Announcements

Name: Dr. Simon Blanchet
Affiliation: Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique, 09200 Moulis, France
Interests: freshwater ecology; population (epi-)genetics; ecosystem functioning; host-parasite interactions; evolutionary ecology; habitat fragmentation; conservation biology, fish ecology and evolution

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. Simon Blanchet, who shared his vision for this Section with us, as well as his views of the research area:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

Editing manuscripts is an enjoyable part of a researcher's work. I see this as a way to improve my knowledge of biological diversity and to sate my curiosity about biodiversity and science in general. I also like the idea of knowing a bit more about what people are doing around me in this small world. Thus, this new opportunity to go a step further in the editing process is very exciting to me.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

Journals focusing on the description and understanding of diversity patterns across biomes and taxa are rare. This is surprising because this is actually the basis of the work of ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Diversity is filling this gap, and I think that the journal has a long life ahead of it, as we still have a lot to discover in this area. Thus, my vision for the journal is to continue its goal of describing the diversity patterns of all forms while maintaining a high scientific standard. I also would like the journal to move toward publishing mechanistic papers aiming to further understand why we observe these diversity patterns.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

It looks like a molecule, a DNA molecule. We are all developing innovative methods to survey biological diversity. These methods are often very high-tech; I would guess that the future of the field of biodiversity science will be "high-tech", but I actually hope that it will also move toward a lower-tech approach so as to keep our naturalist minds open.

4. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?

Open access is an important development as it guarantees the free distribution of scientific content to all people on Earth. Nonetheless, it must be developed in such a way that all scientists around the world can publish, even if they don't have the funding to pay for open access services. A right balance must be found among scientists around the world.

We warmly welcome Dr. Simon Blanchet to his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we wish him every success in his research and in the development of the journal.

Diversity Editorial Office

The Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818) editorial team is pleased to announce the launch of a new Section, “Freshwater Biodiversity”. This Section will publish papers describing biodiversity (ranging from molecules to species and from unicellulars to vertebrates) across space and time, as well as identifying the processes that shape these patterns in freshwater ecosystems.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Genetic diversity;
• Intraspecific diversity;
• Phylogenetic diversity;
• Functional diversity;
• Species diversity;
• Taxonomy;
• Macroecology;
• Biogeography;
• Conservation;
• Global change.

We are currently recruiting Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors for this new Section. If you would like to help build a platform to provide your scientific community with the opportunity to collaborate on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic(s), please do not hesitate to join us.

To apply for these positions, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact the Diversity Editorial Office (diversity@mdpi.com).

We also welcome you to submit related work to our Sections: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/sections.

Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818, https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/sections) is an international, scientific, peer-reviewed, open access journal. It is published monthly online by MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The journal has been indexed by Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), PubAg, and many other databases. Diversity has a Journal Impact Factor of 2.465, ranking Q2 (“Biodiversity Conservation”) in the Web of Science.

2. “Functional Diversity of Soil Nematodes in Relation to the Impact of Agriculture—A Review
Stela Lazarova et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020064

3. “Karstic Landscapes Are Foci of Species Diversity in the World’s Third-Largest Vertebrate Genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Reptilia: Squamata; Gekkonidae)”
Lee Grismer et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(5), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050183

4. “Turbid Coral Reefs: Past, Present and Future—A Review”
Adi Zweifler (Zvifler) et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(6), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13060251

5. “Italian Vascular Flora: New Findings, Updates and Exploration of Floristic Similarities between Regions”
Adriano Stinca et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(11), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110600

6. “An Overview of the Helminths of Moor Frog Rana arvalis Nilsson, 1842 (Amphibia: Anura) in the Volga Basin”
Igor V. Chikhlyaev et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020061

7. “Effects of Human Disturbance on Terrestrial Apex Predators”
Andrés Ordiz et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020068

8. “Orchid Extinction over the Last 150 Years in the Czech Republic”
Zuzana Štípková et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020078

9. “Orchids of Mongolia: Taxonomy, Species Richness and Conservation Status”
Shukherdorj Baasanmunkh et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(7), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13070302

10. “On the Diversity of Phyllodocida (Annelida: Errantia), with a Focus on Glyceridae, Goniadidae, Nephtyidae, Polynoidae, Sphaerodoridae, Syllidae, and the Holoplanktonic Families”
Daniel Martin et al.
Diversity 2021, 13(3), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13030131

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Michel Baguette has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Biogeography and Macroecology” in Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Michel Baguette, who shared his vision for the Section with us, as well as his views of the research area.

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

My experience as Editor of Diversity was excellent, so I did not hesitate to increase my investment in the journal by accepting the invitation to serve as Editor-in-Chief for the Section “Biogeography and Macroecology”.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

I am convinced that the quality and the impact of Diversity will continue to increase because of its editorial policy, which aims for a transparent, fast and constructive review process. In addition, I like that the journal provides various original support mechanisms to authors, which allow them to advertise their scientific work. I think it is a good incentive to publish in Diversity.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Biogeography and macroecology are research fields that strongly benefit from the big data revolution: it is now possible to collect and analyze huge data sets that provide new information on the patterns of biological diversity on Earth and its regulatory processes. Using this information, it is possible to build predictive models of biodiversity changes according to various environmental stressors, which can then be tested experimentally. It is an exciting leap of knowledge.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

The generalization of open access restores a fair distribution of knowledge to all citizens of the world. Academic research is largely funded by public money. It is thus expected that scientific results are available to everyone. However, an ideal model is yet to be developed: research funders need to help laboratories bear the costs of open access, which might be possible by foregoing the very expensive subscriptions to journals published by a handful of publishers.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Michel Baguette to his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we wish him every success in his research and in the development of the journal.

Diversity Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. José L. Tella has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Biodiversity Loss and Dynamics” in Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. José L. Tella, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his view of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

I did not hesitate to accept the invitation to serve as Editor-in-Chief for Diversity, as my previous experiences with this journal as an author, Editorial Board Member, and Guest Editor were very satisfactory.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

I firmly believe that the recognition and impact of Diversity will grow rapidly, as more researchers become aware of the speed, rigor, and transparency of the journal's peer review process, and of the help that the journal offers for authors, reviewers, and editors.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Unfortunately, the increasing anthropization of the world will continue to impact its biodiversity in multiple ways. The study of these impacts will continue to grow, perhaps exponentially, since we need to know them precisely to try to mitigate them.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

Open Access is key since it allows free access to readers and the dissemination of scientific skills and information all over the world. However, many research groups cannot afford APC costs. I hope that the rapid increase in open access journals will lead to a significant reduction in APCs. Meanwhile, publishers should make open access publication much more accessible, especially for authors from countries where access to research funding is very limited.

We wish Prof. Dr. José L. Tella every success in his research and in the development of the journal.

Diversity Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative, the Diversity Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will provide an opportunity for early career scientists to enhance their editing, networking, and organizational skills and to work closely with our journal to gain more editorial experience. Early career scientists with novel ideas for new Diversity Special Issues will act as Guest Editors under the mentorship of an experienced scientist; this mentor could be a member of the Editorial Board of Diversity (ISSN: 1424-2818), from other well-established research institutes or laboratories, etc.

Early Career Scientist’s Responsibilities:

• Providing a CV, including a list of publications;
• Proposing a Special Issue title and a short introduction;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue;
• Reviewing and making decisions for submissions under the mentorship of our editorial board members.

Mentor’s Responsibilities:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Co-editing the Special Issue with younger scholars and performing quality control of the publications in the SI;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue.

Certificates and Awards:

After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors, and the younger scholars will be prioritized as candidates for the Diversity Young Investigator Awards in future editions.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Diversity Editorial Office (diversity@mdpi.com), and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, Diversity will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

Diversity Editorial Office

Diversity is recruiting Editorial Board Members who would like to be involved in one of the five Sections: “Biodiversity Conservation”, “Chemical Diversity and Chemical Ecology”, “Biogeography and Macroecology”, “Biodiversity Loss & Dynamics”, and “Diversity Review”. If you are interested in serving on the Editorial Board, or have potential candidates to recommend, please reach out to us.

Applicants for Editorial Board positions may nominate a specific Section in which they feel their expertise lies or may nominate themselves as an Editorial Board Member for the entire journal.  

Diversity (ISSN: 1424-2818; Impact Factor: 2.465) is a fully open access journal on the science of biodiversity from molecules and genes to populations, species, and ecosystems. It is indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), Scopus (CiteScore in 2020: 2.2), and other important databases.

As an Editorial Board member, you will have the following responsibilities:

• Pre-screening submissions and making decisions on whether they should be rejected or accepted for processing;
• Editing a Special Issue on a topic related to your research;
• Recommending timely topics and suggesting potential Guest Editors;
• Publishing/inviting/recommending one paper free of charge per year;
• Identifying appropriate conferences for the promotion of Diversity;
• Promoting the journal.

To apply or request further information, please contact the Diversity Editorial Office (diversity@mdpi.com). We look forward to hearing from you soon.

We are pleased to announce that five new scholars have recently been appointed Editorial Board Members (EBMs) for the journal Diversity (ISSN: 1424-2818).

We wish them every success both in their research and in the development of the journal.

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/editors.

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.