1 On shoulders of giants: 70 years of science for conservation published in Wildfowl EILEEN C. REES1 & ANTHONY D. FOX2 1Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT, UK. 2Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, DK-8410 Rønde, Denmark. Abstract This 70th annual issue of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s scientific journal Wildfowl, which commenced life as the First Annual Report of the Severn Wildfowl Trust in 1948, provides a timely opportunity to review and celebrate the wealth of knowledge and pioneering research published in its pages over the decades. During this time it has disseminated the results of scientific studies undertaken globally on wildfowl and their wetland habitats, providing an invaluable source of information required to understand and conserve these species. In this retrospective editorial, we therefore review the heritage and evolution of the journal, its core role within the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (publisher of the journal), major papers published through its history, and recent advances in recognition of the journal in the 21st century. Key words: heritage, impact factor, Peter Scott, publications, sound science, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Seventy-two years since it first appeared, in niche as a major scientific journal, initially 1948, as the First Annual Report of the Severn specialising in wildfowl and more recently Wildfowl Trust, this 70th standard issue of the broadening its remit to include other Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s scientific waterbirds and their wetland habitats, journal Wildfowl provides a timely opportunity with papers submitted from across the to look back on the evolution of the journal globe. Even with the advent of new titles in and the wealth of knowledge and pioneering recent years, it is currently one of only research published within its pages over the 28 ornithological journals included in the decades. Publication has been missed in only Web of Science “Core Collection” and, three years; for the benefit of those wishing although some titles such as Ibis, The Auk to link volumes to publication date these and The Condor date back to the dawn of were in 1950, 1956 and 2004, for reasons ornithological research in the late 19th and lost in the mists of time. It was founded at a early 20th century, Wildfowl is mid-list in stage when the range of peer-reviewed both age and eminence. scientific publications was more limited Here we provide a fond retrospective of than it is now, but Wildfowl quickly found a the history and development of the journal. © Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Wildfowl (2020) 70: 1–12 2 Wildfowl journal retrospective In particular, this review of 70 years of the RRS Discovery expedition in particular is Wildfowl focuses on how the journal relates still used as baseline for current glaciological to scientific studies undertaken at WWT, and climatological change assessment/ and the impacts made by some of its modelling. The importance of science was influential papers. It also considers changes not lost on his son. The Annual Reports in the scope and influence of the journal therefore included not only detailed over the decades, and remembers the major information on the Report of Council, contributions of the editors and authors, membership, finances and fund-raising many of whom are of international renown. activity, but gave the results from the With uncertain times ahead, in a rapidly research and monitoring programmes changing world, the future of the journal is undertaken not only by the Trust’s staff but also briefly considered. by visiting scientists. It was a significant publication for that era, with Konrad Heritage and evolution of the journal Lorenz publishing a paper in Fourth The first issue of the journal – First Annual Annual Report following his 6-week visit to Report of the Severn Wildfowl Trust – was very Slimbridge, and by the mid-1950s researchers much a manifesto for the fledging Severn working more widely afield were also Wildfowl Trust (now WWT) inaugurated contributing their papers for publication. the previous year. The father of WWT’s Progress reports on the Trust’s scientific founder Peter Scott, the explorer Robert activity were included from the outset, with Falcon Scott (“Scott of the Antarctic”), saw the First Annual Report giving detailed scientific endeavour as the mainstay of his descriptions on the numbers of geese at expeditions; indeed, much of the data from the New Grounds (including three of the Figure 1. Line drawing of 32 European White-fronted Geese Anser a. albifrons being caught by rocket- net, in a flock of 1,300 at the New Grounds, Slimbridge during winter 1947/48. Illustration from the Severn Wildfowl Trust Annual Report 1948, drawn by Peter Scott. © Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Wildfowl (2020) 70: 1–12 Wildfowl journal retrospective 3 rare Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser illustrations of all the world’s wildfowl erythropus), rocket-netting geese for ringing species – which was subsequently published (Fig. 1), deployment of the duck decoy for as a separate book (Scott 1951). catching duck, and a stock-take of the The early years of the WWT were waterfowl in the Trust’s collection. Even in exciting and innovative times, evident in the this inaugural issue, results of the ringing rich flow of research papers and monitoring programmes were coming through, with updates presented in the Annual Reports some duck ringed in autumn 1947 (Fig. 2) during the 1950s. Pioneering studies on reported shot in the same winter, mostly the captive breeding (Lorenz 1952) and within Gloucestershire, but one immature behaviour (McKinney 1959; Johnsgard male Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata was 1960) of wildfowl, together with information recovered on the Wexford Slobs, Ireland, on the initiation and development of ringing and an immature male Eurasian Teal programmes (e.g. Scott et al. 1953; Cooch A. crecca was shot in France. Each issue was 1957), provided valuable information for illustrated not only by Peter Scott paintings the fields of animal husbandry, behavioural on the front cover but with his charming ecology and population dynamics used by line drawings highlighting key points made the current and future generations of or birds being described. Indeed, the Second researchers. Frank McKinney, who became Annual Report of the Severn Wildfowl Trust the foremost authority on dabbling duck included, remarkably, the Key to the Wildfowl behaviour, was author of the first Ph.D. of the World – 47 pages of description and study to be based at Slimbridge. His degree Figure 2. Peter Scott working on the House pipe during refurbishment of the Berkeley New Decoy at Slimbridge in 1948, by Fox Photos. © Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Wildfowl (2020) 70: 1–12 4 Wildfowl journal retrospective was awarded in 1953 and his many students numbers for the migratory goose populations continued to publish in Wildfowl until the wintering in the UK (e.g. Frederiksen et al. 1990s. In 1954, Eric Fabricius of the 2014). University of Helsinki and the Trust’s In 1961, the Wildfowl Trust Annual Report Resident Biologist Hugh Boyd used an was divided into two parts; the scientific experimental approach to describe the papers were separated from the account of “following” behaviour in ducklings; they the Trust’s activities for its Members, but the found that positive acoustic stimuli are more science continued to be distributed to effective than moving models in eliciting the existing, and newly-recruited, WWT Fellows following response, and the resultant paper and Life Members. By 1968, when the name in the Sixth Annual Report (Fabricius & Boyd of the journal changed to Wildfowl, it was 1954) continues to be a keynote publication, an established international publication, still cited > 60 years later. Importantly, Hugh attracting papers from leading researchers of Boyd instigated the regular sampling of age the day from both the UK and elsewhere ratios among geese in wintering flocks, interested in studying wildfowl and in the initially at Slimbridge (e.g. Boyd 1953, in the conservation of these species. The editor Fifth Annual Report), and shortly thereafter Prof. Geoffrey Matthews reported in his among wintering Iceland/Greenland Pink- editorial that was much debate regarding the footed Geese Anser brachyrhynchus at the new title for the journal; it was no longer population level, enabling facets of the Annual Report of the organisation but at demography to be incorporated into the same time it was desirable that continuity population modelling (Boyd 1956; Boyd & from previous issues of the journal should Ogilvie 1969). By the end of the 1950s, such not be lost. This precluded a complete demographic assessment of the annual change of title (e.g. Anser was suggested), and recruitment of young into wintering goose for a time Wildfowl Trust Annual Review was populations was an established feature of considered as there was an aim to increase population level goose monitoring, work the number of review articles. Other that continues to be undertaken by WWT non-review papers would continue to be staff and volunteer counters organised by published, however, and there was a WWT to the present day, now funded preference at the time for short, snappy, in partnership with the Joint Nature titles. Thus the decision was made simply to Conservation Committee and NatureScot call our journal Wildfowl, with the numbering (previously Scottish Natural Heritage). This, sequence of the volumes to be retained with together with the information on survival the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Wildfowl rates coming through from the ring recovery Trust being succeeded by Wildfowl 19. programmes (e.g. Boyd 1958) and latterly During the 1970s–1980s, Wildfowl grew supplemented by re-sightings of distinctive from strength-to-strength, with many papers markers (such as leg bands and neck collars), proving influential, as described in the has formed the basis for determining the “Main papers” section below.