Science Explorer Interactive view Map
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. 28.3% 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%
11k
per year above
Top-10% rate
28.3%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+26%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.3k and 651 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 1.3k works
  2. 2 China 651 works
  3. 3 Australia 608 works
  4. 4 Brazil 322 works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 309 works
  6. 6 France 300 works
  7. 7 Italy 257 works
  8. 8 Japan 238 works
  9. 9 India 235 works
  10. 10 Indonesia 229 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: 29.0%China: 14.7%Australia: 13.7%Brazil: 7.3%6 others listed: 35.3%29%largest
United States1,289 · 29.0%China651 · 14.7%Australia608 · 13.7%Brazil322 · 7.3%6 others listed1,569 · 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 2022–2025, James Cook University publishes the most Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research, followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and The University of Queensland.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 James Cook UniversityAustralia 62 works
  2. 2 King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 47 works
  3. 3 The University of QueenslandAustralia 47 works
  4. 4 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 45 works
  5. 5 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 43 works
  6. 6 Australian Institute of Marine ScienceAustralia 43 works
  7. 7 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 34 works
  8. 8 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 33 works
  9. 9 Ocean University of ChinaChina 33 works
  10. 10 The University of Western AustraliaAustralia 31 works

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

The most-cited researchers publishing on Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies include Carlos M. Duarte, Carl Folke and Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg.

  1. 1 Carlos M. Duarte Saudi Arabia 4.1k citations
  2. 2 Carl Folke Sweden 3.2k citations
  3. 3 Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg Australia 2.9k citations
  4. 4 Simon A. Levin United States 2.7k citations
  5. 5 Marti J. Anderson New Zealand 2.4k citations
  6. 6 William J. Sutherland United Kingdom 2.4k citations
  7. 7 Gregory P. Asner United States 2.3k citations

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

Where is Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research done?

The largest centres of Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research in 2022–2025 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, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 145 works
  2. 2 Townsville Australia 136 works
  3. 3 Paris France 112 works
  4. 4 Sydney Australia 92 works
  5. 5 Qingdao China 89 works
  6. 6 Mexico City Mexico 81 works
  7. 7 Brisbane Australia 76 works
  8. 8 Washington D.C. United States 71 works
  9. 9 Guangzhou China 61 works
  10. 10 Perth Australia 60 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. TownsvilleAU · 136.5 works108×
← 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 The University of Western Australia score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 35.64%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →King Abdullah University of Science and Technology: 48, 34.5%James Cook University: 62, 32.8%The University of Western Australia: 31, 36.7%The University of Queensland: 47, 38.0%Nelson Mandela University: 10, 39.0%University of Tasmania: 26, 36.6%University of the Aegean: 8, 40.4%Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University: 12, 32.8%University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: 30, 29.7%University of Exeter: 23, 35.9%The University of Qu…The University of We…King Abdullah Univer…James Cook University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 86.334.5%25.1×48 +242.0%
2 James Cook UniversityAustralia 73.732.8%69.3×62 -0.5%
3 The University of Western AustraliaAustralia 72.936.7%11.7×31 +42.5%
4 The University of QueenslandAustralia 70.438.0%8.6×47 -6.3%
5 Nelson Mandela UniversitySouth Africa 70.239.0%13.3×10 +229.4%
6 University of TasmaniaAustralia 70.036.6%18.1×26 +43.3%
7 University of the AegeanGreece 69.440.4%13.1×8 +216.2%
8 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityJapan 66.332.8%34.7×12 +114.3%
9 University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaUnited States 65.729.7%21.5×30 +40.9%
10 University of ExeterUnited Kingdom 65.735.9%8.1×23 +82.3%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 26% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

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.