Zoos and aquaria, often regarded as preservation-cum-entertainment enterprises, are also actors in the effort to curb the biodiversity crisis: raising awareness, supporting conservation, and conducting research. We assessed trends in zoo and aquaria research topics and study organisms over time worldwide. For the zoos and aquaria registered in the Species360's Zoological Information Management System and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, we compiled metadata on their research published in the peer-reviewed literature indexed in Scopus and carried out a keyword frequency analysis. The production of scientific papers by zoos increased at a much faster rate than the average accrual of scientific papers in the literature. Evolution of research themes ran parallel to that of biological sciences (e.g., development of molecular genetics or increased awareness about conservation). The focus of 48.5% of zoo-led research was on vertebrates, of which mammal research was 33.7%. Whether zoos are effectively contributing to conservation may still be debatable, but our results highlight their institutional efforts to increase knowledge about the species in their care.

中文翻译：

---

动物园和水族馆研究产出的全球趋势

动物园和水族馆，通常被视为保护和娱乐企业，也是遏制生物多样性危机的行动者：提高认识、支持保护和开展研究。我们评估了动物园和水族馆研究主题的趋势，并随着时间的推移研究了世界范围内的生物。对于在 Species360 的动物学信息管理系统和世界动物园和水族馆协会注册的动物园和水族馆，我们汇编了他们在 Scopus 索引的同行评审文献中发表的研究的元数据，并进行了关键词频率分析。动物园发表的科学论文的增长速度比文献中科学论文的平均增长速度要快得多。研究主题的演变与生物科学的演变平行（例如，分子遗传学的发展或对保护意识的提高）。动物园主导的研究中有 48.5% 的重点是脊椎动物，其中哺乳动物研究占 33.7%。动物园是否有效地为保护做出了贡献可能仍有争议，但我们的研究结果突出了他们为增加对所照顾物种的了解而做出的制度性努力。