Collaboration at the phylum level: coauthorship and acknowledgment patterns in the world of the water bears (phylum Tardigrada)

Coauthor and acknowledgment data were captured for 1384 research articles published between 1980 and June, 2023 that focused on tardigrades. Articles indexed in Web of Science or an archives of tardigrade literature were downloaded and thoroughly examined for personal acknowledgment data. Annual publication counts and coauthor maps for four successive time periods (1980–1999, 2000–2008, 2009–2017, 2018-June 2023) showed growth in the literature and increased research activity (more researchers, more complex networks, more international collaboration), beginning in 2000. A two-level Personal Acknowledgments Classification (PAC), was used to code types of acknowledgments. The majority of articles focused on field studies and/or descriptions of new species of tardigrades. This was reflected in rankings of acknowledgment categories and additions to the PAC. Ranked lists of frequently-thanked acknowledgees (all tardigrade researchers) were produced for each period. Acknowledgment profiles of four frequently-thanked researchers identified three different roles that researchers might play in tardigrade studies—”informal academic editorial consultant,” “taxonomic gatekeeper,” and “all-rounder.” Acknowledgments honoring people by naming a new species after them were only found in the species description, not in the formal acknowledgment section.