Wildlife Research turns 50

Abstract

Our most loyal readers might be thinking that Wildlife Research (WR) has been around For full list of author affiliations and declarations see end of paper longer than 50 years. Strictly speaking, they are correct if you include its original incarnation and title as CSIRO Wildlife Research. However, it is the half-century of the journal in its current form as a vibrant and impactful contributor to the international *Correspondence to: Andrea C. Taylor School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia Email: andrea.taylor@monash.edu research landscape that we are celebrating with this introduction to Issue 1 of Volume 50. Notably, this volume sees the journal move from publishing 8 to 12 issues per year, reflecting its ongoing success and growth. We begin with a brief history of WR to highlight its evolution into a trusted source of high-quality research providing an evidence base for wildlife scientists, managers, and policy makers on the world stage, as Handling Editor: Phil Stevens well as where we see it heading in the future. Andrew Stammer, Director of Publishing at CSIRO Publishing, reminded us recently of the main driver for establishment of an Australian publishing house around the middle of last century. Consider for a moment the experience of post war Australian scientists having to publish in British and American journals, which required each of the associated processes – submission, review, receipt of reviews, resubmission, and then receipt and return of proofs – to be conducted via sea mail. The significance for local scientists of establishing an Australian-based publisher cannot be overstated. In 1956, CSIRO Wildlife Research was one of a group of journals introduced by CSIRO operating in partnership with the newly established Australian Academy of Science, with quality oversight by the Board of Standards and regulation by the Science and Industry Research Act 1949 (Cth). Australian wildlife research in those early days had a strong focus on the biology, impacts and control of invasive vertebrates, particularly the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), with much of this work being done by CSIRO scientists (e.g. Mykytowycz 1956). However, by 1974 the author base and content had diversified substantially to include contributions from a wide pool of research institutes and universities – from across the country at first and then increasingly internationally. Renaming of the journal as Australian Wildlife Research and then WR reflected this broadening of research involvement. The journal has continued to grow and provide more content from international collaborations and research groups, as is fitting given that the issues faced by wildlife and natural resource researchers and managers are shared globally and more effectively tackled with an outward-looking research focus. Another key moment in the journal’s development was a switch in the late 2000s from in-house editorial oversight – in the latter years by Camilla Myers – to the appointment of external Editors-in-Chief (EiCs) from academia. Piran White, Andrea Taylor and Stan Boutin were established in these roles with an Editorial outlining the new model (White et al. 2009). Charles Krebs, with his extraordinary contributions to wildlife ecology and long-term involvement with the Australasian Wildlife Management Society (AWMS) and Received: 29 November 2022 Accepted: 9 December 2022 Published: 19 January 2023 WR, was appointed Chair of the Editorial Board. A multidisciplinary and international team of Associate Editors was established to support the EiCs in making decisions on the increasingly diverse submissions to the journal. Having made valuable contributions to