@article{a6f48b264f7344f98015950e298564cb,
title = "The role of a discipline-specific journal in scientific discovery",
abstract = "The Journal of the North American Benthological Society (J-NABS) is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special issue composed of review papers that address the progress of 18 subdisciplines within benthology and the role of the Journal in the development of each subdiscipline. The objectives of our paper were to define the underlying reasons for publishing the Journal by discussing the role of scientific journals, provide a brief history of the Journal, discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid evolution of scholarly publication, and provide a synopsis of the papers in this issue. J-NABS is a highly respected journal within the areas of ecology and marine and freshwater biology. The Journal is most similar to Freshwater Biology and Fundamental and Applied Limnology based on citation patterns. Changes in scientific publishing have created significant opportunities and challenges for the Journal. Digital information technologies and the World Wide Web have changed the way people seek, read, and use information; created opportunities to reach a global audience and to facilitate free and open exchange of information; and created a need among society-published journals for new business models as traditional revenue sources (individual and library subscriptions) continue to decline. The scope of J-NABS is habitat specific and most papers in the Journal address some aspect of stream ecology. Papers published in this anniversary issue of J-NABS fall into subdisciplines in 5 broad categories: 1) the physical environment (5 articles); 2) the interface of chemistry and biology (2 articles); 3) the biota (7 articles); 4) the human factor (4 articles); and 5) a synthesis. Many authors in this issue call for benthologists to find ways to apply their work to manage, conserve, and restore aquatic habitats and organisms.",
author = "Pamela Silver and Steinman, {Alan D.} and Irwin Polls",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Fred Benfield, Ken Cummins, Ron Hellenthal, Rich Merritt, Rosemary Mackay, Sam Mozley, Vince Resh, David Rosenberg, Tom Waters, Jack Webster, members of past NABS Executive Committees, and especially Jerry Kaster for bringing J-NABS into existence. The Journal could not have succeeded without the dedication, sacrifices, hard work, and high standards of Rosemary Mackay and David Rosenberg. We also acknowledge the contributions of editorial assistants Lisa Onwubuke (n{\'e}e Dorman), Jos{\'e} Perez, Andrew Mackay, Donna Lar-oque, and Sheila Storms. We are particularly grateful to members of the J-NABS Editorial Board, past and present, for their willingness to serve, their support, their ability to guide young (and old) scientists, and their invaluable contributions to the quality of the Journal. We thank the authors who have entrusted the Journal with their research and intellectual products over the past 25 y, and we thank the 16 J-NABS Associate Editors, 2 guest Associate Editors, and many referees who donated their time and energy to evaluate and improve the manuscripts they reviewed for this anniversary issue. Mary Ogdahl (Grand Valley State University) and Sheila Storms provided invaluable help in producing this issue, and their contributions are gratefully acknowledged. Andrew Boulton, Rob Baker, Rosemary Mackay, Andrew Mackay, and Dave Rosenberg provided valuable input and feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. We also thank Nick Aumen, Nancy Tuchman, and the NABS Executive Committee for their financial support as this issue came to fruition. Last, but most importantly, we thank the authors of papers in this anniversary issue. This issue is dedicated to them and to all of the authors, past, present, and future, they have so admirably represented. Funding Information: FRIEDLANDER, A., AND R. S. BESSETTE. 2003. The implications of information technology for scientific journal publishing: a literature review. Special report. Division of Science Resourc-es Statistics, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2010 by The North American Benthological Society",
year = "2010",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1899/09-156.1",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "29",
pages = "1--11",
journal = "Journal of the North American Benthological Society",
issn = "0887-3593",
publisher = "The Society for Freshwater Science",
number = "1",
}
