Two decades of data reveal that Biological Invasions needs to increase participation beyond North America, Europe, and Australasia

Abstract

Most published papers in ecology come from a handful of countries, and invasion science as an ecological subdiscipline is no exception. Based on the country of corresponding authors, we analyzed patterns in submissions, reviews, and publications in the journal Biological Invasions from its first issue in 1999 to 2020. Regionally, North America, Europe, and Australasia submitted and published the most articles during this period and supplied most reviewers and journal editors. As a country, the USA stands out in terms of papers published and reviewers involved in the process. The dominance of published articles from USA-based scientists declined through time, but such articles still constitute one-third of all articles in recent years. However, as biological invasions are a worldwide phenomenon acting on local to global scales, research from all regions of the world is needed to better understand and manage invasions. By tracking and reporting the trends in the countries of origin of the journal’s authors and reviewers, and by encouraging submissions from more countries, we hope that geographical differences will decrease and that a more global understanding of biological invasions will emerge.