Citation Classics of Ecology

Identification of the most significant contributions, or classics, in the literature of a scientific discipline is difficult. Recent computer-based citation statistics make it possible to identify frequently cited articles published from 1947 to 1977 and designated "citation classics" between 1977 and 1986. These are reviewed to determine what may be learned about authors, institutions, journals publishing frequently cited ecological articles, and about the taxa, habitats and ecological topics represented in them. A comparison is made with other sources that identify articles of unusual interest. The "citation classics" identified as ecological do not provide a clear guide to all aspects of ecology, nor to all leading ecologists in the three decades covered. Nevertheless, they do identify a broad compass of recent concerns of ecologists and of notable contributors to ecology. Published reminiscences of authors concerning these publications also provide insights into motivations, stimuli, and problems in their research none of which appear in the scientific publications themselves.

[1]  J. Emlen.  The Role of Time and Energy in Food Preference , 1966, The American Naturalist.

[2]  A. Boughey.  Contemporary readings in ecology , 1969 .

[3]  Contemporary Classics in the Life Sciences: An Autobiographical Feast 1 , 1985 .

[4]  H. Zuckerman.  The sociology of science. , 1988 .

[5]  E. Cren,et al.  THE LENGTH-WEIGHT RELATIONSHIP AND SEASONAL CYCLE IN GONAD WEIGHT AND CONDITION IN THE PERCH , 2022 .

[6]  N. K. Kaushik,et al.  fate of the dead leaves that fall into streams , 1971 .

[7]  W. Murdoch,et al.  Readings in ecology and ecological genetics , 1970 .

[8]  Christopher M. Perrins,et al.  Population fluctuations and clutch size in the Great tit , 1965 .

[9]  H. L. Sanders,et al.  Faunal diversity in the deep-sea , 1967 .

[10]  R. P. McIntosh.  Pluralism in Ecology , 1987 .

[11]  E. Garfield.  Citation analysis as a tool in journal evaluation. , 1972, Science.

[12]  R. Conover.  ASSIMILATION OF ORGANIC MATTER BY ZOOPLANKTON1 , 1966 .

[13]  A. Bradshaw,et al.  Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants , 1971 .

[14]  Frank B. Golley,et al.  Energy Values of Ecological Materials , 1961 .

[15]  R. Merton.  The ambivalence of scientists. , 1976 .

[16]  J. Tallis,et al.  Saving the Prairies. The Life Cycle of the Founding School of American Plant Ecology, 1895-1955. , 1984 .

[17]  F. G. Maxwell,et al.  Resistance of Plants to Insects , 1972 .

[18]  R. P. McIntosh.  The Background of Ecology: Concept and Theory , 1985 .

[19]  J. Wilhm,et al.  Biological Parameters for Water Quality Criteria , 1968 .

[20]  A. Watt,et al.  Pattern and process in the plant community , 1947 .

[21]  R. P. McIntosh.  H. A. Gleason-"Individualistic Ecologist" 1882-1975: His Contributions to Ecological Theory , 1975 .

[22]  R. Margalef,et al.  On Certain Unifying Principles in Ecology , 1963, The American Naturalist.

[23]  R. Sadleir.  The Relationship between Agonistic Behaviour and Population Changes in the Deermouse, Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner) , 1965 .

[24]  Rf Daubenmire,et al.  Canopy coverage method of vegetation analysis , 1959 .

[25]  G. Bartholomew,et al.  The role of natural history in contemporary biology , 1986 .

[26]  E. Deevey,et al.  Life tables for natural populations of animals. , 1947, The Quarterly review of biology.

[27]  K. Mann,et al.  Energy Transformations by a Population of Fish in the River Thames , 1965 .

[28]  P. Raven,et al.  BUTTERFLIES AND PLANTS: A STUDY IN COEVOLUTION , 1964 .

[29]  W. Ricker.  Stock and Recruitment , 1954 .

[30]  T. Kuhn,et al.  The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. , 1964 .

[31]  M. Blum.  Chemical defenses of arthropods , 1981 .

[32]  D. Janzen.  Seed Predation by Animals , 1971 .

[33]  L. Slobodkin,et al.  Community Structure, Population Control, and Competition , 1960, The American Naturalist.

[34]  T. Waters,et al.  Diurnal Periodicity in the Drift of Stream Invertebrates , 1962 .