Trends in Diatom Research Since 1991 Based on Topic Modeling

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Marine Biology

Background:

• Diatoms are crucial primary producers in aquatic ecosystems.
• Their role in carbon cycling and potential for environmental applications are significant.
• A comprehensive overview of diatom research evolution is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze trends in diatom research from 1991-2018.
• To provide a guide for future diatom research directions.
• To understand the shift from basic research to applied environmental studies.

Main Methods:

• Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was used to analyze 19,000 diatom-related publication abstracts.
• Bayesian model selection identified 116 distinct research topics.
• Topic trends (hot and cold) were determined over the study period.

Main Results:

• Identified 116 topics, with 'diversity', 'environmental indicator', 'climate change', 'land use', and 'water quality' as prominent hot topics.
• Basic research areas like 'growth rate' and 'feeding' have become cold topics.
• Emerging hot topics include 'spatial-temporal distribution', 'molecular identification', and 'gene expression', indicating a move towards comprehensive studies.

Conclusions:

• Diatom research is increasingly focused on environmental applications, particularly as indicators for water quality and climate change.
• There is a declining emphasis on fundamental diatom biology, with a growing trend towards integrated and comprehensive studies.
• Future research should align with environmental management and climate change mitigation strategies, addressing broader ecological contexts of diatoms.