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Tardigrade Biology and Ecology

Tardigrade Biology and Ecology is a research topic within Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics. Science Explorer counts 1.9k research works in it since 1950. 10.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the adaptations of tardigrades, also known as water bears, to extreme environments such as desiccation, space exposure, and high radiation. It covers topics such as anhydrobiosis, genomic adaptations, oxidative stress, and the role of specific molecules like LEA proteins and trehalose in their survival. The research sheds light on the remarkable resilience of tardigrades and their potential applications in medicine and astrobiology.

  • Tardigrades
  • Anhydrobiosis
  • Desiccation Tolerance
  • Cryptobiosis
  • Extreme Environments
  • Genomic Adaptations
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Space Exposure
  • LEA Proteins
  • Trehalose
Research works
1.9k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
190
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+20%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
28% of the 10 largest, 2022-now

Which countries lead Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research?

By volume, the United States and Poland publish the most (76 and 39 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 76 works
  2. 2 Poland 39 works
  3. 3 Russia 31 works
  4. 4 China 27 works
  5. 5 Japan 26 works
  6. 6 India 19 works
  7. 7 Germany 18 works
  8. 8 Italy 17 works
  9. 9 France 13 works
  10. 10 Ukraine 11 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: 27.7%Poland: 14.0%Russia: 11.3%China: 9.9%6 others listed: 37.1%28%largest
United States76 · 27.7%Poland39 · 14.0%Russia31 · 11.3%China27 · 9.9%6 others listed103 · 37.1%

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

Which institutions lead Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research, followed by Polish Academy of Sciences and Jagiellonian University.

Who are the leading researchers in Tardigrade Biology and Ecology?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Tardigrade Biology and Ecology include Vladimir Nikolaevich Uversky.

  1. 1 Vladimir Nikolaevich Uversky United States 110k 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 Tardigrade Biology and Ecology?

The most cited paper in Tardigrade Biology and Ecology is "Firefly luciferase gene: structure and expression in mammalian cells." (Jeffrey R. de Wet, Keith V. Wood, M. DeLuca et al., 1987), with 3,094 citations. Next come "Organic osmolytes as compatible, metabolic and counteracting cytoprotectants in high osmolarity and other stresses" (1,878) and "Evidence for a clade of nematodes, arthropods and other moulting animals" (1,620).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Firefly luciferase gene: structure and expression in mammalian cells. Jeffrey R. de Wet, Keith V. Wood, M. DeLuca et al. · Molecular and Cellular Biology Open access Feb 1987 3,094
2 Organic osmolytes as compatible, metabolic and counteracting cytoprotectants in high osmolarity and other stresses Paul H. Yancey · Journal of Experimental Biology Open access 25 Jul 2005 1,878
3 Evidence for a clade of nematodes, arthropods and other moulting animals Anna Marie A. Aguinaldo, James M. Turbeville, Lawrence S. Linford et al. · Nature May 1997 1,620
4 Preservation of Membranes in Anhydrobiotic Organisms: The Role of Trehalose John H. Crowe, Lois M. Crowe, Dennis Chapman · Science 17 Feb 1984 1,512
5 Mechanisms of plant desiccation tolerance Folkert A. Hoekstra, Elena A. Golovina, Julia Buitink · Trends in Plant Science ReviewOpen access Sep 2001 1,449
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research done?

The largest centres of Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research in 2022-now are Krakow (Poland), Poznań (Poland), Moscow (Russia) and Tokyo (Japan).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 KrakowPoland 18 works
  2. 2 PoznańPoland 10 works
  3. 3 MoscowRussia 10 works
  4. 4 TokyoJapan 9 works
  5. 5 Chapel HillUnited States 9 works
  6. 6 Saint PetersburgRussia 9 works
  7. 7 BeijingChina 6 works
  8. 8 Iligan CityPhilippines 5 works
  9. 9 MonsBelgium 5 works
  10. 10 Mexico CityMexico 5 works
See Tardigrade Biology and Ecology on the map

Where is the best place to study Tardigrade Biology and Ecology?

Among universities, judged by research, Jagiellonian University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań 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.

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
1Jagiellonian UniversityPoland 80.013.0%40.0×9 -45.7%
2University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 40.211.8%14.0×9 -7.1%
3Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznańPoland 3.77.1%60.3×9 -30.3%

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 Tardigrade Biology and Ecology, country by country

Is Tardigrade Biology and Ecology research growing?

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

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 Tardigrade Biology and Ecology as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0013% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%0.0060%Tardigrade Biology and Ecology0.0022% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Tardigrade Biology and Ecology 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%Tardigrade Biology and Ecology9.9% 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.

Discussion

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