Dr. Simon Blanchet Appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the New Section “Freshwater Biodiversity” in Diversity

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