Publication Patterns in Entomology: An Example Based on Aquatic Insects

Abstract

A biosis previews literature search was made for citations published between 1981–1985 on five groups of aquatic insects (Odonata, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Chironomidae). Number of citations for each group ranged from 406–887, and these appeared in 148–300 different journals. Nineteen—32 journals (8.3–14.9% of journals containing citations to a group) produced 50% of a group's citations. However, 55.0–64.3% of journals contained only a single citation. Core lists (i.e., those journals containing ≥ 1% of total citations) were most similar for Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera; Odonata differed most from the others. About one-half of citations for Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Chironomidae were taxonomic studies; almost one-quarter of Odonata citations were faunal lists and distributional records. Fifty-percent of taxonomic papers were concentrated in from 5 to 16 journals (8.5–24.6% of journals containing taxonomic citations to a group). Bibliographic scattering can be reduced by publishing taxonomic articles in these journals. A combination of computer searches and perusal of core journals is the best approach for maintaining literature awareness.