MARE researchers on the ‘World's Top 2% Scientists List’
Eight. That's the number of MARE researchers mentioned in the report ‘Updated science-wide author databases of standardised citation indicators’. An exceptional number, of which MARE is proud.
Every year Elsevier updates its data repository of the world's most cited scientists. There are two publicly available lists: the most cited worldwide in 2023 and the most cited throughout their career.
Among the most cited scientists in 2023 are MARE researchers Verónica Ferreira, Bernardo Duarte, Manuel Graça, Rui Rosa, Paula Sobral, João Canning-Clode and Jaime Ramos. Manuel Graça and Jaime Ramos also join João Carlos Marques on the list of the highest number of citations throughout their careers.
What do these researchers study?
Verónica Ferreira works in the field of stream ecology to understand how these ecosystems work and how they react to environmental changes such as those resulting from human activities, climate change or the infection of vegetation by pathogens. ‘I always try to ensure that my research contributes to advancing the state of the art and has an impact on my field of research,’ explains the researcher. For Verónica Ferreira, ‘this mention on the list reflects the recognition of my work by my peers’, since ‘these indexes simply reflect this impact since they are based on aspects that we cannot control, such as the number of citations our work receives, which are a consequence of the interest it arouses in other researchers’.
Researcher Rui Rosa was also very pleased with his accolade: ‘I'm delighted to receive this honour for the third year running. I owe this recognition to my fantastic team (including, of course, former members) and to my collaborators.’ The MARE researcher currently runs his own laboratory, the Rui Rosa Lab, dedicated to understanding how future environmental changes, such as climate change and ocean acidification, affect marine biodiversity.
Paula Sobral, although surprised, was happy, seeing the mention as recognition of the work she has been doing in the area of microplastics in the oceans, marine litter and ecotoxicology. In addition, the researcher is interested in the social values of ecology and communication and is the founder of the Portuguese Marine Litter Association - APLM .
Bernardo Duarte also works in ecotoxicology. He assesses the harmful effects of contaminants, particularly emerging contaminants such as cosmetics, pharmaceutical residues, biocides and metallic nanoparticles, on marine organisms, especially photosynthetic organisms.
MARE-Madeira researcher and founder João Canning-Clode, currently Edinburgh Ocean Leader, currently chairs the Working Group on the Introduction and Transfer of Marine Organisms at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), an area in which he has excelled. He shared on social media that ‘this achievement is particularly significant, as it comes at the end of a challenging year full of political obstacles’, and that ‘despite the obstacles, this recognition probably means that we are on the right track - moving forward and continuing to contribute to the field of Marine Sciences in Madeira and Portugal’.
Researcher Jaime Ramos, coordinator of the MARE-UCoimbra Regional Research Unit and the research group EcoTop: Ecology and Conservation of Top Predators, is mentioned in the report as one of the most cited in individual terms in 2023, but also in terms of career. The research group he coordinates carries out studies on habitat selection, trophic ecology, feeding ecology, movement ecology and physiology, for the conservation of top predators and their use as sentinels of environmental change.
Also mentioned in both categories - individual and career - Manuel Graça was ‘pleased with the mention’, but believes that it ‘shouldn't be overestimated, since science is made up, above all, of millions of individual contributions’. With his work, the researcher aims to contribute to understanding the importance of the organic material produced in riparian zones for rivers.
Although he is currently retired from research, it wasn't a hindrance for the former director of MARE, João Carlos Marques, to be mentioned in the list of most cited works throughout his career. The researcher carried out many years of research into marine and estuarine ecology.
By having such a high number of researchers mentioned in the ‘World's Top 2% Scientists List’, MARE is asserting itself as an institution of excellence in scientific research, standing out for its scientific contribution of high impact and importance.