Journal of Biogeography

Functional Island Biogeography

50th Anniversary Top 50 Cited Papers
Anniversaries are a time to reflect on the past and look to the future. Here, we focus attention on the former, by presenting a list of the all-time 50 most highly cited articles that have appeared in the Journal of Biogeography (JBI). Complementary papers in volume 50 will focus attention on the present and future! This all-time top 50 list was assembled by conducting a search for JBI papers in Web of Science (which covers 1977-present) and Dimensions (1974-1976), and then ranking them in descending order by the average number of citations per year. The top 50 were selected for this virtual issue; they are presented in descending order. There is an unmistakable concentration of papers in the last 20 years which could be a real signal of a particularly exciting time in biogeography, of increasing accessibility with online publishing, of increased membership in the discipline, the emergence of an eponymous society, or a combination of these and/or other phenomena. Whatever the cause, they clearly were timely and consequential, resolving debates and/or piquing curiosity. This is an impressive collection of papers; we hope you enjoy browsing them!

Geogenomics

Biogeography is an integrative discipline, as is reflected in familiar combinatorial neologisms including bio⋅geography itself and disciplines such as phylo⋅geography and macro⋅ecology. One recently introduced term — geo⋅genomics — represents interdisciplinary approaches using “large-scale genetic data to test or to constrain geological hypotheses” (sensu Baker et al. 2014, p.38). Geogenomics is eight years young, arguably in its foundational phase, and its relationship with other disciplines of biogeography is developing. This virtual issue reviews the origins of geogenomics, compiles a suite of new papers that reflect geogenomics’ current purview (as practiced by biogeographers), and considers its potential to change the way we combine genetics and geology for answering biogeographic questions. Read more

Women in Biogeography

Despite increasing awareness of issues affecting inclusivity, equity and diversity, change has been slow in science and academia, and gender disparities remain significant. Biogeography does not escape this pattern. In this virtual issue, we compiled some of the most cited papers led by women in the Journal of Biogeography between 2009 and 2020. Published papers were grouped by 3-year blocks so that more recent ones, which have received fewer citations, were put on more equal footing with older ones.Read more

The Biogeographical Fascination of the Indian Subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent (also referred to as South Asia) is a biogeographical wonderbox, rich in diversity, and rich in patterns that can be used to test many hypotheses. The gradients are impressive: from sea level to the worlds' highest mountain, from the wet tropical forests of Sri Lanka to the arid desert of Pakistan, from the massive mangrove forests of the Sundabans to the montane forests of the Ghats, large savannas, and this in co-existence with thousands of years of human civilisation. Read more.

Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Biogeography

The Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean represent iconic and strategic locations in our tropical oceans, and yet few studies address the origins, maintenance, and distribution of marine fauna of these locations. This virtual issue of the Journal of Biogeography (JBI) serves to illustrate the biogeographical advances in these habitats at the periphery of the vast Indo-Pacific region with an editorial introduction, 14 contributions from an international workshop, and a set of 24 papers previously published in JBI. The selection includes a number of influential research studies that present novel data, those that apply methods to synthesize general patterns, and some that utilize newer genetic methods to infer patterns of the evolutionary history of coral reef ecosystems within this region. Read more.

100 years after Alfred Russel Wallace

This selection of papers highlights the enduring legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace to biogeography 100 years after his death in November 1913. Wallace is perhaps best known for his co-discovery, alongside Charles Darwin, of the theory of evolution, but he is also recognized as a key founding father of zoogeography. Wallace regarded the delimitation and acceptance of the major zoogeographical regions of the world as being a crucial step in the study of the laws of distribution. In this virtual issue of the Journal of Biogeography we have therefore assembled a set of papers spanning 1983 to 2013 that focus, for the most part, on the problem of regionalization, providing illustration of the abiding relevance of Wallace’s work today both for pure and applied biogeography. Read more.

The species-area relationship: an exploration of that 'most general, yet protean pattern

The generality of the increase in the number of species with the physical space sampled, the species–area relationship, is a fundamentally important biological pattern, of considerable significance for conservation biogeography. This virtual issue of the Journal of Biogeography serves to illustrate the development of ideas concerning the various forms of the species–area relationship from 1974 (the first volume of the journal) to the present day. It features an editorial introduction alongside a set of 24 papers previously published in the journal. The selection includes a number of influential contributions to understanding species–area relationships and their application and we hope may be of value to researchers and educators. Read more