Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Title	Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Abbreviation	TREE
Discipline	Ecology
Publisher	Elsevier
Country	Netherlands
History	1986–present
Frequency	Monthly

Trends in Ecology & Evolution is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing review articles, commentaries, and perspectives in ecology and evolutionary biology. Established in 1986, the journal serves as a venue for synthetic analysis, conceptual frameworks, and interdisciplinary debate bridging organismal biology, paleontology, and conservation practice. Its content often intersects with policy discussions involving international organizations and funding agencies.

Overview

Trends in Ecology & Evolution functions as a review series that synthesizes primary research from laboratories, museums, and field stations, and links findings from institutions such as Royal Society, Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, Max Planck Society and National Science Foundation (United States). Authors frequently cite work produced at universities like University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of Oxford, Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, and reference datasets curated by repositories such as Dryad Digital Repository, GenBank, GBIF and PANGAEA. The journal’s editorial decisions and thematic issues have intersected with initiatives by organizations including United Nations Environment Programme, World Wide Fund for Nature, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

History and Development

The founding of the journal in 1986 coincided with debates prominent at institutions like Carnegie Institution for Science, Smithsonian Institution, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and research programs funded by European Research Council and national agencies such as National Institutes of Health and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Early editors and contributors included researchers affiliated with University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Michigan and Australian National University, and the journal engaged with major projects like the Hubbell Tropical Forest Census and the Long Term Ecological Research Network. Over subsequent decades, special issues responded to major events and initiatives including the Montreal Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the rise of molecular techniques from labs such as Wellcome Sanger Institute and Broad Institute.

Scope and Thematic Focus

The journal emphasizes synthesis across subfields represented at conferences like Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Conference and International Biogeography Society Symposium. Topics commonly covered include macroevolutionary patterns documented in collaborations with American Museum of Natural History and Natural History Museum, London, community assembly studies from sites like Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve and Konza Prairie Biological Station, and conservation priorities discussed with parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Contributions integrate perspectives from paleontologists connected to Field Museum of Natural History and geneticists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and engage with modeling groups from Santa Fe Institute and policy scholars at London School of Economics.

Publication and Editorial Practices

Published by Elsevier, the journal operates under editorial leadership drawn from universities such as University of Edinburgh, ETH Zurich, University of Toronto and University of Melbourne. Manuscript handling involves peer review by scientists at institutions including Imperial College London, Princeton University, Duke University and University of Helsinki. The publisher’s policies have engaged stakeholders like COPE and funding mandates from agencies such as Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation and European Commission Horizon 2020. Production workflows interface with indexers and aggregators such as Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed Central.

Impact and Reception

The journal’s influence is reflected in citations across journals like Nature, Science, PNAS, Ecology Letters and Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. Authors published in the journal have affiliations spanning Columbia University, University of California, San Diego, Cornell University and Peking University, and their syntheses inform reports by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and conservation planning by BirdLife International and Conservation International. Metrics reported by services such as Journal Citation Reports and Altmetric track its reach among researchers at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and policy-makers at European Union bodies.

Notable Controversies and Criticisms

Critiques of the journal have mirrored broader debates over publisher practices involving Elsevier and responses from academic coalitions such as Faculty of 1000 and campaigns like The Cost of Knowledge. Controversies have arisen around accessibility and open access mandates from funders including Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, prompting discussion with initiatives like Plan S and repositories such as arXiv and bioRxiv. Debates over perspective pieces and policy engagement have engaged scholars from University of California, Santa Cruz, Uppsala University and University of Sydney, and have featured in forums hosted by Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences.

Category:Scientific journals