Southeastern Naturalist

Southeastern Naturalist
Title	Southeastern Naturalist
Discipline	Natural history
Abbreviation	SE Nat.
Publisher	Eagle Hill Institute
Country	United States
Frequency	Quarterly
History	2002–present
Openaccess	Hybrid
Issn	1528-7092

Southeastern Naturalist Southeastern Naturalist is a quarterly peer-reviewed periodical focusing on natural-history research in the southeastern United States and adjacent regions. It publishes original research, notes, and synthesis articles that engage with field studies, faunal and floral inventories, conservation assessments, and habitat management. The journal is produced by the Eagle Hill Institute and serves researchers, resource managers, and conservation organizations across the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states.

History

Southeastern Naturalist was founded in 2002 during a period of expanding regional publications alongside journals such as Journal of Wildlife Management, Copeia, Herpetologica, Florida Scientist, and Castanea. Its establishment followed initiatives by regional institutions including the Eagle Hill Institute, University of Maine affiliates, and conservation partners like NatureServe and The Nature Conservancy. Early editorial leadership drew contributors from universities such as University of Florida, Auburn University, University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, and agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Over successive volumes the journal has responded to events including hurricanes such as Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Michael by publishing post-disturbance assessments, and has documented results of large-scale programs like the North American Breeding Bird Survey and regional chapters of the Landbird Monitoring Network.

Scope and Content

The journal's scope encompasses field-based and applied studies focused on biota, habitats, and ecological processes within the southeastern United States, the Caribbean basin, and northern Gulf of Mexico. Typical content parallels subjects treated in publications such as Ecological Applications, Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Aquatic Conservation, and Wetlands Ecology and Management. Taxonomic coverage ranges across vertebrates—echoing studies from Wilson Bulletin-type literature on birds such as Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Brown Pelican—to invertebrates described in venues like Zootaxa and plant-focused reports akin to Rhodora. The journal often includes faunal inventories comparable to those in Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society and habitat-management case studies related to programs led by U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and regional agencies such as Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Publication and Editorial Structure

Southeastern Naturalist is published by the Eagle Hill Institute with a quarterly schedule, mirroring academic periodicity used by Quarterly Review of Biology and other seasonal journals. The editorial board typically comprises academics from institutions including University of South Florida, Clemson University, Mississippi State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, alongside agency scientists from U.S. Geological Survey and non-profit specialists from Audubon Society chapters. Manuscripts undergo peer review by subject specialists affiliated with museums and societies such as the Smithsonian Institution, Florida Museum of Natural History, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and Society for Conservation Biology. The journal accepts original research, short notes, natural-history observations, and book reviews, and uses editorial policies that interface with standards promoted by bodies like Committee on Publication Ethics.

Abstracting and Indexing

Southeastern Naturalist is indexed in regional and international services similar to those used by comparable journals, including indexing databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, BIOSIS Previews, and specialist indices used by libraries at Smithsonian Institution Libraries and Biodiversity Heritage Library partner institutions. Citations from the journal appear in compilations produced by agencies like U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation assessments by NatureServe and IUCN. Abstracts and metadata are discoverable through academic aggregators employed by universities including Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Florida State University, and public research libraries of Library of Congress holdings.

Notable Articles and Contributions

The journal has published influential regional contributions documenting range extensions, species rediscoveries, and natural-history notes that have informed management decisions. Noteworthy reports include field surveys that updated status assessments for taxa related to Gopher Tortoise, Black Rail, and range notes for fish taxa considered in American Fisheries Society status reviews. Long-term monitoring case studies published in the journal have contributed to analyses used by researchers at NOAA Fisheries and facility managers at Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park. Taxonomic and distributional notes in the journal have been cited alongside monographs from University of California Press and checklists curated by institutions such as the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.

Impact and Reception

Within regional natural-history and conservation communities, the journal is regarded as an important venue for applied field research, comparable in influence to specialized outlets like Journal of Field Ornithology and region-focused publications such as Southeast Naturalist (conflicting titles corrected). Its articles inform state wildlife action plans produced by agencies such as Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and restoration projects coordinated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. Academic reception includes citations in theses and dissertations at institutions like University of Alabama, University of Tennessee, and Florida International University, while practitioners in non-governmental organizations including The Nature Conservancy and National Audubon Society use its findings in on-the-ground management. The journal's niche focus has fostered collaborations across universities, government agencies, and conservation NGOs, and it continues to shape regional knowledge about southeastern biodiversity.

Category:Biology journals