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Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics · 85 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best open-access journals for Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

The top 40 of 85 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journals, open-access only, ranked by Scimago quartile, then by whether OpenAlex and Scimago agree on the subject and how central Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics is to each journal, then OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), leaving out journals both place in another discipline, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded; the FAQ below gives the exact ranking rule. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

Data as of — the date our venue index was last rebuilt from OpenAlex and Scimago.

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AllBest open-access journals
  1. 1
    Functional Ecology
    4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  2. 2
    Plant Diversity
    4.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Science Press
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  3. 3
    Biology Letters
    3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Royal Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  4. 4
    Ecologica Montenegrina
    2.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Centre for Biodiversity of Montenegro
    Open AccessScopusPubMed
  5. 5
    European Journal of Taxonomy
    1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Consortium of European Natural History Museums
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  6. 6
    ZooKeys
    1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  7. 7
    Royal Society Open Science
    4.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Royal Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  8. 8
    Current Zoology
    2.2 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Oxford
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  9. 9
    Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift
    0.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  10. 10
    Psyche A Journal of Entomology
    2.0 cites/paper · Q2 · Cambridge Entomological Club
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  11. 11
    Zoosystematics and Evolution
    1.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  12. 12
    PhytoKeys
    1.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  13. 13
    Biodiversity Data Journal
    1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  14. 14
    Revue suisse de zoologie
    0.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Natural History Museum of Geneva
    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  15. 15
    Cahiers Agricultures
    1.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Université des Réseaux d'Expression Française
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  16. 16
    European Journal of Entomology
    1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Institute of Entomology
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  17. 17
    Acarologia
    1.1 cites/paper · Q2 · EDP Sciences
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  18. 18
    Journal of Insect Science
    2.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Oxford University Press
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  19. 19
    Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales
    1.6 cites/paper · Q3
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  20. 20
    Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity
    0.8 cites/paper · Q3 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  21. 21
    Acta Botanica Mexicana
    0.8 cites/paper · Q3 · Instituto de Ecología, UNAM
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  22. 22
    Check List
    0.5 cites/paper · Q3 · Pensoft Publishers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  23. 23
    Turczaninowia
    0.4 cites/paper · Q3 · Altay State University
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  24. 24
    Edinburgh Journal of Botany
    0.3 cites/paper · Q3 · Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
    Open AccessDOAJScopus
  25. 25
    Revista Peruana de Biología
    0.3 cites/paper · Q3 · National University of San Marcos
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  26. 26
    BOIS & FORETS DES TROPIQUES
    0.2 cites/paper · Q3 · Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement
    Open AccessScopusWeb of Science
  27. 27
    Florida Entomologist
    1.2 cites/paper · Q3 · Florida Entomological Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  28. 28
    African Entomology
    0.9 cites/paper · Q3 · Peter Lang
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  29. 29
    Acta Botanica Brasilica
    1.2 cites/paper · Q3 · Sociedade Botânica do Brasil
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  30. 30
    Sociobiology
    1.2 cites/paper · Q3 · State University of Feira de Santana
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  31. 31
    Botanical Sciences
    1.0 cites/paper · Q3 · Sociedad Botánica de México, A. C.
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  32. 32
    Revue d’élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux
    0.8 cites/paper · Q3 · French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development
    Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
  33. 33
    Rodriguésia
    0.7 cites/paper · Q3 · Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Research Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopus
  34. 34
    Revista Brasileira de Entomologia
    0.7 cites/paper · Q3 · Entomological Society of Brazil
    Open AccessScopusWeb of Science
  35. 35
    Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia
    0.3 cites/paper · Q3 · University of São Paulo
    Open AccessDOAJScopus
  36. 36
    Acta Biológica Colombiana
    0.9 cites/paper · Q4 · National University of Colombia
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  37. 37
    Bothalia
    0.9 cites/paper · Q4 · AOSIS
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  38. 38
    ENTOMON
    0.4 cites/paper · Q4
    Open AccessScopus
  39. 39
    INRAE Productions Animales
    0.7 cites/paper · Q4
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  40. 40
    Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
    0.6 cites/paper · Q4 · Korean Society of Environmental Agriculture
    Open AccessScopus

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

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Frequently asked

Functional Ecology, Plant Diversity, Biology Letters, Ecologica Montenegrina, European Journal of Taxonomy lead this list, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. The top 40 of 85 ranked venues are listed on this page; 9 are Scimago Q1, 9 Q2, 17 Q3 and 5 Q4. Journals are placed by two independent classifications, OpenAlex's and Scimago's, plus any documented corrections. A journal both place under Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ranks ahead, within its Scimago quartile, of one only OpenAlex places there — because Scimago does not cover it, files it as Multidisciplinary, or files it under a neighbouring subject or only under a broad “(miscellaneous)” category (which counts as agreement when Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics is the journal's main OpenAlex subfield). By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4, then venues without one). Within a quartile, journals both sources place under Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics come first, then venues whose main OpenAlex subfield is Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics come before those that list it second or third, and ties go to OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. A venue whose main subfield is unrelated to Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics — fewer than a quarter of the venues filed under that subfield (or fewer than five) are also filed under Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics — is listed after all the others. Where cites/paper decides, a journal with fewer than 30 papers in OpenAlex over the four most recent publication years is listed after those with more: a two-year average over so few papers can rest on a single article (1 of the 85 journals ranked here is below that floor; it is not among the 40 shown). Only open-access venues are included. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor, and journals flagged as predatory are excluded. For a match to your specific paper use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

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