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Institute of Natural Sciences

In research, Institute of Natural Sciences stands highest in Life Sciences (#409 of 6,403 worldwide), Insect Science (#13 of 116 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#706 of 3,157 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Insect Science, Paleontology and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics (Insect Science is 114.9× its share of world research).

naturalsciences.beROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#2,737
of 22,385 · #4,740 all time
Rank in Belgium
#14
of 105
Research works
3.1k
▲ 352% vs 2018-21
Citations
44k
14.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
2.7%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.07×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
67%
world 40%
International
66%
world 18%
Institute of Natural Sciences

What is Institute of Natural Sciences known for in research?

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

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Life SciencesDomain #409 of 6,403 0.7%982 #1275
Insect ScienceSubfield #13 of 116 0.1%452 #169
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #706 of 3,157 0.6%692 #1521
Environmental ScienceField #873 of 3,334 5.7%167 #1360
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #1,004 of 2,964 0.7%283 #2052
GeneticsSubfield #186 of 541 0.6%262 #650
Physical SciencesDomain #3,720 of 10,670 7.0%296 #5680
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield #96 of 269 1.5%192 #406
EcologySubfield #288 of 600 3.8%90 #536
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #528 of 1,088 9.1%99 #853

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

Which of those standings moved

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

  1. Life Sciences#1,275 #409
  2. Insect Science#169 #13
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#1,521 #706
  4. Environmental Science#1,360 #873
  5. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#2,052 #1,004
  6. Genetics#650 #186
  7. Physical Sciences#5,680 #3,720
  8. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics#406 #96
  9. Ecology#536 #288
  10. Earth and Planetary Sciences#853 #528
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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

Which fields of science does Institute of Natural Sciences work in?

In 2022-now, 72% of research at Institute of Natural Sciences is in Life Sciences, 23% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Agricultural and Biological Sciences (51%), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (21%), Environmental Science (13%). It does 5.4× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Life Sciences: 1,002 fractional works · 71.7% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 707 fractional works · 50.6% of its workInsect Science: 455 fractional works · 32.5% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 201 fractional works · 14.4% of its workPlant Science: 33 fractional works · 2.3% of its workAquatic Science: 13 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 287 fractional works · 20.6% of its workGenetics: 264 fractional works · 18.9% of its workMolecular Biology: 15 fractional works · 1.1% of its workCancer Research: 6 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 6 fractional works · 0.4% of its workParasitology: 4 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workPhysical Sciences: 328 fractional works · 23.5% of its workEnvironmental Science: 182 fractional works · 13.0% of its workEcology: 96 fractional works · 6.9% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 27 fractional works · 2.0% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 16 fractional works · 1.1% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 12 fractional works · 0.9% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 10 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEcological Modeling: 7 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 5 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 5 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 110 fractional works · 7.9% of its workPaleontology: 58 fractional works · 4.2% of its workOceanography: 24 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAtmospheric Science: 11 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 6 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeophysics: 4 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workGeology: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 14 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOcean Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 8 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Science: 12 fractional works · 0.9% of its workBiomaterials: 11 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workSocial Sciences: 44 fractional works · 3.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 20 fractional works · 1.4% of its workArcheology: 15 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSocial Sciences: 13 fractional works · 0.9% of its workAnthropology: 6 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPsychology: 7 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSocial Psychology: 7 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 23 fractional works · 1.6% of its workMedicine: 19 fractional works · 1.4% of its workPharmacology: 4 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 4 fractional works · 0.3% of its workInfectious Diseases: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 9 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth Professions: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workVeterinary: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKInstitute ofNatural Sciences1,397fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences72%Physical Sciences23%Health Sciences2%Social Sciences3%

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 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Life Sciences1,00271.7%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences70750.6%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology28720.6%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology60.4%
    4. Neuroscience20.2%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
    1. Environmental Science18213.0%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences1107.9%
    3. Engineering141.0%
    4. Materials Science120.9%
    5. Computer Science30.2%
    6. Mathematics20.2%
    7. Energy20.1%
    8. Physics and Astronomy10.1%
    9. Chemistry10.1%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.0%
    1. Arts and Humanities201.4%
    2. Social Sciences130.9%
    3. Psychology70.5%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance20.2%
    5. Decision Sciences10.1%
    6. Business, Management and Accounting10.0%
    1. Medicine191.4%
    2. Health Professions30.2%
    3. Veterinary10.0%
    4. Dentistry00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Institute of Natural Sciences specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Insect Science takes 114.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Insect ScienceSubfield · 454.6 works115×
  2. PaleontologySubfield · 58.4 works35×
  3. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 200.9 works31×
  4. GeneticsSubfield · 263.9 works23×
  5. Agricultural and Biological SciencesField · 706.6 works11×
  6. EcologySubfield · 96.5 works8.8×
← 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: 10.65× its world share, 707 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.85× its world share, 287 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.42× its world share, 6 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.03× its world share, 3 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 5.02× its world share, 110 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.07× its world share, 14 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.63× its world share, 182 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.25× its world share, 12 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.08× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.07× its world share, 19 worksMedicineVeterinary: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.49× its world share, 20 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.18× its world share, 8 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 13 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 10.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences10.65×707 works
  2. Earth and Planetary Sciences5.02×110 works
  3. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.85×287 works
  4. Environmental Science2.63×182 works
  5. Arts and Humanities0.49×20 works
  6. Immunology and Microbiology0.42×6 works
  7. Veterinary0.27×0 works
  8. Materials Science0.25×12 works
  9. Psychology0.18×8 works
  10. Energy0.15×2 works
  11. Mathematics0.13×2 works
  12. Neuroscience0.10×2 works
  13. Chemical Engineering0.09×0 works
  14. Health Professions0.08×3 works
  15. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.07×0 works
  16. Engineering0.07×14 works
  17. Dentistry0.07×0 works
  18. Medicine0.07×19 works
  19. Decision Sciences0.07×1 works
  20. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.07×2 works
  21. Social Sciences0.07×13 works
  22. Chemistry0.04×1 works
  23. Physics and Astronomy0.04×1 works
  24. Computer Science0.03×3 works
  25. Business, Management and Accounting0.01×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Institute of Natural Sciences?

Ranked on the quality score, Mietje Germonpré, Patrick Semal and Bea De Cupere lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Institute of Natural Sciences.

  1. 1 Mietje Germonpré Belgium · #84,553 worldwide 7.2k citations · 142 works
  2. 2 Patrick Semal Belgium · #225,786 worldwide 5.8k citations · 126 works
  3. 3 Bea De Cupere Belgium · #761,374 worldwide 2.3k citations · 136 works
  4. 4 Xavier Desmit Belgium · #840,244 worldwide 834 citations · 39 works
  5. 5 Mirta Zupan Belgium · #936,119 worldwide 954 citations · 20 works
  6. 6 Quinten Vanhellemont Belgium · #1,041,743 worldwide 4.1k citations · 99 works
  7. 7 Renata Barros Belgium · #1,086,964 worldwide 462 citations · 32 works
  8. 8 Aaike De Wever Belgium · #1,104,808 worldwide 2.7k citations · 76 works
  9. 9 Kevin George Ruddick Belgium · #1,191,534 worldwide 8.8k citations · 241 works
  10. 10 Jean de Heinzelin Belgium · #1,251,153 worldwide 1.8k citations · 45 works
All ranked researchers at Institute of Natural Sciences

What are the most cited papers from Institute of Natural Sciences?

The most cited paper from Institute of Natural Sciences is "Molecular and morphological data reveal cryptic taxonomic diversity in the terrestrial slug complex Arion subfuscus/fuscus (Mollusca, Pulmonata, Arionidae) in continental north-west Europe" (Jan Pinceel, Kurt Jordaens, Natalie Van Houtte et al., 2004), with 2,261 citations. Next come "AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds" (1,261) and "The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity" (1,082).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Molecular and morphological data reveal cryptic taxonomic diversity in the terrestrial slug complex Arion subfuscus/fuscus (Mollusca, Pulmonata, Arionidae) in continental north-west Europe Jan Pinceel, Kurt Jordaens, Natalie Van Houtte et al. · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 24 Aug 2004 2,261
2 AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds Joseph A. Tobias et al. · Ecology Letters Open access115 authors 24 Feb 2022 1,261
3 The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity Ward Appeltans et al. · Current Biology Open access121 authors 15 Nov 2012 1,082
4 The genetic history of Ice Age Europe Qiaomei Fu et al. · Nature Open access 29 Apr 2016 1,011
5 The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance Tom Higham et al. · Nature Open access 19 Aug 2014 911
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Institute of Natural Sciences?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Phylogeny, Biodiversity, Evolution, Taxonomy, Invasive Species, DNA Barcoding, Biological Control and Cryptic Species.

▲ 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. Phylogeny380▲ 162×17 topics
  2. Biodiversity359▲ 34×25 topics
  3. Evolution348▲ 93×15 topics
  4. Taxonomy347▲ 171×14 topics
  5. Invasive Species344▲ 58×19 topics
  6. DNA Barcoding331▲ 137×9 topics
  7. Biological Control284▲ 134×9 topics
  8. Cryptic Species254▲ 710×2 topics
  9. Lepidoptera247▲ 928×1 topic
  10. Molecular Phylogenetics247▲ 928×1 topic
  11. Conservation246▲ 41×18 topics
  12. Host Specificity227▲ 146×4 topics
  13. Ecological Impact194▲ 269×3 topics
  14. Pest Management193▲ 164×4 topics
  15. Sustainable Energy191▲ 74×2 topics
  16. Economic Assessment191▲ 498×1 topic
  17. Water Hyacinth191▲ 1112×1 topic
  18. Climate Change153▲ 4.0×58 topics
  19. Pheromones144▲ 195×3 topics
  20. Chemical Ecology139▲ 1047×1 topic
  21. Odor Source Localization139▲ 1047×1 topic
  22. Biogeography116▲ 30×20 topics
  23. Morphology106▲ 43×7 topics
  24. Population Dynamics103▲ 29×11 topics
  25. Environmental Impact62▲ 2.6×21 topics
  26. Molecular Phylogeny60▲ 26×10 topics
  27. Phylogenetic Analysis54▲ 12×14 topics
  28. Food Security53▲ 7.0×4 topics
  29. Nutritional Composition51▲ 71×2 topics
  30. Waste Management50▲ 9.0×5 topics
  31. Animal Feed49▲ 115×1 topic
  32. Edible Insects49▲ 115×1 topic
  33. Ecology45▲ 19×9 topics
  34. Biodiversity Loss43▲ 54×3 topics
  35. Eutrophication38▲ 25×3 topics
  36. Microbiota37▲ 12×4 topics
  37. Speciation37▲ 60×3 topics
  38. Ecosystem Functioning36▲ 12×7 topics
  39. Tropical Forests34▲ 71×2 topics
  40. Gall-Inducing Insects34▲ 290×1 topic

Which research topics does Institute of Natural Sciences publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy, Biological Control of Invasive Species, Insect Pheromone Research and Control and Insect Utilization and Effects.

Lepidoptera: Biology and…247Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy: 247 fractional worksBiological Control of In…191Biological Control of Invasive Species: 191 fractional worksInsect Pheromone Researc…139Insect Pheromone Research and Control: 139 fractional worksInsect Utilization and E…49Insect Utilization and Effects: 49 fractional worksHymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny: 34 fractional worksEntomological Studies and Ecology: 31 fractional worksInsect behavior and control techniques: 29 fractional worksAquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity: 27 fractional worksSubterranean biodiversity and taxonomy: 25 fractional worksColeoptera Taxonomy and Distribution: 24 fractional works
GeneticsInsect ScienceEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsEcology1 others

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

  1. 1 Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy Genetics 247 works
  2. 2 Biological Control of Invasive Species Insect Science 191 works
  3. 3 Insect Pheromone Research and Control Insect Science 139 works
  4. 4 Insect Utilization and Effects Insect Science 49 works
  5. 5 Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 34 works
  6. 6 Entomological Studies and Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 31 works
  7. 7 Insect behavior and control techniques Insect Science 29 works
  8. 8 Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity Ecology 27 works
  9. 9 Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy Paleontology 25 works
  10. 10 Coleoptera Taxonomy and Distribution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 24 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 available66.9%not open33.1%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors65.8%domestic only34.2%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Institute of Natural Sciences's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 352% 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 Institute of Natural Sciences as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0012% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%Institute of Natural Sciences0.0032% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Institute of Natural Sciences 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 2025Institute of Natural Sciences3.3% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 14.9% in 2024.

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Its overall standing, then the domains, fields and subfields where Institute of Natural Sciences is in the world's top ten or its top 1%. Each has an image of its own.

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