Shifting sands: how coastal protection affects unseen beach life

Sand nourishments are routinely applied coastal protection measures that have a significant impact on meiofauna communities.

Guest blog post by Iryna Kapshyna, Gritta Veit-Köhler, Leon Hoffman and Sahar Khodami.

During a relaxing beach vacation, most people probably give little thought to whether the beach would still be there if it was not regularly replenished.

In fact, sand nourishment is a common and frequently used coastal protection measure whereby sand is sucked up from the seabed by a flushing ship, transported to the coast, washed up and spread with bulldozers.

An infographic showing different levels of sand on a beach during the sand nourishment process.
Beach extent before and its changes after sand nourishment: Immediately before the sand nourishment (T0, beige); After the sand nourishment the beach reached its maximum extent (T1, burgundy); Two more sampling dates (T2 and T3, dark and light pink).

Due to continuous erosion – the removal of sand by storms, waves and currents – sand nourishment has to be repeated regularly. Otherwise, uncontrolled erosion would mean the loss of beaches, shore areas, coastal cliffs and dunes.

But, while they are important, coastal protection measures such as sand nourishments incur high costs and often lead to the disturbance of ecosystems.

In a study published in the open-access journal Metabarcoding & Metagenomics, A research team from Senckenberg am Meer in Wilhelmshaven show how such disturbances and the subsequent recovery can be monitored efficiently and reliably.

At Ahrenshoop on the Baltic Sea, researchers investigated the effects of sand nourishment on the meiofauna – organisms less than one millimeter in size – and found significant results.

Two women collecting sand samples on a beach.,
We took a total of 246 sediment samples for the investigation of meiofauna from the beach at Ahrenshoop and analysed them in the laboratory in Wilhelmshaven. Photo: Leon Hoffman

“State-of-the-art genetic methods and the traditional method of identifying and counting the animals under the microscope show the same result. The communities of meiofauna changed drastically after the sand was washed up and slowly recovered over the course of a year.”

Project coordinator, Dr Gritta Veit-Köhler.

Immediately after the impact, mites (Acari) and annelid worms (Annelida) had almost completely disappeared from the swash zone, copepods (Copepoda) declined significantly, while the number of flatworms (Platyhelminthes) increased.

Meiofauna organisms are the most numerous animals on the seabed and play an important role in the food webs there. They are well suited as ‘bioindicators’ to detect and study environmental impacts and various forms of ecosystem disturbance, including those caused by humans. Due to their small body size, ubiquity and large numbers, their communities can be studied with small sample sizes.

Over a period of one and a half years, the researchers took and analysed a total of 246 sand samples from the beach-water interface.

“Using the classic taxonomic method, we identified 27,445 individuals under the microscope, which we assigned to ten higher taxonomic groups such as nematodes and copepods. But it was only the genetic analysis that brought the full diversity of species to light.”

Iryna Kapshyna, doctoral student and first author of the study.
Meiofauna organisms collected on the beach at Ahrenshoop. Six purple organisms on a black background.
Meiofauna organisms collected on the beach at Ahrenshoop. Top left: Tardigrade, flatworm, top right: copepod, nematode, bottom left to right: marine mite, annelid. Scales 0.1 mm each. Images: Iryna Kapshyna, Olena Uzun, Tobias Fischer

Using the ‘metabarcoding’ method, in which all animals in a sample are analysed together and differences in specific gene segments (here V1&V2) are searched for, a large number of samples can be analysed quickly and reliably.

The researchers were able to identify a total of 843 so-called ‘operational taxonomic units’ (OTUs) – in simple terms, different species.

“843 species sounds like a lot – but in fact, the beach studied had a lower diversity of meiofauna compared to the deep sea or other marine areas.”

Dr Sahar Khodami, Senckenberg am Meer.

The size of the organisms studied means they have previoulsy been difficult to study and have not received as much attention as larger species.

“When considering the effects of coastal protection measures on ecosystems, the smallest marine animals should not be overlooked! Metabarcoding can replace the traditional morphological method, after initial studies using both methods.”

The research team.

Original study:

Kapshyna I, Veit-Köhler G, Hoffman L, Khodami S (2024) Impact of a coastal protection measure on sandy-beach meiofauna at Ahrenshoop (Baltic Sea, Germany): results from metabarcoding and morphological approaches are similar. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics 8: e127688. https://doi.org/10.3897/mbmg.8.127688

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New ‘grumpy’ fish species discovered in the Red Sea

Found among coral reefs in the Red Sea, it has large canines and a fierce expression, even though it is only 2 cm long.

A team of researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the University of Washington has discovered a new species of fish that seems perpetually displeased. The researchers decided to call this new species the grumpy dwarfgoby.

Despite its small size of less than 2 centimeters, the grumpy dwarfgoby has a surprisingly menacing appearance. Its large canines and fierce expression give it a rather intimidating look for such a small fish.

Lucía Pombo-Ayora, who gave the species its grumpy common name, comments on its distinctive appearance: “I imagine in its own tiny world, it is a fearsome predator. Its grumpy expression and large canines certainly make it look the part, despite its small size.”

A CT scan image of the skull of a grumpy-looking fish.

The species’ bright red coloration actually helps it blend into its natural habitat. It can be found on the walls and overhangs of coral reefs, covered in red coralline algae. There, it lives in small holes and crevices, using its large canines to capture tiny invertebrates. The grumpy dwarfgoby appears to be a relatively rare species, which is likely why it remained undiscovered until now.

The researchers found the first specimens in the Farasan Banks in Saudi Arabia, with additional specimens later found near Thuwal in the Red Sea. It was researcher Viktor Nunes Peinemann who first found it during a diving expedition to explore the coral reef fish diversity. Initially, the researchers thought they had rediscovered the fiery dwarfgoby, Sueviota pyrios, which is only known from a single specimen collected in 1972. However, upon closer examination, they realized they were dealing with an entirely new, undescribed species.

A photograph of a translucent-red grumpy-looking fish on a black background.

“The ongoing discovery of distinctive new species like this grumpy dwarfgoby shows how much biodiversity remains undiscovered in the Red Sea,” Viktor Nunes Peinemann explains. “This is concerning given the recent environmental changes in the region. In some cases, species could go extinct before we even describe them.”

The region is known for its high levels of endemic species and the Grumpy dwarf goby is another addition to this unique fauna. Much of the Red Sea has experienced major disturbances resulting from climate change in recent years, including widespread coral bleaching and mortality. The fact that new species are still being discovered in this rapidly changing environment highlights the urgency of continued research and conservation efforts, the researchers believe.

They have published their discovery in the open-access scientific journal ZooKeys.

Photos by Viktor Nunes Peinemann

Research article:

Nunes Peinemann V, Pombo-Ayora L, Tornabene L, Berumen ML (2024) The Grumpy dwarfgoby, a new species of Sueviota (Teleostei, Gobiidae) from the Red Sea. ZooKeys 1212: 17-28. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1212.121135

Pensoft launches new journal: Individual-based Ecology

IBE joins a number of open-access ecology journals published by Pensoft

Scholarly publisher and technology provider Pensoft has launched Individual-based Ecology (IBE), a new peer-reviewed, diamond open-access journal established to promote an individual-based perspective in ecology.

IBE aims to bridge the gap between individual-level responses and broader ecological patterns. In the face of global challenges, the journal is looking to contribute to both a better understanding and new sets of predictions of how ecological systems will respond to anthropogenic change. It aims to support the development of appropriate mitigation and restoration measures by focusing on the entities that actually and directly respond to change, i.e. individual organisms.

The journal embraces basic and applied, theoretical and empirical research in terrestrial and aquatic ecology. It welcomes contributions that incorporate data or novel insights about individual organisms and their interactions that are relevant to explaining system-level dynamics. IBE will publish a wide range of articles, including empirical, experimental, and modeling studies, as well as reviews, perspectives, and methodological papers.

As a diamond open-access journal, IBE is currently free to publish and free to read, ensuring that all published research is freely accessible to the global community.

The journal will utilise Pensoft’s innovative ARPHA platform, known for its robust support of academic publishing and efficient dissemination of research. Thanks to its fast-track publishing solution, the new journal offers a seamless, end-to-end publishing experience, encompassing all stages between manuscript submission and article publication, indexation, dissemination and permanent archiving. The publishing services provided by ARPHA also include a variety of human-provided services and integrations with third-party providers, intended to maximise the reach and usability of scholarly knowledge published in IBE.

A banner of IBE presented at the German Ecological Society’s 53rd annual conference (9-13 September 2024, Freising, Germany).

IBE will be led by four editors-in-chief: Prof. Dr. Volker Grimm and Prof. Dr. Karin Frank of Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research – UFZ, Prof. Dr. Mark E. Hauber of The City University of New York, and Prof. Dr. Florian Jeltsch of the University of Potsdam.

„We are excited to launch Individual-based Ecology, a new, promising journal that will contribute to a better understanding of ecological systems and how we interact with them,” said Prof Lyubomir Penev, founder and CEO of ARPHA and Pensoft.

“The time has come to establish individual-based ecology as an important complement to all other branches of ecology, both because we need it to fully understand and predict the response of ecological systems to change, and because empirical and modelling approaches have reached a level where the collection and use of individual-based data has become possible,” says Prof Volker Grimm, one of the editors-in-chief.

“It is exciting to be able to launch a journal that embraces ecological principles at the level of individuals across any and all lineages of life on our planet”, notes Prof. Mark E. Hauber, also an editor-in-chief. 

“This new journal will promote nothing less than a paradigm shift in ecological thinking from averaging approaches to a science focused on the fundamental agents of change, i.e. individual organisms. Systematically recognising the importance of individual variation in ecological systems will transform our fundamental understanding of how biodiversity and its components emerge from individual responses and interactions, and how the emerging levels of organisation will respond to changing environments,” said Prof Florian Jeltsch from the editorial team.  

IBE joins a number of open-access ecology journals published by Pensoft.

For more information on the journal’s focus and scope and guidelines to authors, visit IBE’s website and follow it on Facebook and X.

Out of the dark: historical cave snail collection rediscovered in the attic

Stored in the attic for decades, the shell collection of Dominik Bilimek at BOKU University hides a plethora of untold narratives.

Guest blog post by Petra Lukeneder and Adrienne Jochum

During the past years, interest in the processing and preservation of historical, scientific collections has increased significantly. Fascinating and obscure treasures are stored along with their individual stories while splendid and exciting specimens eke out an existence in boxes and cellars. The scientific curation of the Dominik Bilimek (1813-1884) Collection at BOKU University (Vienna, Austria) is one such example. Stored in the attic for many decades, later stashed in the basement, surviving two floods, a plethora of untold narratives unfolded as the specimens were unpacked. For example, the story of the young, aspiring, Slovenian collector and researcher, Heinrich Hauffen (1836-1866), with his special interests in speleology and the fauna inhabiting the subterranean realm come to light.

A grainy black-and-white photograph of a bearded man.
The only known photograph of collector and naturalist Heinrich Hauffen (1836-1866) (Digital Library of Slovenia; reference number 5S74D58Z).

At first, it was just a label type in the collection that differed from the others. It was a multidisciplinary process to assign it to Hauffen. At that time, only few scientists were concerned with the genus Carychium, including Georg von Frauenfeld (1807-1873), Heinrich Freyer (1802-1866), and Meinrad Thaurer von Gallenstein (1811-1872), all of whom were names that were closely linked to Bilimek and his collection. Fortunately, Hauffen’s handwriting could be identified by using original manuscripts from the Archive of the National Museum of Slovenia.

In our work published in Subterranean Biology, we present our results on the rediscovery of historical material of Heinrich Hauffen, which turned out to be original material, that he used to describe the cave snail taxa Carychium reticulatum and Carychium reticulatum bidentatum. Today, the eastern Alpine and  the Dinaric subterranean members of the genus Carychium are assigned to their own genus, Zospeum, based on their troglobiontic characteristics such as lack of eyes, colourless bodies, genetic data, and their totally different shell morphology.

A photograph of a tiny white snail attached to a rocky surface, with a yellow arrow to indicate the location of the snail
Live animal, indicated by the yellow arrow, of the genus Zospeum from Krska jama cave in Slovenia. The snail’s shell appears almost to be translucent.

This interdisciplinary work not only includes historical aspects, but also a collaboration with the Natural History Museum Vienna and the Department of Evolutionary Biology (University of Vienna) in conjunction with the taxonomic expertise from the Natural History Museum Bern (Bern, Switzerland), the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and from the Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Münich, Germany). By using light microscopy, X-ray Micro-CT data and SEM in sync with Hauffen’s original figures and handwritten documents, the morphological analysis of C. reticulatum illustrates the degree of phenotypic variation on the shells of individuals from two different cave populations of the species Zospeum spelaeum. The species Carychium bidentatum is considered a junior synonym of Zospeum costatum.

Photographs of people taking samples from caves.
Cave snail collection during field work in Slovenia and Spain.

The genus Zospeum constitutes a radiation of minute, glassy troglobitic snails (Ellobioidea) endemic to the Eastern Alps and the Dinaric Alps, extending as far west as Lake Garda in Italy and as far south as Montenegro. So far, 38 species of Zospeum have been described. Morphologically, the most informative diagnostic characters are apertural form and the degree of coiling and the shape of the columella (inner spindle) as well as the presence and configuration of the lamella in relation to it. In the Pre-Micro-CT era, one had to poke windows into the shells to view these signatory structures. Valuable material could become damaged, and many taxonomists shied from risky mishaps to assess the tiny shells (< 1.5 mm). This present work demonstrates the efficacy of fine-resolution imagery to assess valuable historic material.

A photograph of a woman walking past drawers of specimens
Archive of the Institute of Applied Geology (BOKU University), where the Bilimek Collection including Hauffen’s material, is being stored and processed. Photo by Radek Polách, Muzea Novojičínska.

Hauffen died at the age of 30 as part of the Austrian volunteer corps in Mexico – with the prospect of a permanent position at the Mexican National Museum. According to current knowledge, this is the reason why the Hauffen collection was passed on to Bilimek, who returned to Europe in 1867. There are still abundant specimens, often from localities that cannot longer be sampled nowadays, from Hauffen within the Bilimek collection. In the future, this part can hopefully be separated and scientifically processed as well.

Research article:

Lukeneder P, Ottner F, Harzhauser M, Winkler V, Metscher B, Ruthensteiner B, Jochum A (2024) Lost & Found – Rediscovery of H. Hauffen’s Carychium material in the Dominik Bilimek Collection, BOKU University, including a contemporary assessment within the genus Zospeum (Gastropoda, Ellobioidea, Carychiinae). Subterranean Biology 49: 97-116. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.49.130692

Orthoptera and origami: Pensoft at the International Congress of Entomology

Meeting our authors in person was a chance for us to gather valuable feedback and make sure we are doing our best.

The International Congress of Entomology 2024 (ICE2024), which took place on August 25-30 2024 in Kyoto, Japan, was arguably the biggest entomology event of the year. For the Pensoft team, it was an excellent chance to catch up with our authors and editors and discuss new partnerships.

At the Kyoto International Conference Center, entomologists visited lectures, symposia, and poster presentations, but they also enjoyed insect-themed haikus, origami, and artworks, and got to sample some edible insects.

Meeting our authors in person was a chance for us to gather valuable feedback and make sure we are doing our best to provide entomologists with a frictionless process that makes their published research shine.

  • Robin Kundrata, author in ZooKeys
  • Deepa Pureswaran, author and editor in NeoBiota
  • Alain Roques, author and editor in NeoBiota
  • Jessica Gillung, author in ZooKeys
  • Ranjith AP, editor in Check List and author in ZooKeys and Journal of Hymenoptera Research
  • Minoo Heidari Latibari, author in ZooKeys
  • Elisabeth Geiser, author in ZooKeys
  • Sven Bradler, author and editor in ZooKeys
  • Showtaro Kakizoe, author in ZooKeys
  • Antonio Carapelli, author and reviewer in ZooKeys

At Stand 25, congress participants browsed the company’s open-access entomological journals, including ZooKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal, and Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, as well as its wide range of books on insect diversity, systematics, and ecology.

Scientific illustrator Denitsa Peneva’s beautiful works adorned Pensoft’s stand; Mostafa Ghafouri Moghaddam, subject editor at ZooKeys and Biodiversity Data Journal and author at a number of Pensoft-published journals even got to take one of her prints home after winning a raffle that Pensoft organised. He won a beautiful illustration of Bombus fragrans on Trifolium pratense.

Pensoft’s founder and CEO and one of the founding editors of the company’s flagship journal ZooKeys, Prof. Lyubomir Penev, was there representing the company and meeting with fellow entomologists.

  • Prof. Penev with Evgeny Zakharov of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics
  • Prof. Penev with researchers Jadranka Rota, Niklas Wahlberg, Alexander Konstantinov, and Michael Schmidt
  • Prof. Penev with researcher Caroline S. Chaboo

They also got the chance to learn about the ARPHA Platform, a next-generation publishing solution that offers a streamlined and efficient workflow for authors, reviewers, and editors.

ARPHA Platform’s 15 top features enjoyed by client journals and publishers

At ICE2024, Pensoft also presented its newest open-access jorunal, Natural History Collections and Museomics. A peer-reviewed journal for research, discussion and innovation of natural history collections, NHCM will publish under a diamond open access model, allowing free access to published content without any fees for authors or readers.

New Diamond OA journal Natural History Collections and Museomics launches on ARPHA Platform

In addition to its publishing endeavors, Pensoft also presented some of the EU-funded pollinator projects that it takes part in such as Safeguard, PollinERA, and WildPosh.

ICE2024 was a chance to advance entomological science and foster collaboration within the global scientific community. For those who missed the chance to connect with Pensoft in Kyoto, the company’s journals and platforms remain accessible online, offering opportunities to read and produce groundbreaking research in insect diversity and ecology.

Truffles and tulips: Pensoft and the 12th International Mycological Congress

Over 1,000 fungi enthusiasts gathered in Maastricht for the biggest mycology event of the year.

The Pensoft team had a fantastic time at the 12th International Mycological Congress in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Organised by the International Mycological Association, together with the Dutch Mycological Society and the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the four-day meeting saw around 1,400 fungi fanatics gather for the biggest mycology event of the year.

It all began with an opening ceremony complete with live music and stunning visuals, which set the stage for five days of research exchange and collaboration.

Pensoft welcomed faces new and old at a decorated stand featuring numerous illustrated materials designed by scientific illustrator Denitsa Peneva. Manning the stand were Prof Dr Lyubomir Penev (MycoKeys Founding Editor & Pensoft Founder and CEO) and Slavena Peneva (Pensoft Head of Graphic Design).

MycoKeys materials esigned by Denitsa Peneva.
Urmas Kõljalg and Lyubomir Penev.
Lyubomir Penev, Dmitry Schigel and Slavena Peneva.

The booth hosted a special gathering for MycoKeys editors, including Editor-in-Chief Prof Dr Thorsten Lumbsch, who were shown a video looking back on the history of the journal. Many long-time collaborators of Pensoft, such as Prof Dr Urmas Kõljalg of Pluto F and Dr Dmitry Schigel of Pluto F, also dropped by to say hello.

The congress provided the perfect opportunity to announce Pensoft’s new, exciting partnership with the International Mycological Association. This collaboration will see the IMAFungus journal move to the ARPHA platform, where it will benefit from cutting-edge publishing technology and workflows.

Several MycoKeys contributors presented and hosted keynote lectures, bridging sessions, and workshops across the seven major topics of the conference:

  • Cell biology, biochemistry and physiology
  • Environment, ecology and interactions
  • Evolution, biodiversity and systematics
  • Fungal pathogenesis and disease control
  • Genomics, genetics and molecular biology
  • Applied Mycology
  • Nomenclature

The full program can be found on the congress website.

The next International Mycology Congress will be held in Incheon, South Korea, in 2027. IMC13 already has an active website and the Pensoft team look forward to another exciting installment!

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New Diamond OA journal Natural History Collections and Museomics launches on ARPHA Platform

Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM), a brand-new Diamond Open Access journal, has launched on ARPHA platform. 

The journal aims to serve as a leading platform for scholarly research, discussion, and innovation in the field of natural history collections worldwide and will be published by Pensoft Publishers. 

By promoting the exchange of knowledge between museum professionals, researchers, educators, and enthusiasts, the publication aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of natural history and its significance in society. 

A Pensoft conference stand with a poster promoting the Natural History Collections and Museomics journal.
Natural History Collections and Museomics promoted by Pensoft at the 2024 International Congress of Entomology in Kyoto, Japan.

Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM) encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations across fields such as taxonomy, conservation, education, ethics, and museum studies. The editorial team welcomes original research articles, reviews, case studies, methods, letters and perspectives addressing a wide range of topics related to natural history institutions and collections. 

The journal is supported by CETAF (Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities), Europe’s leading voice for taxonomy and systematic biology. The support of this European network of scientific institutions ensures a robust and collaborative foundation for the journal’s academic endeavours.

By utilising a Diamond Open Access model, the journal allows free access to published content without any fees for authors or readers. This approach ensures that important research can reach the widest possible audience, promoting inclusivity and global collaboration in the field.

A strong Editorial Board is already in place, co-chaired by two distinguished scholars in the field. 

Dr Franco Andreone: Serving as the zoology curator at the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali in Turin, Italy, Dr Andreone is a renowned herpetologist with a profound impact on amphibian taxonomy, roles of natural history museums and conservation, particularly in Italy and Madagascar. His experience as a former Chair of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group – Madagascar and his current role as a special advisor underscore his life-long dedication to preserving biodiversity.

Prof Shuqiang Li: A prominent Chinese arachnologist,  Prof Li brings his vast expertise in zoological systematics to the journal. Among many accomplishments, he led the construction of 29 natural history museums for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of which is an 8,800 square metre collection building to preserve more than 10 million specimens and another a 6,600 square metre public museum in the Zoological Institute in Beijing. As leading taxonomist and the Editor-in-Chief of Zoological Systematics, Professor Li has described more than 2,000 new species. His work on how Tethyan changes shaped diversification is most notable. His research has also revealed the origin of spider webs based multi-omics analyses.

The Board expects the team of subject (associate) editors to soon expand further, as they have been actively recruiting colleagues from diverse professional and geographical backgrounds. Experts in fields within the scope of the new journal are also invited to apply to join the NHCM team as either editors or reviewers. Conveniently, the respective application forms are made accessible from the journal website’s homepage.

“The journal Natural History Collections and Museomics will serve as a perfect forum and place to publish cutting-edge research.

“Natural history collections are gargantuan resources and tools to discover and preserve global diversity. We need to treat them as immense treasures to discover and describe new species and understand Earth’s marvels.”

Dr Franco Andreone and Prof Shuqiang Li, Editors-in-Chief.

“We are thrilled to launch Natural History Collections and Museomics on the ARPHA Platform. The importance of natural history collections cannot be overstated and we look forward to publishing valuable research to a wide audience.”

Prof Dr Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of Pensoft Publishers.

Submissions to the journal are now open. Researchers, scholars, and practitioners are invited to contribute articles to Natural History Collections and Museomics. 

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit the Natural History Collections and Museomics website.

You can also follow the journal on X and Facebook.

About ARPHA Platform:

ARPHA is a full-featured, end-to-end publishing platform for journals, books, conference materials and preprints. ARPHA offers flexible operating and business models, and a wide-range of automated and human-provided services. The ARPHA team places a special focus on its scholarly communication solutions designed to leverage the visibility and outreach of academic output, while promoting inclusivity and engagement.

About Pensoft:

Pensoft is an independent, open-access publisher and technology provider, best known for its biodiversity journals, including ZooKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal, Phytokeys, Mycokeys, One Ecosystem, Metabarcoding and Metagenomics and many others. Over the past 30 years, Pensoft has built a reputation for its innovations in the field, after launching ZooKeys: the very first digital-first scientific journal in zoology and the first to introduce semantic enrichments and hyperlinks within a biodiversity article. To date, the company has continuously been working on various tools and workflows designed to facilitate biodiversity data findability, accessibility, discoverability and interoperability.

Determinants of citation impact

Put together, formal parameters other than journal impact – such as the brevity of an article’s title – turned out to be stronger citation predictors.

Guest blog post by Jürgen Dengler

“What makes a paper successful?” is something authors would like to know when submitting a manuscript and editors when deciding on the acceptance of papers. 

One answer is: “Write an exciting paper on a relevant topic with up-to-date methods”. 

While this is certainly true, most authors feel that this is not the whole truth. The enormous efforts some authors invest in getting their paper accepted in a “high-rank” journal reflect the belief that the publication venue influences the scientific impact of a paper. Other authors spend quite some time in finding a “fancy” title for their contribution.

But do such “formal” aspects actually influence the impact of articles and, if so, to which degree and which are the most relevant ones? 

Astonishingly, there is very little published evidence on these aspects. 

Thus, I conducted an empirical study using my own publication output over the years. With almost 200 papers in over 50 indexed journals, it already allows some generalisations. With the three IAVS journals, Journal of Vegetation Science, Applied Vegetation Science and Vegetation Classification and Survey, being among the preferred outlets, the journal portfolio is probably also quite similar to that of other IAVS members. 

As a common currency for citation impact, I used the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), provided by the Scopus database. While the absolute number of citations is not suitable for a meaningful comparison between papers as the number of citations always increases with time since publication, FWCI standardised citations compared to all articles published in the same year in the same subject field and as the same article type (e.g. research article vs. review article). 

A FWCI of 1 means that an article is cited as much as the average, a FWCI of 2 refers to twice as many citations as an average article, etc. Scopus also provides a corresponding measure to FWCI at the journal level, namely the Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), which essentially is the mean of the FWCI values of all papers in that journal in the respective period.

According to the multiple regression analysis, journal impact (SNIP) was the strongest predictor of the article impact. 

However, alone it explained only 26.8% of the variance while other formal parameters together explained 31.5% of the variance. 

Among those, the brevity of the title was most influential. Each word less in the title led to 9% more citations. 

Further, both article length and author number had a positive influence on citations.

Publishing in a special feature increased the citation rate by 43%. 

By contrast, open access or formulating titles as questions or factual statements did not significantly influence citation rates.

In conclusion, selecting a high-impact journal has less influence on the article impact than many people believe – the citation impact of different articles in one journal typically varies more than the mean citation impact between different journals.

For authors, the easiest way to increase the impact of a given article is to shorten the title as much as possible. 

Caption: Variation of the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) values of articles in journals represented by at least five articles in the analysed sample, with box height proportional to the number of included papers. All three IAVS journals were well represented. The variation of citation impact within individual journals was very large (note the log-scale of the x-axis). For example, the best cited articles of the author in JVS, AVS and VCS all had a considerably better citation performance than the single Nature paper co-authored by the author (FWCI = 3.70).

Associated journal article:

Dengler J (2024) Determinants of citation impact. Vegetation Classification and Survey 5: 169-177. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.126956.

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Originally published on the Vegetation Science Blog: Official blog post of the IAVS journals.

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You can follow the Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) journal on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

Uniting to advance amphibian and reptile conservation: the 10th World Congress of Herpetology

At the event, the Pensoft team met up with authors and editors, showcased its new communication materials, and sponsored a Best Talk award.

The 10th World Congress of Herpetology (WCH) took place on August 5-9, 2024, in Kuching, Malaysia. Maria Kolesnikova, Pensoft’s marketing and sales manager, attended the event, connecting with many current and prospective authors and editors at Pensoft journals.

Maria Kolesnikova standing at Pensoft's booth.

Throughout the congress, our stand attracted numerous visitors, including many editors of our journals, such as Herpetozoa and ZooKeys. The opportunity to connect with our editors in person was invaluable, reinforcing the collaborative spirit that drives our publishing efforts. In addition, many of the authors in our journal visited the Pensoft stand to see their papers in print.

  • Bibiana Rojas, subject editor at Herpetozoa
  • Luciano Javier Avila, subject editor at Biodiversity Data Journal
  • Luis Ceríaco, author and editor at ZooKeys
  • Anthony Herrel, subject editor at ZooKeys
  • Mao-Liang Li, author at Herpetozoa
  • Ilse K. Barraza-Soltero, author at ZooKeys, Herpetozoa, and Check List
  • Artem Lisachov, subject editor at Comparative Cytogenetics and author at Biodiversity Data Journal and Herpetozoa

Many of our editors participated actively in the congress, delivering talks that highlighted cutting-edge research in herpetology.

Luis Ceríaco, author and editor at ZooKeys, presented a talk called “The herpetological results of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira’s ‘Philosophical Voyage’ to Brazil (1783–1792)”, where he talked about a huge expedition to explore the Amazon and Cueva rivers.

Umilaela Arifin, subject editor at Zoosystematics and Evolution, delivered a presentation called, “Hang’in there! Toward stabilising phylogeny of Asian ranids with gastromyz ophorous tadpoles,” where she talked about Sumaterana, a new genus that has been identified with gastromyz tadpoles in Sumatra.

Ben Wielstra, subject editor at Herpetozoa, presented to a fully packed hall on the balanced lethal system in Triturus newts.

Hanh Thi Ngo, author at Nature Conservation, gave a talk called “Diversity of karst – adapted bent-toed geckos in Laos and Vietnam.” Karst diversity is in great danger because of human activities in Vietnam, she said. There are publications on this topic in ZK & Nature Conservation by Hanh and Ziegler.

Scientific illustrator Denitsa Peneva has designed Pensoft’s new communication materials, centered around rich, colourful illustrations of species that have been featured in Pensoft’s journals.

Swati Nawani, doctoral researcher at the Wildlife Institute of India, won one of Denitsa’s amazing scientific illustration prints as part of a raffle organised by Pensoft. Swati has researched Himalayan amphibians since 2018.

In a commitment to support and celebrate excellence in herpetological research, Pensoft sponsored the Best reptile conservation talk award. For her talk, “Heat water and reptiles – do the hydro-thermal properties of animals at the source location persist at the translocation site?,” Deanne Trewartha won a free publication in either Herpetozoa or Nature Conservation, as well as another beautiful print by Denitsa Peneva.

The award presentation was a moment of celebration, and we are delighted to support the work of such inspiring researchers.

For Pensoft, the 10th World Congress of Herpetology was a chance to connect with our authors and editors and engage with the global herpetology community. Inspired by all the quality research presented there, we look forward to the next Herpetology Congress – and until then, we will continue publishing and promoting outstanding scientific work.

Eight years of ruin: the legacy of the Mariana dam disaster

Researchers explore the ongoing devastation caused by Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

Eight years since the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Mariana, Brazil, researchers have highlighted ongoing environmental and social devastation caused by the disaster.

A paper published in our open-access journal Nature Conservation underscores the persistent and growing impacts of the collapse, which ranks as one of the world’s most significant environmental tragedies.

Several dead fish on a muddy river bank with a forest in the background.
Dead fish in Marliéria, Minas Gerais, Brazil, about 200 km downstream from the Fundão tailings dam. Photo credit: Elvira Nascimento.

Caused by the Samarco mining company, the 2015 collapse released approximately 50 million cubic meters of toxic mud, burying the village of Bento Rodrigues and severely contaminating over 600 kilometres of river channels and coastal habitats. More than 1 million people across 35 cities were affected, leading to 19 deaths, widespread health issues, and the displacement of hundreds of residents.

A village, destroyed by the Mariana dam disaster, covered in mud.
The village of Bento Rodrigues after the disaster. Photo credit: Rogério Alves/TV Senado.

According to researchers, the environmental damage has only intensified over the years. High levels of heavy metals continue to threaten human and wildlife health, with significant bioaccumulation observed in endangered species like the Franciscana dolphin. Additionally, the disaster caused the introduction of numerous invasive species, further destabilising the ecosystem.

The paper, led by Dr Cássio Cardoso Pereira and Fernando Goulart of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, criticises the slow and controversial response by the Renova Foundation, an entity created by the responsible companies to address the disaster’s aftermath. While some compensation and restoration efforts have been made, the researchers argue that these actions are insufficient and often inadequate.

A Brief History of: The Mariana Disaster by Plainly Difficult.

One of the most concerning findings, they say, is the ongoing risk posed by similar structures across Brazil, where hundreds of dams remain in poor condition. The study advocates for the replacement of these dangerous dams with safer alternatives like dry mining, which significantly reduces the risk of future collapses.

“Urgent, science-based public policies are needed that prioritise the restoration of the Rio Doce basin, in addition to comprehensive compensation for affected communities. To achieve this, we need collaborations involving local and government oversight and independent scientific expertise to prevent further ecological and human disasters.”

Dr Cássio Cardoso Pereira.
Has climate change hijacked the environmental agenda?
Read a guest blog post by Dr Cássio Cardoso Pereira exploring whether biodiversity loss is being overlooked because of climate change.

As the region continues to face the compounded effects of climate change, with increasing cyclones and heavy rains worsening the spread of pollutants, the paper reminds us that the legacy of the Fundão disaster is far from over.

Original source

Pereira CC, Fernandes S, Fernandes GW, Goulart FF (2024) Eight years after the Fundão tailings dam collapse: chaos on the muddy banks. Nature Conservation 56: 77-82. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.56.133441

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