Publications

Communicating Research

Scientists around the world publish their research about ecology and environmental science in ESA’s scientific, peer-reviewed journals: Ecology, Ecological Monographs, Ecological Applications, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, and the open-access journal Ecosphere. In addition, the ESA’s quarterly publication The Bulletin covers ecological events, news, and reports of interest to the ecological community. The Bulletin also includes commentary and opinion on ecological issues, as well as the official record of the business of the Ecological Society of America.

As the largest journal in the ESA portfolio, Ecosphere published more than 400 articles in 2017. Our flagship journal Ecology, founded in 1920, continued its solid publishing history with 375 articles. Ecological Applications and Ecological Monographs published 205 and 36 articles, respectively. This year, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment launched the much-anticipated “Exploring Ecological Careers” series. Each open-access article highlights a different non-academic career, from jobs in NGOs and museums to a career as a science writer or policy advisor.

The ESA’s publishing partnership with John Wiley & Sons, begun in 2016, has resulted in broader distribution of our journals and dramatically higher online usage. In 2017, we also saw radically shorter publication times for all our journals – reducing the time to publication by 50% on average – and production windows continue to narrow as we refine our workflows. For our open-access journal Ecosphere, articles are generally published within 30 days of acceptance.

ESA’s Family of Journals

ESA Hub Home Page – Wiley Online Library

Journal Impact Factors and Rankings

In 2016, the Impact Factors (IF) of all ESA journals remained strong. The Impact Factor is an important metric of prestige and value of our publications to researchers, academics, and general scientific audiences worldwide.

Ecology Category

IF           Journal Name (Rank out of 153 journals)
8.759     Ecological Monographs (5)
8.039     Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (7)
4.809     Ecology (20)
4.314     Ecological Applications (24)
2.49       Ecosphere (60)

Environmental Science Category

IF            Journal Name (Rank out of 229 journals)
8.039     Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (6)
4.314     Ecological Applications (31)

In The News

Throughout the year, ESA promotes research articles through writing press releases and working with universities, organizations, and federal agencies that also work to garner press. ESA’s in the news page regularly posts news articles resulting from journal articles.

Ecological Applications

Wakefield, E.D. et al. (2017)

Breeding density, fine-scale tracking, and large-scale modeling reveal the regional distribution of four seabird species

DOI: 10.1002/eap.1591

Seabirds fitted with GPS lead scientists to feeding ‘hotspots’ The Times 7/7/2017

Satellite-tracking study gives new insights into where seabirds find food Irish Examiner 7/7/2017 UK and Irish seabirds search area size of Spain for food New Scientist 7/7/2017 Image Source: John Finn https://www.flickr.com

Monroe, A.P. et al. (2017)

Patterns in Greater Sage-grouse population dynamics correspond with public grazing records at broad scales

DOI: 10.1002/eap.1512

Study: Livestock grazing can benefit struggling bird species Billings Gazette 3/26/2017

  Image Source: Pacific Southwest Region USFWS www.flickr.com

Ecological Monographs

Guillaument, Alban et al. (2017)

Altitudinal migration and the future of an iconic Hawaiian honeycreeper in response to climate change and management

DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1253

Scientists Evaluate Ways to Save Hawaiian Honeycreeper Maui Now 4/11/2017

Rare honeycreepers fighting decline West Hawaii Today 4/12/2017

  Image Source: Eben Paxton, U.S. Geological Survey. Public domain.

Ecosphere

Mateo-Vega, Javier et al. (2017)

Full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in forest monitoring for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+): trial in Panama’s Darién

DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1635

How Scientists And Indigenous Groups Can Team Up to Protect Forests and Climate Smithsonian Magazine 5/3/2017 Indigenous peoples, forest conservation and climate change: a decade of engagement The World Bank 5/4/2017   Image Source: World Bank

Swetnam, T.L. et al. (2017)

Topographically driven differences in energy and water constrain climatic control on forest carbon sequestration

DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1797

New study: Mountain forests store carbon better than flatland forests Arizona Daily Star 7/29/2017

  Image Source:  Boulder Creek CZO

Adams, Megan S. et al. (2017)

Intrapopulation diversity in isotopic niche over landscapes: Spatial patterns inform conservation of bear–salmon systems

DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1843

Bears, their hair and their fishy fare: Study gives new insight into grizzlies’ salmon diets The Globe and Mail 6/23/2017   New study maps out salmon hotspots across B.C. for bears CBS News 6/22/2017

Image Source: Jamen Rhodes

Ecology 

Johns, J.W. et al. (2017)

Worldwide hemisphere-dependent lean in Cook pines

DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1850

The strange Cook pine trees that always lean towards the equator New Scientist 6/2/2017

Why Do The Strange Cook Pine Trees Lean Toward The Equator? Study Reveals Science World Report 6/5/2017

Image Source: Deb Nystrom https://www.flickr.com/photos/stella12/32862451313/

McGowan, J.A. et al. (2017)

Predicting coastal algal blooms in southern California

DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1804

Southern California: Why do red tides happen? International Business Times 3/14/2017 Chaos theory may help predict red tides Inside Science 5/22/2017 Image Source: Mike www.flickr.com

Khelifa, Rassim (2017)

Faking death to avoid male coercion: extreme sexual conflict resolution in a dragonfly

DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1781

Female dragonflies fake death to avoid males harassing them for sex Newsweek 5/28/2017 Female dragonflies fake sudden death to avoid male advances New Scientist  5/27/2017 Female dragonflies play dead to get rid of aggressive males NY Post 5/1/2017 Why female dragonflies go to extreme lengths to avoid sex National Geographic 5/1/2017 Image Source: USFWSmidwest

Frontiers

Galetti, Mauro et al. (2016)

Liquid lunch – vampire bats feed on invasive feral pigs and other ungulates

DOI: 10.1002/fee.1431

Brazil’s invasive pigs are bad enough. But now, they’re feeding rabid vampire bats Washington Post 11/4/2016

Image Source: Valerie Helms-Breedlove

Delibes, Miquel et al. (2017)

Tree-climbing goats disperse seeds during rumination

DOI: 10.1002/fee.1488

Tree-climbing goats spit out and disperse valuable argan seeds New Scientist 5/25/2017

  Image Source: H Garrido/EBD-CSIC

Treves, Adrian et al. (2016)

Predator control should not be a shot in the dark

DOI: 10.1002/fee.1312

The Case for Mass Slaughter of Predators Just Got Weaker National Geographic 9/1/2016

Press Release: Study Debunks Theory That Killing Predators Reduces Livestock Losses Center for Biological Diversity 9/1/2016   Image Source: MacNeil Lyons, National Park Service, USFWSmidwest www.flickr.com

Green, Stephanie J. et al. (2016)

Oil sands and the marine environment: current knowledge and future challenges

DOI: 10.1002/fee.1446

Bitumen from the oilsands could impact marine ecosystems in 15 ways, scientists say. Vice 12/22/2016 Scientists just found 15 ways Alberta’s oilsands sector can alter oceans National Observer (Canada) 12/20/2016   Image Source: Michael Collier

Social Media

In 2016-2017, Ecosphere, Ecology, Ecological Applications, Ecological Monographs, and the Bulletin joined Frontiers on Twitter, generating daily updates on their latest publications.

Frontiers Focus

Browse Frontiers Focus posts on ESA Ecotone

Authors of paper published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment are invited to write lay summaries and to create videos, animations, photo albums and more to accompany their paper. Posted to the ESA Facebook page and ESA’s blog, Ecotone, these accessible, public-friendly pieces are intended to spread the word about the cool science in ESA Frontiers to as broad an audience as possible. Frontiers authors published 18 lay summaries this year in conjunction with the Public Affairs Office.

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS ARE ALSO HOTSPOTS OF INVASIONInvasion hotspots for reptiles and amphibians appear to be more…

Posted by Ecological Society of America on Friday, October 28, 2016

We are constantly being bombarded with negative visions of the future, which may inhibit our ability to move towards a…

Posted by Ecological Society of America on Friday, October 14, 2016

“Pirate” evokes images of legendary figures from the days of the great tall-masted sailing galleons, like Captain Henry…

Posted by Ecological Society of America on Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Publications Staff

Director: Steven Sayre
Peer Review Specialist: Jane Bain
Peer Review Specialist: Heather Carlo
Peer Review Manager: Ellen Cotter
Peer Review Manager: Anne Marie Whelan
Peer Review Assistant: Sarah Schneider

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Staff

Editor in Chief: Sue Silver
Senior Editor: Peter Mooreside
Assistant Editor: Heidi Swanson