Trends in conservation biology: Progress or procrastination in a new millennium?

Since the 1990s the number of papers published by four mainstream conservation journals (Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Biodiversity and Conservation and Oryx) has increased by 133%. The main subject areas of research have not changed over time, with population biology, habitat change, community ecology and species conservation remaining the most popular topics. Equally, mammals, birds, invertebrates and plants have remained the most popular taxa, and – surprisingly – the number of papers dealing with general or global issues or using molecular approaches has remained low. Although collaboration increased over time, most conservation biology is still conducted by researchers working in developed countries. Most research published from developing countries in the 1990s did not have a local researcher as co-author. This trend has now been reversed, although there is only marginal evidence of an increase in collaboration between authors from developed and developing countries. Although conservation science has undergone dramatic technological changes as we have moved into the new millennium, published research remains rooted within the cultural traditions of developed countries, with a continuing emphasis on charismatic taxa.