife Sciences: 26 fractional works · 22.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 13 fractional works · 10.8% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 6 fractional works · 4.8% of its workPlant Science: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workInsect Science: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workFood Science: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workForestry: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 10 fractional works · 8.3% of its workGenetics: 5 fractional works · 4.4% of its workMolecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workDevelopmental Biology: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workBiophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCell Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCancer Research: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 3 fractional works · 2.9% of its workParasitology: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workVirology: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workMicrobiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 21 fractional works · 17.9% of its workArts and Humanities: 10 fractional works · 8.3% of its workArcheology: 6 fractional works · 4.9% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workConservation: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHistory: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhilosophy: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 8 fractional works · 6.5% of its workSociology and Political Science: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAnthropology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCommunication: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workLaw: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workUrban Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 3 fractional works · 2.3% of its workSocial Psychology: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workClinical Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 6 fractional works · 4.9% of its workMedicine: 3 fractional works · 2.9% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInfectious Diseases: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSurgery: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVeterinary: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmall Animals: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKDepartment ofConservation116fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences22%Physical Sciences55%Health Sciences5%Social Sciences18%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 21 fields, with their numbers
    1. Environmental Science5345.6%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences43.8%
    3. Engineering43.2%
    4. Computer Science11.2%
    5. Materials Science10.6%
    6. Mathematics00.3%
    7. Energy00.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1310.8%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology108.3%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology32.9%
    4. Neuroscience00.4%
    1. Arts and Humanities108.3%
    2. Social Sciences86.5%
    3. Psychology32.3%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance00.4%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting00.3%
    6. Decision Sciences00.1%
    1. Medicine32.9%
    2. Veterinary11.1%
    3. Health Professions10.8%
    4. Nursing00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Department of Conservation specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology takes 30.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. EcologySubfield · 28.2 works31×
← 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: 2.28× its world share, 13 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.56× its world share, 10 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 2.88× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceComputer Science: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.45× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.21× its world share, 4 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 9.18× its world share, 53 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsHealth Professions: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 3 worksMedicineNursing: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 7.81× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.89× its world share, 10 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.77× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.51× its world share, 8 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Environmental Science, 9.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 21 fields, with their numbers
  1. Environmental Science9.18×53 works
  2. Veterinary7.81×1 works
  3. Arts and Humanities2.89×10 works
  4. Immunology and Microbiology2.88×3 works
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.45×4 works
  6. Agricultural and Biological Sciences2.28×13 works
  7. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology1.56×10 works
  8. Psychology0.77×3 works
  9. Social Sciences0.51×8 works
  10. Health Professions0.30×1 works
  11. Neuroscience0.26×0 works
  12. Nursing0.26×0 works
  13. Mathematics0.25×0 works
  14. Engineering0.21×4 works
  15. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.19×0 works
  16. Materials Science0.18×1 works
  17. Computer Science0.16×1 works
  18. Medicine0.15×3 works
  19. Business, Management and Accounting0.09×0 works
  20. Decision Sciences0.07×0 works
  21. Energy0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Department of Conservation?

Ranked on the quality score, Rod Hitchmough, CLINTON A. J. DUFFY and Graeme Elliott lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Department of Conservation.

  1. 1 Rod Hitchmough New Zealand · #949,402 worldwide 1.8k citations · 31 works
  2. 2 CLINTON A. J. DUFFY New Zealand · #1,140,001 worldwide 2.9k citations · 74 works
  3. 3 Graeme Elliott New Zealand · #1,812,258 worldwide 3.2k citations · 111 works
  4. 4 Rodney A. Hitchmough New Zealand · #1,927,316 worldwide 2.1k citations · 71 works
  5. 5 Rogan M. Colbourne New Zealand · #2,009,332 worldwide 926 citations · 33 works
  6. 6 Michelle Crowell New Zealand · #2,295,804 worldwide 592 citations · 15 works
  7. 7 Mandy Tocher New Zealand · #2,358,579 worldwide 1.5k citations · 23 works
  8. 8 Johannes H. Fischer New Zealand · #2,431,751 worldwide 330 citations · 50 works
  9. 9 Michael J. Imber New Zealand · #2,478,151 worldwide 1.8k citations · 52 works
  10. 10 Alan N. Baker New Zealand · #2,554,291 worldwide 1.4k citations · 44 works
All ranked researchers at Department of Conservation

What are the most cited papers from Department of Conservation?

The most cited paper from Department of Conservation is "Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions" (David M. Richardson, Petr Pyšek, Marcel Rejmánek et al., 2000), with 4,066 citations. Next come "Translocation as a Species Conservation Tool: Status and Strategy" (1,924) and "Migratory shearwaters integrate oceanic resources across the Pacific Ocean in an endless summer" (566).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions David M. Richardson, Petr Pyšek, Marcel Rejmánek et al. · Diversity and Distributions Open access Mar 2000 4,066
2 Translocation as a Species Conservation Tool: Status and Strategy Brad Griffith, James M. Scott, James W. Carpenter et al. · Science 4 Aug 1989 1,924
3 Migratory shearwaters integrate oceanic resources across the Pacific Ocean in an endless summer Scott A. Shaffer, Yann Tremblay, Henri Weimerskirch et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open access 14 Aug 2006 566
4 A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods Neil A. Cox et al. · Nature Open access 27 Apr 2022 436
5 Fugitive Salmon: Assessing the Risks of Escaped Fish from Net-Pen Aquaculture Rosamond L. Naylor, Kjetil Hindar, Ian Fleming et al. · BioScience Open access 2005 427
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Department of Conservation?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Population Dynamics, Conservation, Invasive Species, Biodiversity, Habitat Selection, Trophic Cascades and Conservation Biology.

▲ 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-now 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 Change34▲ 11×44 topics
  2. Population Dynamics17▲ 56×9 topics
  3. Conservation13▲ 27×16 topics
  4. Invasive Species12▲ 24×15 topics
  5. Biodiversity12▲ 13×19 topics
  6. Habitat Selection11▲ 125×2 topics
  7. Trophic Cascades8▲ 74×2 topics
  8. Conservation Biology8▲ 61×4 topics
  9. Predator-Prey Interactions6▲ 71×2 topics
  10. Animal Movement6▲ 100×1 topic
  11. Occupancy Rates6▲ 100×1 topic
  12. Habitat Fragmentation6▲ 23×4 topics
  13. Sustainable Development6▲ 3.1×10 topics
  14. Acoustic Communication6▲ 92×3 topics
  15. Agricultural Intensification5▲ 119×2 topics
  16. Model Selection5▲ 49×2 topics
  17. Avian Ecology5▲ 185×1 topic
  18. Migration Patterns5▲ 156×1 topic
  19. Molecular Phylogeny5▲ 24×8 topics
  20. Cultural Heritage4▲ 7.3×11 topics
  21. Urban Development4▲ 10×5 topics
  22. Community Participation4▲ 9.7×3 topics
  23. Anthropogenic Noise4▲ 115×1 topic
  24. DNA Barcoding4▲ 19×7 topics
  25. Fisheries Sustainability4▲ 38×2 topics
  26. Marine Mammals4▲ 115×1 topic
  27. Genetic Structure4▲ 43×4 topics
  28. Bats4▲ 91×2 topics
  29. Cultural Sustainability4▲ 55×2 topics
  30. Marine Ecosystems4▲ 54×2 topics
  31. Model Evaluation4▲ 24×2 topics
  32. Ocean Acidification4▲ 40×3 topics
  33. Adaptive Reuse3▲ 80×1 topic
  34. Ecological Niche3▲ 49×1 topic
  35. Ecosystem Services3▲ 7.6×9 topics
  36. Intangible Heritage3▲ 80×1 topic
  37. Species Distribution Modeling3▲ 49×1 topic
  38. Biodiversity Conservation3▲ 7.5×12 topics
  39. Global Change3▲ 11×6 topics
  40. Island Ecosystems3▲ 80×2 topics

Which research topics does Department of Conservation publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Avian ecology and behavior, Marine animal studies overview and Species Distribution and Climate Change.

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation: 6 fractional worksAvian ecology and behavior: 5 fractional worksMarine animal studies ov…4Marine animal studies overview: 4 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and…3Species Distribution and Climate Change: 3 fractional worksCultural Heritage Management and Preservation: 3 fractional worksAnimal Ecology and Behavior Studies: 3 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosyst…2Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 2 fractional worksBat Biology and Ecology Studies: 2 fractional worksFish Ecology and Management Studies: 2 fractional worksHuman-Animal Interaction Studies: 2 fractional works
EcologyEcological ModelingArcheologyEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics2 others

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

  1. 1 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 6 works
  2. 2 Avian ecology and behavior Ecology 5 works
  3. 3 Marine animal studies overview Ecology 4 works
  4. 4 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 3 works
  5. 5 Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation Archeology 3 works
  6. 6 Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies Ecology 3 works
  7. 7 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 2 works
  8. 8 Bat Biology and Ecology Studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 2 works
  9. 9 Fish Ecology and Management Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 2 works
  10. 10 Human-Animal Interaction Studies Genetics 2 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 available52.0%not open48.0%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors28.6%domestic only71.4%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Department of Conservation's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 28% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Department of Conservation as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00033% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%0.0030%Department of Conservation0.00063% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Department of Conservation over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025Department of Conservation6.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 8.2% in 2012.

Other research institutions in Wellington

All research institutions in Wellington

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Department of Conservation on Science Explorer

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