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Topic · Ecology

Ecology and biodiversity studies

Ecology and biodiversity studies is a research topic within Ecology. Science Explorer counts 12k research works in it since 1950. 10.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the ecological impact of beavers (Castor fiber and Castor canadensis) on various ecosystems, focusing on their role as ecosystem engineers, the influence of beaver dams on biodiversity and habitat restoration, and the geomorphological and hydrological effects of beaver activities. The papers also investigate the interactions between beavers and other species, such as fish, amphibians, and waterbirds.

  • Beaver Dams
  • Ecosystem Engineering
  • Habitat Restoration
  • Biodiversity
  • Riparian Areas
  • Wetland Development
  • Stream Ecology
  • Invasive Species
  • Geomorphological Effects
  • Species Richness
Research works
12k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.4%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+20%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
30% of the 10 largest, 2022-now

Which countries lead Ecology and biodiversity studies research?

By volume, the United States and Russia publish the most (423 and 390 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 423 works
  2. 2 Russia 390 works
  3. 3 Canada 104 works
  4. 4 Poland 88 works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 87 works
  6. 6 China 85 works
  7. 7 Australia 65 works
  8. 8 Italy 63 works
  9. 9 France 58 works
  10. 10 Germany 55 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: 29.8%Russia: 27.5%Canada: 7.3%Poland: 6.2%6 others listed: 29.1%30%largest
United States423 · 29.8%Russia390 · 27.5%Canada104 · 7.3%Poland88 · 6.2%6 others listed413 · 29.1%

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

Which institutions lead Ecology and biodiversity studies research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Ecology and biodiversity studies research, followed by All-Russian Research Institute Fisheries and Oceanography and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Who are the leading researchers in Ecology and biodiversity studies?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Ecology and biodiversity studies include Rob Knight, Ronald Klein and F. Stuart Chapin.

  1. 1 Rob Knight United States 468k citations
  2. 2 Ronald Klein United States 214k citations
  3. 3 F. Stuart Chapin United States 185k citations
  4. 4 Carl Folke Sweden 182k citations
  5. 5 Stephen R. Carpenter United States 165k citations
  6. 6 Philip Bowden Mitchell Australia 140k 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 Ecology and biodiversity studies?

The most cited paper in Ecology and biodiversity studies is "Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges" (David Dudgeon, Angela H. Arthington, Mark O. Gessner et al., 2005), with 8,498 citations. Next come "Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores" (3,722) and "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research" (2,891).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges David Dudgeon, Angela H. Arthington, Mark O. Gessner et al. · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society Review 12 Dec 2005 8,498
2 Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores William J. Ripple, James A. Estes, Robert L. Beschta et al. · Science 9 Jan 2014 3,722
3 Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research William L. Gannon, Robert S. Sikes · Journal of Mammalogy 24 May 2007 2,891
4 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ORGANISMS AS PHYSICAL ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS Clive G. Jones, John Hartley Lawton, Moshe Shachak · Ecology Oct 1997 2,344
5 Riverine flood plains: present state and future trends Klement Tockner, Jack A. Stanford · Environmental Conservation Open access Sep 2002 2,144
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Ecology and biodiversity studies research done?

The largest centres of Ecology and biodiversity studies research in 2022-now are Moscow (Russia), Beijing (China), Washington D.C. (United States) and Novosibirsk (Russia).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 MoscowRussia 115 works
  2. 2 BeijingChina 29 works
  3. 3 Washington D.C.United States 28 works
  4. 4 NovosibirskRussia 25 works
  5. 5 Saint PetersburgRussia 21 works
  6. 6 WarsawPoland 21 works
  7. 7 YekaterinburgRussia 20 works
  8. 8 RomeItaly 19 works
  9. 9 PetrozavodskRussia 17 works
  10. 10 ParisFrance 16 works
See Ecology and biodiversity studies on the map

Where is the best place to study Ecology and biodiversity studies?

Among universities, judged by research, Weatherford College, Lomonosov Moscow State University and Aarhus University 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%5%10%mean 6.05%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Aarhus UniversityWeatherford CollegeLomonosov Moscow Sta…Accademia Albertina …
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.

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
1Weatherford CollegeUnited States 68.19.0%4.0×10 +413.7%
2Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 52.22.6%7.1×11 +7.3%
3Aarhus UniversityDenmark 43.310.2%5.2×8 -8.3%
4Accademia Albertina delle Belle ArtiItaly 30.62.4%909.0×9 -

Universities only. The score blends 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 Ecology and biodiversity studies, country by country

Is Ecology and biodiversity studies research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 20% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Ecology and biodiversity studies.

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 Ecology and biodiversity studies as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.010% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Ecology and biodiversity studies0.010% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Ecology and biodiversity 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%Ecology and biodiversity studies10.3% 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 biodiversity research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Ecology and biodiversity studies research, followed by All-Russian Research Institute Fisheries and Oceanography and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. By volume, the United States and Russia publish the most (423 and 390 works in 2022-now).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

Discussion

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