Periodical citations in aquatic entomology and freshwater benthic biology

Abstract

SUMMARY. Periodicals cited and frequency of periodical citation were examined for two aquatic entomology textbooks published in 1984 (The Ecology of Aquatic Insects, Resh & Rosenberg, eds.; An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America, Merritt & Cummins, eds.) and a bibliography of freshwater benthic biology [published by the North American Benthological Society (NABS) in 1984]. These results were then compared with periodicals cited in Wetzel's (1983) Limnology textbook and with analyses of literature citations in limnology and entomology. In the aquatic entomology and benthic biology sources, eighteen‐twenty journals each contained ≥1% of total citations and fourteen‐twenty‐eight journals (3.3–5.3% of all journals cited) contained 50% of total citations; however, over one‐half (51.7–57.8%) of the journals contained only a single citation. In the limnology sources examined, thirteen‐seventeen journals contained ≥1% of total citations, twenty‐four‐fifty‐nine journals (4.3–17.8% of all journals cited) contained 50% of total citations, and 54.5–58.5% of the journals contained a single citation. Core lists of journals (≥1% of total citations) in Resh & Rosenberg and NABS closely agreed with core lists used for Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts. Based on analysis of 1684 papers published in seven journals from 1975 to 1984, 48% of papers published on aquatic entomology and freshwater benthic biology topics dealt with descriptive studies of macroinvertebrate life histories of bionomics.