Plant scientists’ research attention is skewed towards colourful, conspicuous and broadly distributed flowers
Citation
Adamo, M. and Chialva, M. and Calevo, J. and Bertoni, F. and Dixon, K. and Mammola, S. 2021. Plant scientists’ research attention is skewed towards colourful, conspicuous and broadly distributed flowers. Nature Plants. 7 (5): pp. 574-578.
Source Title
Nature Plants
ISSN
Faculty
Faculty of Science and Engineering
School
School of Molecular and Life Sciences (MLS)
Collection
Abstract
Scientists’ research interests are often skewed toward charismatic organisms, but quantifying research biases is challenging. By combining bibliometric data with trait-based approaches and using a well-studied alpine flora as a case study, we demonstrate that morphological and colour traits, as well as range size, have significantly more impact on species choice for wild flowering plants than traits related to ecology and rarity. These biases should be taken into account to inform more objective plant conservation efforts.
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