Appendix C: Journals of Interest to Ecologists


As ecology becomes more specialized, many new journals appear. The following list is by no means complete, but it should call attention to some journals that may be overlooked. The date given is the first year of publication.


Acta Botanica Neerlandica, 1952, Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands. Wide diversity of papers, mostly in English. Important.

Agricultural Ecosystems and Environment, 1981, Elsevier, Amsterdam. Interaction of methods of agricultural production, agricultural ecosystems, and the environment.

Agroecosystems, 1974, International Association for Ecology and Elsevier Science Publishers. Ecological interactions within and between agricultural and managed forest ecosystems.

Agroforestry Systems, 1982, Martinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague. Application of ecology to land-use systems in agriculture and forestry throughout the world.

American Birds, 1946, formerly Audubon Field Notes. Devoted to the reporting of distribution and abundance of birds. Important information on continental trends in bird populations.

American Journal of Botany, 1914, Botanical Society of America. Technical, of interest chiefly to the professional.

American Midland Naturalist, 1909, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. Specializes in papers in field natural history.

American Naturalist, 1867, American Society of Naturalists. Concerned largely with morphology, evolution, and physiology, but increase in papers on ecology.

American Scientist, 1913, Society of Sigma Xi. Contains in every volume several papers of importance to ecologists.

American Zoologist, 1916, Quarterly Publication of American Society of Zoologists. Most papers published originate in symposia of the society and its annual refresher course.

Animal Behavior, 1952, Bailli[[egrave]]re, London. A wide range of papers on animal behavior.

Annales Zoologici Fennici, 1963, Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo, Helsinki. An important journal; many papers on ecology.

Annals of Botany, 1887, Annals of Botany Co., Clarendon, Oxford. Heavy stress on physiological ecology.

Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1908, Entomological Society of America. The major entomological journal in the United States. Strong on taxonomy and morphology.

Aquatic Botany, 1978, Elsevier Science Publishers. Covers submerged, floating, and emergent vegetation of freshwater and marine environments.

Aquatic Insects, 1979, International Journal of Freshwater Entomology. Swets Publishing Service, Lisse, Holland.

Arctic, 1948, Arctic Institute of North America, McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal. Papers heavily oriented toward natural and human ecology of the Arctic region.

Arctic and Alpine Research, 1969, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado. A major source for information on alpine regions.

Atmosphere and Ocean, 1963, Canadian Metero-Ocean Society. Covers meteorological interactions of atmosphere and oceans.

The Auk, 1884, American Ornithologists Union. Leading American ornithological journal.

Australian Journal of Ecology, 1976, Australian Ecological Society and Blackwell Scientific Publishers. A major journal of general ecology.

Australian Journal of Marine and Fresh Water Research, 1952.

Australian Journal of Zoology, 1958, Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. General zoological papers, many of ecological interest.

Behavior, 1947, Brill, Leiden, Netherlands. The journal of animal behavior; strongly ethological in viewpoint.

Behavior Genetics, 1970, Plenum, New York. Papers on inheritance of behavior in animals and humans.

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1976, Springer-Verlag, New York. Journal emphasizing ecological and field approach to behavior and sociobiology.

Biogeochemistry, 1984, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Papers on all aspects of biogeochemical cycling in the biosphere.

Biological Bulletin, 1927, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA. General papers with emphasis on marine biology.

Biological Conservation, 1970, Applied Science Publishers, Barking, Essex, England. Important journal on scientific protection of plants and animals and management of natural resources.

Bioscience, 1951, American Institute of Biological Sciences. General biological journal with many papers devoted to ecology and environment.

Biotropica, 1969, Association of Tropical Biologists. Major journal on tropical biology.

Bird-Banding, 1930, Bird Banding Organizations. Small quarterly noted for its excellent coverage of current literature. (Now Journal of Field Ornithology.)

Botanical Gazette, 1862, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Covers all departments of botanical science, including plant ecology.

Botanical Review, 1935, New York Botanical Garden. Excellent review papers, often on plant ecology.

British Birds, 1897, Witherby, London. An important ornithological journal issued monthly. Contains some first-rate papers on the ecology of birds.

Brittonia, 1949, American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Papers deal largely with plant taxonomy.

The Bryologist, 1899, American Bryological and Lichenological Society. Only journal devoted to mosses and lichens. Many papers of ecological interest.

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1966, Springer-Verlag, New York. Short, current papers dealing largely with pesticides and heavy metal pollution.

Bulletin of Marine Science, 1967, Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. Broad aspects of marine science.

California Fish and Game, 1914, State of California, Department of Fish and Game, Papers largely devoted to fish and game management. Contains many important papers on western wildlife.

Cambridge Philosophical Society, 1923, Biological Reviews, Cambridge University Press. General review papers, many of importance to ecology and behavior.

Canadian Entomologist, 1868, Entomological Society of Ontario. A major entomological journal devoted to insects of Canada.

Canadian Field Naturalist, 1887, Ottawa Field-Naturalist’s Club. Papers on all phases of natural history. Of strong interest to the field biologist.

Canadian Journal of Botany, 1921, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. General botanical papers, a few of ecological interest.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1942. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. A major fisheries journal.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 1971, National Research Council of Canada. Contains excellent papers on forest ecology.

Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 1900, Agricultural Institute of Canada and Canadian Society of Soil Science. Covers various fields of soil science.

Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1923, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. General zoological papers, many of ecological interest.

Catena, Catena Verlag. Interdisciplinary journal of soil science: hydrology, geomorphology, geoecology, landscale evolution.

Chesapeake Science, 1960, State of Maryland, Department of Research and Education, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons. A regional publication, but papers of wide interest.

Climate Change, 1989, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Descriptions, causes, and implications of climate change.

Condor, 1899, Cooper Ornithological Society. An ornithological journal with excellent scientific papers.

Conservation Biology, 1987, Society for Conservation Biology and Blackwell Scientific Publishers. Emphasis on ecology, population biology, and genetics of fragmented and small populations.

Copeia, 1913, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Papers on fishes, amphibians, and reptiles.

East African Wildlife Journal, 1963, East African Wildlife Society. Covers general ecology and wildlife and park management in East Africa. (Now Journal of East African Ecology.)

Ecological Applications, 1990, Ecological Society of America. Journal dealing with applied ecology.

Ecological Economics, 1989, International Society for Ecological Economics, Elsevier Science Publishers. Journal dealing with economic aspects of ecological application.

Ecological Entomology, 1976, Royal Entomological Society of London, Blackwell, Oxford. Insect ecology.

Ecological Modeling, 1975, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Deals with the use of mathematical models and systems analysis for the description of ecosystems and for the control of environmental pollution and resource development.

Ecological Monographs, 1930, Ecological Society of America. Contains papers too long for Ecology.

Ecology, 1920, Ecological Society of America. Indispensable to ecologists.

Ecology Law Quarterly, 1971, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. Papers on law and the environment.

Economic Botany, 1947, Society of Economic Botany. Many interesting papers on human and plant relationships. More ecology than economics.

Ecosystems, 1988, Springer-Verlag, New York.

Environment, 1958, Scientists Institute for Public Information, St. Louis. Significant, well-documented articles. Formerly Scientist and Citizen.

Environment and Behavior, 1969, Sage Publications, New York. Interesting papers on relationship between human environment and behavior.

Environment and Planning, 1969, Pion Ltd., London. Papers on environment and ecological approach to urban and suburban planning.

Environment, Science and Technology, 1967, American Chemical Society. Environmental articles written from the technological and pro-chemical point of view.

Environmental Affairs, 1971, Boston College Environmental Law Center, Brighton, MA. Journal devoted to environmental law. Similar to Ecology Law Quarterly.

Environmental Biology of Fishes, 1977, Dr. W. Junk, The Hague, Netherlands. Papers on environmental physiology, ecology, life history, and behavior of marine and freshwater fishes.

Environmental Conservation, 1974, Elsevier, Sequoia S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland. Articles range from case histories of resource use to environmental policy, education, and management.

Environmental Entomology, 1972, Entomological Society of America. Insect interactions with biological, chemical, and physical components of the environment.

Environmental Law Reporter, 1971, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC. Analysis of laws concerning environmental protection and natural resource use, design of new institutional arrangements to carry out environmental policy.

Environmental Letters, 1970, Dekker, New York. Short papers quickly published on current environmental pollution problems.

Environmental Management, 1976, Springer-Verlag, New York. New journal focusing on real environmental problems and their solution. Articles deal with practical application of environmental management.

Environmental Pollution, 1970, Applied Science Publishers, Barking, Essex, England. Important journal with papers on pollution written from an ecological point of view.

Environmental Reviews, 1995, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. A new journal emphasizing review papers in environmental sciences.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1982. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and Pergamon Press, New York. All aspects of toxic substances in the environment.

Estuaries, 1987, Estuarine Research Foundation. A journal covering all aspects of estuarine research.

Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, 1988, Estuarine and Brackish Water Sciences Association and Academic. Covers saline water phenomena in all aspects from continental shelf to tidal zone.

Evolution, 1947, Society for the Study of Evolution. Papers on evolution and natural selection.

Evolutionary Ecology, 1989, Chapman and Hall, London. Theoretical and empirical papers on the interface of evolution and ecology.

Fisheries Management and Ecology, 1994, Blackwell Scientific, New York. Papers concerned with interactions between ecology and management of fish resource.

Fishery Bulletin, 1881, U.S. Department of Commerce. Wide range of well-edited papers on ecology and life history of commercial marine species, marine environment, and population dynamics.

Forest Ecology and Management, 1976, Elsevier, Amsterdam. Papers concerned with forest science and conservation and application of ecological knowledge to the management of planted and natural forests. Covers all forest ecosystems.

Forest Science. 1955. Society of American Foresters. Technical, but occasionally contains papers of interest to ecologists.

Forestry, 1927, Society of Foresters of Great Britain, Oxford University Press, London. Frequently contains good papers on forest ecology.

Functional Ecology, 1989, British Ecological Society and Blackwell Scientific Publishers. Emphasis on functional aspects of population ecology, such as foraging, life history patterns.

The Geographical Journal, 1893, Royal Geographical Society. Many articles on human ecology.

Geographical Review, 1916, American Geographical Society of New York. Outstanding journal with articles of strong ecological interest.

Geography, 1916, The Geographical Association, Sheffield, England. Another source of papers relating to ecology and humans.

Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 1986, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. Encompasses topics related to the earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land masses, and biota; interdisciplinary.

Global Change Biology, 1995, Blackwell Scientific New York. Deals with interface between all aspects of current environmental change and biological systems.

Herpetologica, 1945, Herpetologists League. Papers on all aspects of herpetology. Has improved with age.

Holarctic Ecology, 1978, Munksgaard, Copenhagen. Journal covering all aspects of the ecology of the Holarctic region and emphasizing descriptive and analytical studies. Complements Oikos.

Human Ecology, 1972, Plenum, New York. Journal devoted to the ecology of human beings.

Hydrobiologica, 1948, Dr. W. Junk, The Hague. Important journal on freshwater biology.

Hydrobiological Journal, 1965, American Fisheries Society and Scripta Publishing Co., New York. Translation of Russian journal. Valuable source of freshwater biology.

Ibis, 1859, British Ornithological Society. The leading British ornithological journal.

Journal of Animal Ecology, 1933, British Ecological Society, Blackwell, Oxford. Devoted exclusively to animal ecology. Contains many valuable papers.

Journal of Applied Ecology, 1966, British Ecological Society, Blackwell, Oxford. Devoted to the applied aspects of Ecology. Many useful papers on wildlife and human-dominated ecosystems.

Journal of Arid Environments, 1978, Academic Press, New York. Research work and reviews concerned with problems of arid environments.

Journal of Biogeography, 1974, Blackwell Scientific Publishing. Papers on biogeography of plants and animals.

Journal of Chemical Ecology, 1975, Springer-Verlag, New York. Major reference for papers on chemical ecology of plants and animals: pheromones, chemical defense, attraction, orientation, etc.

Journal of Coastal Research, 1984, The Coastal Education and Research Foundation. Covers social, economic, as well as biological aspects of the coastal environment.

Journal of East African Ecology, Ecological Society of East Africa. Continuation of East African Wildlife Journal.

Journal of Ecology, 1912, British Ecological Society, Blackwell, Oxford. Papers on general ecology with major emphasis on plants. An important reference journal.

Journal of Economic Entomology, 1908, Entomological Society of America. Economics of entomology with emphasis on insect damage and control.

Journal of Entomological Science, 1966, Georgia Entomological Society. Contains many papers on insect ecology.

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 1981, Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, Academic Press, New York. Papers on the economic side of ecology and the environment.

Journal of Environmental Quality, 1972, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI. Papers on environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. A significant journal.

Journal of Environmental Systems, 1971, Baywood. Papers on analysis, design, and management of environmental problems. Applied systems analysis.

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 1963, North Holland. All aspects of marine ecology.

Journal of Field Ornithology, 1980. A continuation of Bird-Banding with emphasis on field research.

Journal of Fish Biology, 1969, Fisheries Society of the British Isles, Academic Press, New York. Papers devoted to fishery biology and fishery management.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1943, Fisheries Research Board of Canada. Valuable source of papers on fish, fish management, and ecology.

Journal of Forestry, 1902, Society of American Foresters. Papers on general forestry. Some of interest to ecologists.

Journal of Herpetology, 1967, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. General papers on herpetology.

Journal of Mammalogy, 1919, American Society of Mammalogists. Only journal in English devoted to mammals.

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1920, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Contains papers on marine biology.

Journal of Marine Research, 1937, Sears Foundation for Marine Research, Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. A major source of papers on oceanography, heavy on the physical side.

Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 1982, North American Benthological Society, Lawrence, KS. Vols. 1 to 4 published as Freshwater Invertebrate Biology. An important journal devoted to ecology of bottom organisms, especially in streams; application of ecological theory to study of benthic communities.

Journal of Parasitology, 1914, American Society of Parasitology. All aspects of animal parasitism.

Journal of Range Management, 1947, American Society of Range Management. Advances in the science and art of grazing land management, understanding of practical and scientific range and pasture problems.

Journal of Soil Science, 1949, British Society of Soil Science. Science of soil in its widest aspects.

Journal of Soil Science of America, 1936, Soil Science Society of America. All aspects of soil science.

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 1946, Soil and Water Conservation Society. Covers the basic and applied aspects of soil and water conservation.

Journal of Tropical Ecology, 1985, International Association of Ecology. Considers all aspects of tropical ecology.

Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation, 1902, Water Pollution Control Federation. Important source of material on water pollution from causes and effects to solutions.

Journal of Wildlife Management, 1937, The Wildlife Society. Devoted to wildlife research and management. Contains excellent material for the field biologist.

Limnology and Oceanography, 1956, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. The major journal in the field. All papers of strong interest to ecologists.

Marine Biology, 1967, Springer-Verlag, New York. International journal devoted to life in the oceans and coastal waters.

Marine Ecology, 1969, Publication della Stazione Zoologice di Napoli, Paul Parier. Ecology of the marine environment.

Marine Environmental Research, 1980, Elsevier Applied Science, Essex, England. Papers on chemical, physical, and biological interactions in oceans and coastal waters; strong on marine pollution.

Microbial Ecology, 1975, Springer-Verlag, New York. Important journal covering advances in microbiology of natural ecosystems. Contains papers in those branches of ecology in which microorganisms are involved.

Natural Resources Journal, 1961, The University of New Mexico School of Law. The original environmental law journal, in print long before a general interest in law and the environment developed.

Nature, 1869, Macmillan, London. Contains a number of important papers of interest to ecologists and field biologists.

New York Fish and Game Journal, 1953, State of New York Conservation Department. Important regional publication with a number of major papers in the fish and wildlife field.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 1981, American Fisheries Society. Covers all aspects of fisheries management, including fish population dynamics.

Northwest Science, 1927, Northwest Science Association. Includes many papers on ecology, flora, and fauna of the Pacific Northwest.

Ocean and Shoreline Management, 1978, Elsevier Scientific Publishers. The applied side of coastal ecology.

Oecologica, 1963, Springer-Verlag, New York, in cooperation with International Association for Ecology. International journal containing general ecological papers.

Oikos, Acta Oecologica Scandinavica, 1950, Munksgaard, Copenhagen. A major ecological journal emphasizing experimental and theoretical studies. Papers are in English.

Ornis Scandavia, 1970, Scandavian Ornithological Union. Experimental studies in ornithology.

Pacific Science, 1947, University of Hawaii Press. Physical and biological sciences of the Pacific region.

Paleobiology, 1975, Paleontological Society, University of California. Major journal of paleontology.

Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology, 1979, Elsevier Science Publishers. Covers the broad sweep of paleontology.

Pedobiology, 1958, Veb Gustav Fisher Verlag Jena. Journal devoted to biology of soil organisms.

Pesticide Monitoring Journal, 1967, Federal Workers Group on Pesticide Management, Environmental Protection Agency, Chamblee, GA. Important source of pesticide information.

Physiological Zoology, 1927, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Contains many papers on physiological zoology.

Plant and Soil, 1948, Royal Netherlands Society of Agricultural Science. Covers nutrition, plant-microbe associations, soil microbiology.

Polar Biology, 1981, Springer-Verlag, New York. Papers on Arctic and Antarctic biology.

Polar Record, 1931, Cambridge University Press. Covers all aspects of polar research.

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1822, Zoological Society of London. Contains a number of major papers on ecology and behavior of animals.

Quarterly Review of Biology, 1926, American Institute of Biological Sciences. A review occasionally publishing papers of interest to field biologists. Excellent book reviews.

Quaternary Research, 1974, University of Washington and Academic Press. Research papers on the ice age.

Radiation Botany, 1961, Pergamon Press, Elmsford, NY. International journal with papers on effects of ionizing radiation on plants.

Regulated Rivers: Research and Management, 1980, Wiley, New York. interdisciplinary research concerned with river management: physical, biological, ecological.

Restoration Ecology, 1993, Blackwell Scientific Publications. Papers on restoration and management of disturbed sites.

Restoration and Management Notes, 1981, University of Wisconsin Press. Information and papers on restoration and management of ecological communities on highly disturbed sites.

Reviews in Aquatic Science, 1989, CRC Press. Valuable for its synthesis and review papers of aquatic biology.

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 1991, Chapman and Hall, London.

Rivers, 1980, Rivers, Fort Collins, CO. Studies in science, environmental policy, and law of instream flow.

Science, 1833, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Covers the whole field of science, but some papers of interest to ecologists.

The Southwestern Naturalist, 1956, Southwestern Association of Naturalists. Covers plants, animals, and ecology of southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Systematic Zoology, 1952, Society of Systematic Zoologists. Papers mainly on taxonomy, but many of strong ecological interest.

Taxon, 1951, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The international journal on plant taxonomy. Papers mostly of a technical nature.

Theoretical Population Biology, 1972, Academic Press, New York. Theoretical aspects of population biology, especially ecology, genetics, demography, and epidemiology.

Transactions of American Fisheries Society, 1959, American Fisheries Society. Contains a number of papers on fish and freshwater ecology.

Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 1986, Elsevier Scientific Publishing. Good review articles of specific topics and commentaries.

Urban Ecology, 1975, Elsevier, New York. International journal dealing with ecological processes and interactions within urban areas and between human settlements and surrounding natural systems that support them.

Vegetatio, 1950, Institute of Ecological Botany, Uppsala, Sweden. A major journal in plant ecology; synthesis of methods and theories in vegetation science.

Viltrevy, Swedish Wildlife, 1964, Swedish Sportsman’s Association, Stockholm. Long papers on wildlife, covering both ecology and behavior.

Wildlife Society Bulletin, 1973, The Wildlife Society. Articles oriented to field techniques, landscape management, and education.

Wilson Bulletin, 1888, Wilson Ornithological Society. Ornithological journal especially oriented to the field.