Trends in Pollination Scientists' Research: A Comprehensive Analysis in Citations and Research Topics

In pollination ecology research, there is a notable lack of understanding regarding the evolving trends and changes in scientific topics, which hampers the field's ability to address crucial ecological questions. Closing these knowledge gaps is essential for pollination ecologists to protect pollinator populations and their critical ecological roles. To analyze the work of scientists in pollination ecology, we identified researchers through Google Scholar, focusing on those who listed "pollination" or "pollinators" in their profiles. We also analyzed the 40 most-cited papers in pollination ecology by these scientists, each with over 1000 citations, using statistical tests to explore the relationships between citation counts and various influencing factors. We also examined the top 50 most frequently used bi-grams in article titles by these scientists to identify trends in research topics. We identified 223 pollination ecology scientists who collectively authored 14,661 papers, accumulating 1,570,139 citations. On average, each scientist received 7040 citations, with a mean H-index of 32.5. Notably, 67.8% of these citations came from papers where the scientists were not the first author. Analyzing the 40 most-cited papers revealed no significant correlations between citation counts and potential influencing factors. However, 24 of these papers emphasized the global importance of pollinators and their declines. Our trend analysis showed an increase in publications starting around 1974, peaking in 2020, and then declining. Citations have decreased since 2010, likely indicating a shift towards more specialized research topics. The analysis highlights a continued focus on bee research, particularly honeybees (Apis mellifera), within pollination ecology. Despite this focus, there has been a decline in publications since 2020 and in citations since 2010, suggesting the need for diversifying research themes to maintain the field's impact and relevance.