When, Where, and Why Has Research Been Conducted on Snakes?

IF 0.8 4区 生物学 Q3 ZOOLOGY
R. Shine, M. Elphick
{"title":"When, Where, and Why Has Research Been Conducted on Snakes?","authors":"R. Shine, M. Elphick","doi":"10.1670/22-054","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The trajectory of biological research may be affected by historical factors (such as locations of influential researchers) as well as by underlying biological dimensions (such as species diversity and location of potential study taxa). Such influences on research focus can be clarified by examining the topics of published papers. Based on 93,816 scientific papers published on snake biology since 1804 (from Web of Science), we found a nonrandom distribution of research output among snake clades, fields of research, and geographic locations and strong changes through time in overall research effort as well as in the foci of that work. Snakes have been the subject of more scientific papers than other lineages of reptiles, but research on turtles has been increasing faster, and research effort per species has been higher for smaller reptile lineages. Studies on systematics and taxonomy dominated snake research until the mid-20th century, when the field was overtaken by studies of venoms, ecology, morphology, and physiology. Colubrids and Vipers have been the most intensively studied taxa, reflecting a concentration of research on continents (Europe and the Americas) where these taxa are diverse and abundant. Research effort on Vipers (Viperidae) increased around 1920, reflecting advances in antivenom and radiotelemetry technology. Blindsnakes (Scolecophidia) and smaller families remain relatively neglected in absolute terms. The numbers of papers per species are 10-fold greater for North American and European snakes than those in most other regions. We attribute these nonrandom patterns to temporal and spatial variation in research priorities, methods, and availability of scientific infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":54821,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Herpetology","volume":"57 1","pages":"197 - 203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Herpetology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1670/22-054","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract. The trajectory of biological research may be affected by historical factors (such as locations of influential researchers) as well as by underlying biological dimensions (such as species diversity and location of potential study taxa). Such influences on research focus can be clarified by examining the topics of published papers. Based on 93,816 scientific papers published on snake biology since 1804 (from Web of Science), we found a nonrandom distribution of research output among snake clades, fields of research, and geographic locations and strong changes through time in overall research effort as well as in the foci of that work. Snakes have been the subject of more scientific papers than other lineages of reptiles, but research on turtles has been increasing faster, and research effort per species has been higher for smaller reptile lineages. Studies on systematics and taxonomy dominated snake research until the mid-20th century, when the field was overtaken by studies of venoms, ecology, morphology, and physiology. Colubrids and Vipers have been the most intensively studied taxa, reflecting a concentration of research on continents (Europe and the Americas) where these taxa are diverse and abundant. Research effort on Vipers (Viperidae) increased around 1920, reflecting advances in antivenom and radiotelemetry technology. Blindsnakes (Scolecophidia) and smaller families remain relatively neglected in absolute terms. The numbers of papers per species are 10-fold greater for North American and European snakes than those in most other regions. We attribute these nonrandom patterns to temporal and spatial variation in research priorities, methods, and availability of scientific infrastructure.
何时、何地以及为什么对蛇进行研究?
摘要生物学研究的轨迹可能受到历史因素(如有影响力的研究人员的位置)以及潜在的生物学维度(如物种多样性和潜在研究分类群的位置)的影响。这种对研究焦点的影响可以通过检查已发表论文的主题来澄清。基于自1804年以来发表的93,816篇关于蛇生物学的科学论文(来自Web of Science),我们发现研究成果在蛇枝、研究领域和地理位置之间存在非随机分布,并且总体研究工作和工作重点随着时间的推移而发生强烈变化。与其他爬行动物谱系相比,蛇一直是更多科学论文的主题,但对海龟的研究增长得更快,对小型爬行动物谱系的每一物种的研究力度也更高。系统学和分类学的研究一直主导着蛇的研究,直到20世纪中期,该领域才被毒液、生态学、形态学和生理学的研究所取代。彩蝶和蝰蛇是研究最深入的分类群,反映了研究集中在大陆(欧洲和美洲),这些分类群多样性和丰富。对蝰蛇(蝰蛇科)的研究力度在1920年左右增加,反映了抗蛇毒血清和无线电遥测技术的进步。盲蛇(Scolecophidia)和较小的科在绝对数量上仍然相对被忽视。在北美和欧洲,每一种蛇的论文数量是大多数其他地区的10倍。我们将这些非随机模式归因于研究重点、方法和科学基础设施可用性的时空变化。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Journal of Herpetology
Journal of Herpetology 生物-动物学
CiteScore
1.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
45
审稿时长
6 months
期刊介绍: The Journal of Herpetology accepts manuscripts on all aspects on the biology of amphibians and reptiles including their behavior, conservation, ecology, morphology, physiology, and systematics, as well as herpetological education. We encourage authors to submit manuscripts that are data-driven and rigorous tests of hypotheses, or provide thorough descriptions of novel taxa (living or fossil). Topics may address theoretical issues in a thoughtful, quantitative way. Reviews and policy papers that provide new insight on the herpetological sciences are also welcome, but they must be more than simple literature reviews. These papers must have a central focus that propose a new argument for understanding a concept or a new approach for answering a question or solving a problem. Focus sections that combine papers on related topics are normally determined by the Editors. Publication in the Long-Term Perspectives section is by invitation only. Papers on captive breeding, new techniques or sampling methods, anecdotal or isolated natural history observations, geographic range extensions, and essays should be submitted to our sister journal, Herpetological Review.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信