Twenty‐five years of Zoo Biology: a publication analysis

Abstract

To expand on earlier publication analyses of the journal Zoo Biology, information from 991 articles published within the journal's first 25 years was compiled and evaluated. Most articles were applied, descriptive accounts that included inferential statistics and/or biological analyses. In addition, most articles focused on captive animals and concentrated on the behavior and reproduction of mammals, with particular emphasis on primates. With respect to authors, the majority of first authors were affiliated with zoos or universities within the United States and collaborated with co-authors at different institutions. Nearly two-fifths of articles acknowledged receiving external funding and external funding increased over the years, however, collaboration did not significantly change receipt of external funding. In addition, first authors with zoo affiliations published more descriptive, applied science articles and acknowledged receipt of external funding significantly less often than first authors with university affiliations. Publication latency was comparable to other scientific journals and increased significantly over the 25-year publication period. Longitudinal trends indicated that experimental, applied science, diet and nutrition, and collaborative articles also increased significantly, whereas descriptive, basic science, behavior, and population biology articles decreased significantly. By describing historical trends in zoo research through an analysis of papers published in Zoo Biology, this article may help to bridge gaps and identify new opportunities. Zoo Biol 27:444-457, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.