Evidence of the Matthew effect in scientific research on mammals in the Chinese First-class National Protected Animals list
To the Editor, China is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities (Myers et al. 2000). The wide range of habitats has contributed to the richness of China’s mammal fauna and diversity. It has the third highest number of mammal species amongst all countries (Mittermeier et al. 1997). Overall, more than 10 % (556/5416) of mammal species in the world live in China (Wilson and Reeder 2005). Forty-three entries in the State Key Protected Animal List, issued soon after the China’s Wildlife Law was adopted in 1989 in Category I (First-class National Protected Animals, FNPA), five are for genera and 38 for species (Moschus spp. were subsequently added in 2003; see supplementary material, Appendix 1 for the list). Because of the diverse distribution ranges, population densities, and economic values, mammals listed as FNPAs attract uneven academic and public attention. In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the status quo of research on FNPA mammals, we retrieved the research literature published from 1989 to 2013, included in the Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD; http://sciencechina.cn/) and Institute for Scientific