%0 Journal Article
%T Publication trends of natural history and field studies in herpetology
%A Malcolm L. McCallum
%A Jamie L. McCallum
%J Herpetological Conservation and Biology
%D 2006
%I Herpetological Conservation and Biology
%X .¡ªAlthough natural history studies provide important information on the life histories of amphibians and reptiles,their publication has gradually declined over recent decades. We compared publication of natural history and total articles inHerpetologica and Journal of Herpetology over the lives of these two journals. We analyzed data using trends analysis and theindividual trends with regression techniques to describe changes in publication frequency. In Herpetologica, the number ofnatural history articles increased from 1936 through the 1960s, but these manuscripts were often short notes and isolatedobservations. The number of total publications and of natural history publications remained stable through the late 1960s.Although the total number of articles published in Herpetologica has declined in more recent times, the relative number of lifehistory publications has dropped much faster than the total production. Both the numbers of natural history articles and allarticles increased since the founding of Journal of Herpetology, but natural history articles have dropped substantially sincethe mid-1990s. When combining publishing trends for both journals, there was an obvious decrease in the proportion ofnatural history articles. Explanations for these reductions are complex but may include less grant funding, editorial decisions,additional competition from other journals, and the rise of molecular biology and genetic studies. Many of the ¡®naturalhistory¡¯ papers may have migrated to regional journals, foreign outlets, or one of many new specialized journals.
%K Herpetological Conservation and Biology
%U http://www.herpconbio.org/volume_1/issue_1/McCallum_McCallum_2006.pdf