BIO 3180: Finding Literature in Ecology and Evolution

Ecology and evolution scientific journals

Copied from lab handout: Primary Literature in Evolution and Ecology

Scientific journals (also known as periodicals) are typically the first printed outlet for new scientific research (hence the term, ‘primary literature’).  The following is a brief list of scientific journals devoted specifically to ecology and evolution.  Note that many other journals may contain ecological (or evolutionary biology) studies as well.  You should be familiar with the following dozen journals:

1. Evolution:  published by the Society for the Study of Evolution.  First published in 1947.
2. Systematic Biology: published bimonthly by the Society of Systematic Biologists since 1952 (formerly as Systematic Zoology)
3. Evolution Letters: open access journal jointly owned by the European Society of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) and the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) since 2017.
4. Molecular Biology and Evolution: published by Oxford University Press. First published in 1983.
5. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution: published by Academic Press since 1992.
6. Ecology:  published by the Ecological Society of America (ESA).  First published in 1920.
7. Ecological Monographs:  published by the ESA.  First published in 1931.
8. Ecological Applications:  published by the ESA.  First published in 1991.
9. Ecology and Evolution: published by Wiley.  First published in 2011.
10. Evolutionary Ecology:  published by Springer.  First published in 1987.
11. Oecologia:  published in cooperation with the International Association for Ecology (Intecol).  First published in 1968.
12. Oikos:  published by the Nordic Society Oikos, representing the ecologists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.  First published in 1949.
13. Journal of Ecology:  published by the British Ecological Society (BES).  First published in 1913.  Focuses on plant ecology.
14. Journal of Animal Ecology:  published by the BES.  First published in 1932.
15. Journal of Applied Ecology:  published by the BES.  First published in 1964.
16. Journal of Biogeography: published by Wiley.  First published in 1994.
17. Diversity and Distributions: open access journal published by Wiley.  First published in 1998.
18. Journal of Mammalian Evolution:  published by the Society for the Study of Mammalian Evolution.  First published in 1993.

A few journals are not exactly primary, but secondary in nature (see below), and publish review articles on particular subjects. Since they reflect the status and trends of the covered subjects, they are especially useful.

14. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics: published by Annual Reviews. First published in 1970.
15. Trends in Ecology & Evolution: published by Elsevier. First published in 1986.