Abstract Detail

Conservation Biology

Merritt, Benjamin [1], Philpott, Megan [1], Tunison, Robert [1], Barreiro Sanchez, Jose [1], Tepe, Eric [1], Torres, Maria [1], Culley, Theresa [1].

Receiving proper credit for research in developing countries: A study of co-authorship in plant conservation genetics.

Biodiversity is unevenly distributed worldwide, and in a just world, research involving biodiversity should be distributed in the same pattern. Conservation research is one of the most powerful means to understand biodiversity and biodiversity loss. As genetics becomes a more important component of conservation research, the cost of molecular techniques may become a barrier for researchers in countries with high biodiversity but fewer economic opportunities. To investigate the relationship between biodiversity and publication output in conservation genetics on a global scale, we have analyzed a dataset consisting of published abstracts from the conservation genetic literature obtained from the citation database, Scopus. Our hypothesis is that research productivity represented by the number of authors from a country in published articles in our dataset should be directly correlated with biodiversity. We have included additional economic and demographic factors, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) to investigate the extent to which these other factors may play a role in the relationship. If research productivity in the field of conservation genetics is primarily explained by biodiversity, then we can conclude that economic status does not play a significant role in the conservation genetic literature, and thus costs may not be prohibitive to researchers in conservation science. 

1 - University Of Cincinnati, Department Of Biological Sciences, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, United States

Keywords:
publication
developing countries
conservation genetics
literature review.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: CB1, Conservation Ecology 1
Location: Tucson B/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 11:45 AM
Number: CB1015
Abstract ID:962
Candidate for Awards:None