Michael A. Weston (Author)
Maree R. Yarwood (Author)
Desley A. Whisson (Author)
Matthew R. E. Symonds (Author)
Archives of Natural History
Volume: 47
Issue: 2
Pages: 264-271
At the continental scale, ecological research effort is not spatially uniform. We used a century-long bibliometric database of the journal Emu – Austral Ornithology to index the spatial patterns in bird research in Australia (from articles with explicit study locations). Studies have been concentrated in Tasmania and the southwest, southeast and coastal parts of the mainland. Large spatial gaps exist in ornithological study, which are similar to those identified by Arnold Robert McGill in his 1948 review paper ( McGill 1948). Pre-1948 only 9.4% of articles [n = 2,107] fell within the gaps mapped by McGill in 1948, indicating that his mapping was largely accurate. These gaps have largely persisted; only 11.2% of the 1,498 articles published since 1948 came from within those gaps. We present a complementary spatial gap analysis, which focuses on studies of areas with broadly similar biogeographies (Interim Biogeographical Regions of Australia (IBRAs)). Of 85 mainland IBRAs (of 89 defined), five have no bird studies from within them (368,380 km2; 4.9% of Australia), and 34 have less than 10 studies (3,335,498 km2; 43.9%). We intersect IBRAs with McGill's gaps and show that some IBRAs within McGill's gaps are now better-studied, but 64.8% of the area within the McGill gaps boundaries comprises IBRAs where there have been no post-1948 studies in Emu. We also present an updated map of key geographical gaps in the study of Australian birds, which apparently remain extensive 60 years after they were first identified.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Ian J. Mason;
Gilbert H. Pfitzner;
(2020)
Passions in ornithology: A century of Australian egg collectors
(/isis/citation/CBB993195850/)
Thesis
Whitney, Kristoffer Jon;
(2012)
A Knot in Common: Science, Values, and Conservation in the Atlantic Flyway
(/isis/citation/CBB001560601/)
Article
Jen McComb;
(2018)
Arthur James McComb 1936–2017
(/isis/citation/CBB399725393/)
Article
Libby Robin;
Jon C. Day;
(2020)
Maxwell Frank Cooper Day 1915–2017
(/isis/citation/CBB742627209/)
Article
Claire Pelgrims;
(December 2019)
Tension between Fast and Slow Mobilities: Examining the Infrastructuring Processes in Brussels (1950–2019) through the Lens of Social Imaginaries
(/isis/citation/CBB714510116/)
Book
Sarah Laverick;
(2019)
Through Ice & Fire: The Adventures, Science and People behind Australia’s Famous Icebreaker Aurora Australis
(/isis/citation/CBB456234019/)
Book
Robert Waide;
Sharon Kingsland;
(2021)
The Challenges of Long Term Ecological Research: A Historical Analysis
(/isis/citation/CBB113405116/)
Article
Shana Lee Hirsch;
David Ribes;
Sarah Inman;
(2022)
Sedimentary legacy and the disturbing recurrence of the human in long-term ecological research
(/isis/citation/CBB100002745/)
Book
Vetter, Jeremy;
(2010)
Knowing Global Environments: New Historical Perspectives in the Field Sciences
(/isis/citation/CBB001021712/)
Book
Cary, Geoffrey;
Dovers, Stephen;
Lindenmayer, David;
(2003)
Australia Burning: Fire Ecology, Policy and Management Issues
(/isis/citation/CBB000502370/)
Article
Robin, Libby;
(2001)
International Ornithology Comes to Australia
(/isis/citation/CBB000100947/)
Chapter
Barrow, Mark V., Jr.;
(2010)
On the Trail of the Ivory-Bill: Field Science, Local Knowledge, and the Struggle to Save Endangered Species
(/isis/citation/CBB001000296/)
Book
Russell McGregor;
(2019)
Idling in Green Places: A Life of Alec Chisholm
(/isis/citation/CBB142872598/)
Article
Russell McGregor;
(2021)
Alec Chisholm and the extinction of the Paradise Parrot
(/isis/citation/CBB347822367/)
Article
Bergersen, F. J.;
(2001)
Research on Biological Nitrogen Fixation in CSIRO Plant Industry, 1952-1998
(/isis/citation/CBB000100948/)
Article
Anderson, Warwick;
(2013)
The Military Spur to Australian Medical Research
(/isis/citation/CBB001200698/)
Article
Hobbins, Peter;
Forsyth, Hannah;
(2013)
Mobilising Medical Knowledge for the Nation, 1943--49
(/isis/citation/CBB001200697/)
Book
Bowen, James;
(2002)
The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage
(/isis/citation/CBB000201787/)
Article
Deveson, E. D.;
(2011)
The Search for a Solution to Australian Locust Outbreaks: How Developments in Ecology and Government Responses Influenced Scientific Research
(/isis/citation/CBB001033725/)
Article
Akers, Harry F.;
Porter, Suzette A. T.;
(2007)
The 1945--1955 Queensland Artesian Fluoride Experience: A Unique Phenomenon within the Australian Wool Industry
(/isis/citation/CBB000850003/)
Be the first to comment!