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Topic · Ecology

Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies

Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies is a research topic within Ecology. Science Explorer counts 37k research works in it since 1950. 9.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the resilience of coral reef ecosystems to the impacts of climate change, including ocean acidification, bleaching, and disease. It explores the role of marine reserves, symbiotic dinoflagellates, and population connectivity in maintaining the health and biodiversity of coral reefs. The cluster also addresses the importance of the coral microbiome and the potential effects of nutrient pollution on coral reef ecosystems.

  • Coral Reefs
  • Climate Change
  • Marine Ecosystems
  • Ocean Acidification
  • Bleaching
  • Marine Reserves
  • Symbiotic Dinoflagellates
  • Coral Disease
  • Marine Population Connectivity
  • Coral Microbiome
Research works
37k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
-1%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
29% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies

Which countries lead Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.5k and 766 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 1.5k works
  2. 2 China 766 works
  3. 3 Australia 685 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 355 works
  5. 5 Brazil 346 works
  6. 6 France 335 works
  7. 7 Indonesia 279 works
  8. 8 Italy 279 works
  9. 9 India 272 works
  10. 10 Japan 263 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 28.8%China: 15.2%Australia: 13.6%United Kingdom: 7.0%6 others listed: 35.3%29%largest
United States1,450 · 28.8%China766 · 15.2%Australia685 · 13.6%United Kingdom355 · 7.0%6 others listed1,775 · 35.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research?

By volume in 2022-now, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique publishes the most Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 151 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 110 works
  3. 3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationUnited States 97 works
  4. 4 James Cook UniversityAustralia 92 works
  5. 5 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasSpain 74 works
  6. 6 King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 53 works
  7. 7 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 52 works
  8. 8 The University of QueenslandAustralia 51 works
  9. 9 Australian Institute of Marine ScienceAustralia 50 works
  10. 10 Smithsonian InstitutionUnited States 48 works

Who are the leading researchers in Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies include Rob Knight, Jun Wang and Trevor Hastie.

  1. 1 Rob Knight United States 468k citations
  2. 2 Jun Wang China 340k citations
  3. 3 Trevor Hastie United States 301k citations
  4. 4 Wei Huang China 267k citations
  5. 5 Lei Jiang China 214k citations
  6. 6 Mercouri G. Kanatzidis United States 196k citations
  7. 7 Paul M. Thompson United States 196k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies?

The most cited paper in Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies is "Ecological responses to recent climate change" (Gian-Reto Walther, Eric Post, Peter Convey et al., 2002), with 10,060 citations. Next come "Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems" (6,683) and "A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems" (6,637).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Ecological responses to recent climate change Gian-Reto Walther, Eric Post, Peter Convey et al. · Nature Open access Mar 2002 10,060
2 Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Michael Xavier Kirby, Wolfgang Berger et al. · Science 27 Jul 2001 6,683
3 A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems Benjamin S. Halpern, Shaun Walbridge, Kimberly A. Selkoe et al. · Science Open access 14 Feb 2008 6,637
4 Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg, Peter J. Mumby, Anthony J. Hooten et al. · Science Open access 13 Dec 2007 5,989
5 The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services Edward B. Barbier, Sally D. Hacker, Chris J. Kennedy et al. · Ecological Monographs Open access 14 Oct 2010 5,687
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research done?

The largest centres of Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Townsville (Australia), Paris (France) and Sydney (Australia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Townsville.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 160 works
  2. 2 TownsvilleAustralia 156 works
  3. 3 ParisFrance 128 works
  4. 4 SydneyAustralia 101 works
  5. 5 QingdaoChina 100 works
  6. 6 Mexico CityMexico 92 works
  7. 7 BrisbaneAustralia 84 works
  8. 8 Washington D.C.United States 78 works
  9. 9 PerthAustralia 68 works
  10. 10 GuangzhouChina 68 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. TownsvilleAU · 156.2 works110×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies than the world average.

See Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies on the map

Where is the best place to study Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies?

Among universities, judged by research, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, James Cook University and University of Exeter score highest, combining citation excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 17.61%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →University of ExeterJames Cook UniversityKing Abdullah Univer…The University of Qu…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Citation excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 83.416.1%28.1×53 +35.8%
2James Cook UniversityAustralia 79.918.5%89.8×92 -40.7%
3University of ExeterUnited Kingdom 70.518.6%9.0×26 +3.0%
4The University of QueenslandAustralia 68.815.9%7.8×51 -4.2%
5University of California, Santa BarbaraUnited States 67.621.3%12.1×26 -28.7%
6University of Technology SydneyAustralia 65.318.0%7.4×22 +7.6%
7University of California San DiegoUnited States 62.015.9%5.6×37 -4.7%
8The University of Western AustraliaAustralia 61.815.3%12.0×35 -32.7%
9University of PlymouthUnited Kingdom 61.817.2%22.2×18 +6.8%
10Université Paris Sciences et LettresFrance 61.419.3%6.7×17 +7.8%

Universities only. The score blends citation excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, country by country

Is Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 1% lower than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2021.

still counting19801990200020102020
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 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.030% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies0.031% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies 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.

still counting5%10%15%Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies9.7% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

Questions people ask

Who leads coral reef research?

By volume in 2022-now, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique publishes the most Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.5k and 766 works in 2022-now).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

Discussion

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