鸟类学研究:过去二十年的回顾和对中国未来发展的建议

为了解中国鸟类学研究的状况和发展趋势,我们利用在线文献数据库(Web of Science)检索了1991-2010年间发表的与鸟类有关的文献,对中国和其他国家的鸟类学研究论文、研究领域、研究机构等进行了分析和比较。结果发现,中国鸟类学研究发展很快,专业研究人员数量在1991-2010年间增长了近四倍,在国际上发表的研究论文的数量近几年年均增长25%;论文数量占世界的比例已经由1991-2000年的0.46%上升到了2001-2010年期间的1.53%,世界排名由第27位上升至第16位,并且研究领域更加多元化,论文水平不断提高。在鸟类系统发育与演化、合作繁殖和婚配、禽流感、巢寄生等领域的许多成果开始在国际相关领域的高水平刊物上发表,在古鸟类以及雉类和鹤类等濒危鸟类的保护研究方面位居世界前列。但从整体而言,中国鸟类学研究与世界上一些发达国家相比还有很大差距。为此我们对中国鸟类学未来的发展提出了一些建议,包括需要更加关注鸟类的生活史对策、气候变化和城市化对鸟类的影响、鸟类迁徙、濒危物种保护生物学等领域的研究,进一步加强国际交流与合作,规范鸟类研究及数据保存和处理的方法,采取更有效措施加大对青年研究人员的支持力度等。

Ornithological research: past twenty years and future perspectives in China

To understand recent trends in the development of global ornithological research,compare these with related trends and patterns in China,and provide suggestions for future directions for Chinese ornithological research,we conducted a literature review of ornithology-related publications from 1991 to 2010 using reference database:Web of Science.We reviewed many publications and other information and provide here a summary of the trends in publication quantity and quality,major research areas,major research institutions,and individual contributions of ornithologists in the world and in China.The number of China’s ornithological professionals increased about ten times during the period,and avian-related publications in professional journals increased about 25% annually.Chinese ornithologists were recognized for their advancements in paleontology,pheasant and crane conservation,avian evolution,and applications of molecular technologyto systematics.Compared with developed countries such as USA,UK,Germany and Canada,China is still behind in the quantity and quality of ornithological research and publications.In the future,we recommend that Chinese ornithologists pay more attention to studies on avian life history,the impacts of climate change and urbanization on birds,avian conservation and protection,bird migration and connectivity,research methodology improvement,research team training and multidisciplinary collaborations,long-term research and monitoring system establishment,and international cooperation.