The 20 Most-Cited Papers in
Environment & Ecology,
1998-2008
Paper Feature
This month, ScienceWatch.com presents a
listing of the top 20 Highly Cited Papers in the field
of Environment & Ecology, as of the third bimonthly
update of
Essential Science IndicatorsSM(January 1, 1998-June 30, 2008). These papers are
the top 20 out of a pool of 2,358 papers comprising the
top 1% ranked by total citation count in this
field.
The Environment & Ecology field includes journals that cover
natural history and interrelated disciplines on:
pure and applied ecology
ecological modeling and engineering
ecotoxicology
evolutionary ecology
environmental contamination and toxicology
environmental health
environmental monitoring and management
environmental technology
environmental geology
soil science and conservation
water resources research and engineering
climate change
biodiversity conservation
The top 20 papers reflect the variety of disciplines taken into
consideration for classification in this field, such as population
genetics, as well as global concerns making headlines, such as climate
change.
This image of
switchgrass is featured in an
interview with
Arthur Ragauskas from the
ScienceWatch.com Special
Topic of
Biofuels.
The most-cited paper in Environment & Ecology over the past decade is
"Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities" (Myers N, et al.,
Nature 403[6772]: 853-8, 24 February 2000), with 1,810 total cites.
This joint effort between the University of Oxford's Green College and
Conservation International helped to identify 25 areas of specific interest
for conservation of a variety of endangered species.
Ranking at #2 is "A simple, fast, and accurate algorithm to estimate large
phylogenies by maximum likelihood" (Guindon S, Gascuel O, Syst.
Biol. 52[5]: 696-704, October 2003), with 1,295 cites. In February of
2005, this paper was named a Fast-Breaking Paper in its field, and we
interviewed authors
Stephane Guindon and Olivier Gascuel about their
PHYML phylogenetic tool.
The third paper, "TCS: A computer program to estimate gene genealogies"
(Clement M, Posada D, Crandall KA, Mol. Ecol. 9[10]: 1657-9,
October 2000), deals with phylogeographics. We have had occasion to speak
with author Keith Crandall about his work in the past.
Coming in at #4 with 1,252 cites is "Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for
PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, for humans and wildlife" (van den Berg M, et al.,
Environ. Health Perspect. 106[12]: 775-92, December 1998). Two years
ago, we spoke with lead author
Prof. Dr. Martin van den Berg about this paper and
its importance to the field.
The focus turns back to population genetics with the paper ranked at #5,
with 1,088 citations: "Statistical confidence for likelihood-based
paternity inference in natural populations" (Marshall TC, et al., Mol.
Ecol. 7[5]: 639-55, May 1998). This study also introduces the world to
the CERVUS dagger software program for studying natural populations.
Wastewater contaminants are the concern of the paper ranked at #6, with
1,034 cites: "Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater
contaminants in US streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance" (Kolpin
DW, et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 36[6]: 1202-11, 15 March 2002).
This paper was a Fast-Breaking Paper in its field in February 2003, at
which time we spoke with lead author
Dana Kolpin about his US Geological Survey group's
study.
The effects of climate change come in at #7, with the paper "Ecological
responses to recent climate change" (Walther GR, et al., Nature
416[6879]: 389-95, 28 March 2002). In the December 2006 Special Topics
analysis on global warming, this paper was #1 among the 20
most-cited papers on the topic over the 1996-2006 period. We spoke with
top-ten-ranked scientist
Eric Post about his involvement in the research.
The review article "Biotic invasions: Causes, epidemiology, global
consequences, and control" (Mack RN, et al., Ecol. Appl. 10[3]:
689-710, June 2000) comes in at #8, with 855 citations.
The ninth article, with 813 citations, is "Historical overfishing and the
recent collapse of coastal ecosystems" (Jackson JBC, et al.,
Science 293[5530]: 629-38, 27 July 2001). One of the coauthors of this
paper,
Dr. Robert Warner, ranked at #6 in our November 2004
Special Topics analysis of
coral reef ecology.
Rounding out the top 10 is the review article, "The genetic legacy of the
quaternary ice ages" (Hewitt G, Nature 405[6789]: 907-13, 22 June
2000), with 799 cites. This paper discusses the changes in the
distributions of living things as a consequence of ice ages.
Coming in at #11 is "A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change
impacts across natural systems" (Parmesan C, Yohe G, Nature
421[6918]: 37-42, 2 January 2003), with 719 citations. Four years ago, this
was a New Hot Paper in the field, and we spoke separately with author
Camille Parmesan and coauthor
Gary Yohe about it.
The paper at #12 with 696 citations, "Predictive habitat distribution
models in ecology"
(Guisan A, Zimmermann NE, Ecol. Model.
135[2-3]: 147-186, 5 December 2000), was a New Hot Paper five years ago.
Other topics covered in the 20 most-cited papers include postglacial
colonization routes in Europe (#13), mycorrhizal fungal diversity (#14),
global biodiversity predictions (#15), measuring species richness (#20),
and DNA-based sexing of birds (#18), as well as estrogenic chemicals (#16),
phosphorous and nitrogen (#17), and other pharmaceutical and personal care
products in wastewater (#19).
The top 20 papers in
Environment & Ecology are listed in full
below:
1. Citations: 1,810
Title: BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS FOR CONSERVATION PRIORITIES
Authors: MYERS N; MITTERMEIER RA; MITTERMEIER CG; DA FONSECA GAB; KENT
J
Source: NATURE 403 (6772): 853-858 FEB 24 2000
Addresses: Univ Oxford Green Coll, Upper Meadow,Old Rd, Oxford OX3 8SZ,
England.
Univ Oxford Green Coll, Oxford OX3 8SZ, England.
Conservat Int, Ctr Appl Biodivers Sci, Washington, DC 20037 USA.
2. Citations: 1,295
Title: A SIMPLE, FAST, AND ACCURATE ALGORITHM TO ESTIMATE LARGE PHYLOGENIES
BY MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD
Authors: GUINDON S; GASCUEL O
Source: SYST BIOL 52 (5): 696-704 OCT 2003
Addresses: CNRS, LIRMM, 161 Rue Ada, F-34392 Montpellier 5, France.
CNRS, LIRMM, F-34392 Montpellier 5, France.
3. Citations: 1,291
Title: TCS: A COMPUTER PROGRAM TO ESTIMATE GENE GENEALOGIES
Authors: CLEMENT M; POSADA D; CRANDALL KA
Source: MOL ECOL 9 (10): 1657-1659 OCT 2000
Addresses: Brigham Young Univ, Dept Zool, 574 Widtsoe Bldg, Provo, UT 84602
USA.
Brigham Young Univ, Dept Zool, Provo, UT 84602 USA.
Brigham Young Univ, Dept Comp Sci, Provo, UT 84602 USA.
4. Citations: 1,252
Title: TOXIC EQUIVALENCY FACTORS (TEFS) FOR PCBS, PCDDS, PCDFS FOR HUMANS
AND WILDLIFE
Authors: VAN DEN BERG M; BIRNBAUM L; BOSVELD ATC; BRUNSTROM B; COOK P;
FEELEY M; GIESY JP; HANBERG A; HASEGAWA R; KENNEDY SW; KUBIAK T; LARSEN JC;
VAN LEEUWEN FXR; LIEM AKD; NOLT C; PETERSON RE; POELLINGER L; SAFE S;
SCHRENK D; TILLITT D; TYSKLIND M; YOUNES M; WAERN F; ZACHAREWSKI T
Source: ENVIRON HEALTH PERSPECT 106 (12): 775-792 DEC 1998
Addresses: WHO, European Ctr Environm & Hlth, Bilthoven Div, POB 10,
NL-3730 AA De Bilt, Netherlands.
WHO, European Ctr Environm & Hlth, Bilthoven Div, NL-3730 AA De Bilt,
Netherlands.
Univ Utrecht, Toxicol Res Inst, NL-3508 TD Utrecht, Netherlands.
US EPA, Expt Toxicol Div, Natl Hlth & Environm Effects Res Lab, Res
Triangle Pk, NC 27711 USA.
DLO, Inst Forestry & Nat Res, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands.
Uppsala Univ, Dept Environm Toxicol, Uppsala, Sweden.
US EPA, Mid Continent Ecol Div, Duluth, MN 55804 USA.
Hlth Canada, Toxicol Evaluat Sect, Bur Chem Safety, Ottawa, ON K1A 0L2,
Canada.
Michigan State Univ, Dept Wildlife & Fisheries, E Lansing, MI 48824
USA.
Karolinska Inst, Inst Environm Med, S-10401 Stockholm, Sweden.
Natl Inst Hlth Sci, Div Toxicol, Tokyo 158, Japan.
Environm Canada, Canadian Wildlife Serv, Natl Wildlife Res Ctr, Hull, PQ,
Canada.
US Fish & Wildlife Serv, Div Environm Contaminants, Arlington, VA 22203
USA.
Minist Hlth, Natl Food Agcy Denmark, Inst Toxicol, Soborg, Denmark.
Natl Inst Publ Hlth & Environm Protect, Lab Organ Analyt Chem, NL-3720
BA Bilthoven, Netherlands.
US EPA, Off Sci Policy, Washington, DC 20460 USA.
Univ Wisconsin, Sch Pharm, Madison, WI 53706 USA.
Karolinska Inst, Mol Biol Lab, Dept Cellular & Mol Biol, Stockholm,
Sweden.
Texas A&M Univ, College Stn, TX 77843 USA.
Univ Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
US Geol Survey, Environm & Contaminants Res Ctr, Biol Resource Div,
Columbia, MO 65201 USA.
Umea Univ, Inst Environm Chem, S-90187 Umea, Sweden.
WHO, Programme Promot Chem Safety, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
Michigan State Univ, Dept Biochem, E Lansing, MI 48824 USA.
6. Citations: 1,034
Title: PHARMACEUTICALS, HORMONES, AND OTHER ORGANIC WASTEWATER CONTAMINANTS
IN US STREAMS, 1999-2000: A NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE
Authors: KOLPIN DW; FURLONG ET; MEYER MT; THURMAN EM; ZAUGG SD; BARBER LB;
BUXTON HT
Source: ENVIRON SCI TECHNOL 36 (6): 1202-1211 MAR 15 2002
Addresses: US Geol Survey, 400 S Clinton St,Box 1230, Iowa City, IA 52244
USA.
US Geol Survey, Iowa City, IA 52244 USA.
US Geol Survey, Denver, CO 80225 USA.
US Geol Survey, Ocala, FL 34474 USA.
US Geol Survey, Lawrence, KS 66049 USA.
US Geol Survey, Boulder, CO 80303 USA.
US Geol Survey, W Trenton, NJ 08628 USA.
7. Citations: 859
Title: ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE
Authors: WALTHER GR; POST E; CONVEY P; MENZEL A; PARMESAN C; BEEBEE TJC;
FROMENTIN JM; HOEGH-GULDBERG O; BAIRLEIN F
Source: NATURE 416 (6879): 389-395 MAR 28 2002
Addresses: Univ Hannover, Inst Geobot, Nienburger Str 17, D-30167 Hannover,
Germany.
Univ Hannover, Inst Geobot, D-30167 Hannover, Germany.
Penn State Univ, Dept Biol, Mueller Lab 208, University Pk, PA 16802
USA.
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England.
Tech Univ Munich, Dept Ecol, D-85354 Freising Weihenstephan, Germany.
Univ Texas, Patterson Labs 141, Austin, TX 78712 USA.
Univ Sussex, Sch Biol Sci, Brighton BN1 9QG, E Sussex, England.
IFREMER, Ctr Halieut Mediterraneen & Trop, F-34203 Sete, France.
Univ Queensland, Ctr Marine Studies, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
Inst Vogelforsch Vogelwarte Helgoland, D-26386 Wilhelmshaven,
Germany.
8. Citations: 855
Title: BIOTIC INVASIONS: CAUSES, EPIDEMIOLOGY, GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES, AND
CONTROL
Authors: MACK RN; SIMBERLOFF D; LONSDALE WM; EVANS H; CLOUT M; BAZZAZ
FA
Source: ECOL APPL 10 (3): 689-710 JUN 2000
Addresses: Washington State Univ, Sch Biol Sci, Pullman, WA 99164
USA.
Univ Tennessee, Dept Ecol & Evolut Biol, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA.
CSIRO Entomol, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
CRC Weed Management Syst, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
UK Ctr Ascot, CABI BIOSCI, Ascot SL5 7TA, Berks, England.
Univ Auckland, Sch Biol Sci, Auckland 1, New Zealand.
Harvard Univ, Biol Labs, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
9. Citations: 813
Title: HISTORICAL OVERFISHING AND THE RECENT COLLAPSE OF COASTAL
ECOSYSTEMS
Authors: JACKSON JBC; KIRBY MX; BERGER WH; BJORNDAL KA; BOTSFORD LW;
BOURQUE BJ; BRADBURY RH; COOKE R; ERLANDSON J; ESTES JA; HUGHES TP; KIDWELL
S; LANGE CB; LENIHAN HS; PANDOLFI JM; PETERSON CH; STENECK RS; TEGNER MJ;
WARNER RR
Source: SCIENCE 293 (5530): 629-638 JUL 27 2001
Addresses: Univ Calif San Diego, Scripps Inst Oceanog, La Jolla, CA 92093
USA.
Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Ctr Trop Paleoecol & Archeol, Balboa,
Panama.
Natl Ctr Ecol Anal & Synth, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 USA.
Univ Florida, Archie Carr Ctr Sea Turtle Res, Gainesville, FL 32611
USA.
Univ Florida, Dept Zool, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA.
Univ Calif Davis, Dept Wildlife Fish & Conservat Biol, Davis, CA 95616
USA.
Bates Coll, Dept Anthropol, Lewiston, ME 04240 USA.
Australian Natl Univ, Ctr Resource & Environm Studies, Canberra, ACT
0200, Australia.
Univ Oregon, Dept Anthropol, Eugene, OR 97403 USA.
Univ Calif Santa Cruz, US Geol Survey, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA.
James Cook Univ N Queensland, Dept Marine Biol, Ctr Coral Reef Biodivers,
Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
Univ Chicago, Dept Geophys Sci, Chicago, IL 60637 USA.
Univ N Carolina, Inst Marine Sci, Morehead City, NC 28557 USA.
Smithsonian Inst, Natl Museum Nat Hist, Dept Paleobiol, Washington, DC
20560 USA.
Univ Maine, Darling Marine Ctr, Sch Marine Sci, Walpole, ME 04573
USA.
Univ Calif Santa Barbara, Dept Ecol Evolut & Marine Biol, Santa
Barbara, CA 93106 USA.
10. Citations: 799
Title: THE GENETIC LEGACY OF THE QUATERNARY ICE AGES
Authors: HEWITT G
Source: NATURE 405 (6789): 907-913 JUN 22 2000
Addresses: Univ E Anglia, Sch Biol Sci, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norfolk,
England.
11. Citations: 719
Title: A GLOBALLY COHERENT FINGERPRINT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ACROSS
NATURAL SYSTEMS
Authors: PARMESAN C; YOHE G
Source: NATURE 421 (6918): 37-42 JAN 2 2003
Addresses: Univ Texas, Patterson Labs 141, Austin, TX 78712 USA.
Wesleyan Univ, Publ Affairs Ctr 238, Middletown, CT 06459 USA.
12. Citations: 696
Title: PREDICTIVE HABITAT DISTRIBUTION MODELS IN ECOLOGY
Authors: GUISAN A; ZIMMERMANN NE
Source: ECOL MODEL 135 (2-3): 147-186 DEC 5 2000
Addresses: Swiss Ctr Faunal Cartog, Terreaux 14, CH-2000 Neuchatel,
Switzerland.
Swiss Ctr Faunal Cartog, CH-2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Swiss Fed Res Inst WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
14. Citations: 641
Title: MYCORRHIZAL FUNGAL DIVERSITY DETERMINES PLANT BIODIVERSITY,
ECOSYSTEM VARIABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY
Authors: VAN DER HEIJDEN MGA; KLIRONOMOS JN; URSIC M; MOUTOGLIS P;
STREITWOLF-ENGEL R; BOLLER T; WIEMKEN A; SANDERS IR
Source: NATURE 396 (6706): 69-72 NOV 5 1998
Addresses: Univ Basel, Inst Bot, Hebelstr 1, CH-4056 Basel,
Switzerland.
Univ Basel, Inst Bot, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Univ Guelph, Dept Bot, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Premier Tech Riviere du Loup, Quebec City, PQ G5R 4C9, Canada.
15. Citations: 636
Title: BIODIVERSITY - GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY SCENARIOS FOR THE YEAR 2100
Authors: SALA OE; CHAPIN FS; ARMESTO JJ; BERLOW E; BLOOMFIELD J; DIRZO R;
HUBER-SANWALD E; HUENNEKE LF; JACKSON RB; KINZIG A; LEEMANS R; LODGE DM;
MOONEY HA; OESTERHELD M; POFF NL; SYKES MT; WALKER BH; WALKER M; WALL
DH
Source: SCIENCE 287 (5459): 1770-1774 MAR 10 2000
Addresses: Univ Buenos Aires, Dept Ecol, Ave San Martin 4453, RA-1417
Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina.
Univ Buenos Aires, Dept Ecol, RA-1417 Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina.
Univ Buenos Aires, Inst Invest Fisiol & Ecol Vinculadas Agr, Fac Agron,
RA-1417 Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina.
Univ Alaska, Inst Arctic Biol, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA.
Univ Alaska, Inst No Forest Cooperat Res, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA.
Univ Chile, Fac Ciencias, Santiago, Chile.
Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Integrat Biol, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.
Environm Def Fund, New York, NY 10010 USA.
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Ecol, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico.
Tech Univ Munich, Lehrstuhl Grunlandlehre, D-85350 Munich, Germany.
New Mexico State Univ, Dept Biol, Las Cruces, NM 88003 USA.
Duke Univ, Dept Bot, Durham, NC 27708 USA.
Arizona State Univ, Dept Biol, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA.
Natl Inst Publ Hlth & Environm, NL-3720 BA Bilthoven,
Netherlands.
Univ Notre Dame, Dept Biol, Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA.
Stanford Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Stanford, CA 94305 USA.
Colorado State Univ, Dept Biol, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA.
Colorado State Univ, Nat Resource Ecol Lab, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA.
Univ Lund, Ekologihuset, S-22362 Lund, Sweden.
Commonwealth Sci & Ind Res Org, Div Wildlife & Ecol, Canberra, ACT,
Australia.
16. Citations: 635
Title: IDENTIFICATION OF ESTROGENIC CHEMICALS IN STW EFFLUENT. 1. CHEMICAL
FRACTIONATION AND IN VITRO BIOLOGICAL SCREENING
Authors: DESBROW C; ROUTLEDGE EJ; BRIGHTY GC; SUMPTER JP; WALDOCK M
Source: ENVIRON SCI TECHNOL 32 (11): 1549-1558 JUN 1 1998
Addresses: Brunel Univ, Dept Biol & Biochem, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, Middx,
England.
Ctr Environm Fisheries & Aquaculture Sci, Burnham Lab, Burnham On
Crouch CM0 8HA, Essex, England.
Natl Ctr Ecotoxicol & Hazardous Subst, Environm Agcy, Wallingford OX10
8BD, Oxon, England.
17. Citations: 620
Title: NONPOINT POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS WITH PHOSPHORUS AND
NITROGEN
Authors: CARPENTER SR; CARACO NF; CORRELL DL; HOWARTH RW; SHARPLEY AN;
SMITH VH
Source: ECOL APPL 8 (3): 559-568 AUG 1998
Addresses: Univ Wisconsin, Ctr Limnol, 680 N Pk St, Madison, WI 53706
USA.
Univ Wisconsin, Ctr Limnol, Madison, WI 53706 USA.
Inst Ecosyst Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545 USA.
Smithsonian Environm Res Ctr, Edgewater, MD 21037 USA.
Cornell Univ, Ecol & Systemat Sect, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA.
ARS, USDA, Pasture Syst & Watershed Management Res Lab, University Pk,
PA 16802 USA.
Univ Kansas, Dept Systemat & Ecol, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA.
18. Citations: 618
Title: A DNA TEST TO SEX MOST BIRDS
Authors: GRIFFITHS R; DOUBLE MC; ORR K; DAWSON RJG
Source: MOL ECOL 7 (8): 1071-1075 AUG 1998
Addresses: Univ Glasgow, Mol Lab, DEEB, Graham Kerr Bldg, Glasgow G12 8QQ,
Lanark, Scotland.
Univ Glasgow, Mol Lab, DEEB, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Lanark, Scotland.
Australian Natl Univ, Div Bot & Zool, Canberra, ACT 0200,
Australia.
19. Citations: 613
Title: PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT:
AGENTS OF SUBTLE CHANGE?
Authors: DAUGHTON CG; TERNES TA
Source: ENVIRON HEALTH PERSPECT 107: 907-938 Suppl. 6 DEC 1999
Addresses: US EPA, Environm Chem Branch, Div Environm Sci, ORD NERL, 944 E
Harmon Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89119 USA.
US EPA, Environm Chem Branch, Div Environm Sci, ORD NERL, Las Vegas, NV
89119 USA.
ESWE Inst Water Res & Water Technol, Wiesbaden, Germany.
20. Citations: 607
Title: QUANTIFYING BIODIVERSITY: PROCEDURES AND PITFALLS IN THE MEASUREMENT
AND COMPARISON OF SPECIES RICHNESS
Authors: GOTELLI NJ; COLWELL RK
Source: ECOL LETT 4 (4): 379-391 JUL 2001
Addresses: Univ Vermont, Dept Biol, Burlington, VT 05405 USA.
Univ Connecticut, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Storrs, CT 06269 USA.
Full citation details of all of these papers can be seen in Essential
Science Indicators.
Keywords: pure and applied ecology, ecological modeling and
engineering, ecotoxicology, evolutionary ecology, environmental
contamination and toxicology, environmental health, environmental
monitoring and management, environmental technology, environmental
geology, soil science and conservation, water resources research and
engineering, climate change, biodiversity conservation.