Status and trends in United States terrestrial mammal research since 1900

Abstract

Abstract In the face of the growing global biodiversity crisis, we must critically examine factors driving patterns in research to identify knowledge gaps, guide future funding and inform conservation policies and actions. In this article, we reviewed the literature on terrestrial mammals in the contiguous United States to evaluate which factors influence the number of publications for over 300 species and to identify trends in publication rates during the past 50 years. We expected larger body mass, broader geographic range, more years since a species was described, and higher relative abundance to correspond with an increase in the number of publications about a species, and that conservation status and taxonomic order would also affect the number of publications. We found that publications focussed on species that were larger, widespread, described longer ago and at a higher relative abundance. There were no clear trends in research due to a species conservation status, and research effort was not consistent among orders over time. We advocate for changes in requirements for professional advancement, shifts in the publication process and focus, and novel allocations of research funding.