An assessment of research in evolution and ecology supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Abstract

A quantitative review of Canadian university researchers in evolution and ecology shows that, in 1993, the median researcher worked in a small laboratory, consisting of a principal investigator and two associates. The median total support for these laboratories was Can$51 000/year, of which a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council research grant represented about Can$27 000. A few laboratories sometimes enjoyed more support, but many were surviving with less. The median laboratory had graduated two master's and one doctoral student in the previous 6 years, and the vast majority of these graduates found positions that made productive use of their training. This median laboratory also produced two or three papers a year, plus occasional reviews, book chapters, and books. Both productivity and impact rose with funding, but grant size explained much less than half of the variation among publication and citation rates. Although typical Canadian grants were less than half the size of those in other countries, available indices of national achievement in evolution and ecology place Canadian research among the world's best. From 1981 to 1992, Canada was the second most active nation in the fields of environment, ecology, and aquatic sciences in terms of both publications and citations.