Michael J. Samways

20.1k total citations · 1 hit paper
410 papers, 11.1k citations indexed

About

Michael J. Samways is a scholar working on Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Ecology. According to data from OpenAlex, Michael J. Samways has authored 410 papers receiving a total of 11.1k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 234 papers in Nature and Landscape Conservation, 173 papers in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and 165 papers in Ecology. Recurrent topics in Michael J. Samways's work include Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies (202 papers), Plant and animal studies (139 papers) and Species Distribution and Climate Change (114 papers). Michael J. Samways is often cited by papers focused on Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies (202 papers), Plant and animal studies (139 papers) and Species Distribution and Climate Change (114 papers). Michael J. Samways collaborates with scholars based in South Africa, United States and United Kingdom. Michael J. Samways's co-authors include James S. Pryke, John P. Simaika, René Gaigher, Corinna S. Bazelet, R. Osborn, Justin Gerlach, D. Johan Kotze, T. R. New, Mark G. Wright and Temitope Kehinde and has published in prestigious journals such as SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, PLoS ONE and Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

In The Last Decade

Michael J. Samways

401 papers receiving 10.5k citations

Hit Papers

align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

Terrestrial invertebrates as bioindicators: an overview of available taxonomic groups

2013 348 citations Michael J. Samways, James S. Pryke et al. Journal of Insect Conservation profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name	h						Papers	Cites
Michael J. Samways South Africa	54	5.7k	4.9k	4.1k	3.0k	2.7k	410	11.1k
Nathan J. Sanders United States	57	6.9k 1.2×	5.2k 1.1×	6.7k 1.6×	3.9k 1.3×	1.7k 0.6×	193	14.4k
Raphaël K. Didham Australia	44	7.8k 1.4×	6.8k 1.4×	5.6k 1.4×	2.7k 0.9×	2.7k 1.0×	161	14.9k
Howard V. Cornell United States	41	7.2k 1.3×	6.4k 1.3×	5.8k 1.4×	4.1k 1.4×	2.1k 0.8×	76	13.9k
Piero Genovesi Italy	38	3.4k 0.6×	5.3k 1.1×	2.1k 0.5×	2.1k 0.7×	1.8k 0.7×	84	9.1k
Vojtĕch Jaros̆ı́k Czechia	52	7.4k 1.3×	4.9k 1.0×	5.5k 1.4×	2.1k 0.7×	2.8k 1.0×	82	13.4k
Jason M. Tylianakis New Zealand	51	5.2k 0.9×	4.0k 0.8×	6.9k 1.7×	1.8k 0.6×	3.6k 1.3×	131	12.7k
Marc W. Cadotte Canada	58	9.7k 1.7×	5.9k 1.2×	6.4k 1.6×	3.5k 1.2×	1.5k 0.5×	215	16.0k
Nick M. Haddad United States	47	4.8k 0.9×	4.2k 0.9×	3.6k 0.9×	1.7k 0.6×	1.1k 0.4×	129	9.0k
Roland Brandl Germany	52	3.7k 0.7×	3.8k 0.8×	4.2k 1.0×	1.8k 0.6×	3.2k 1.2×	252	9.6k
Juan J. Armestó Chile	46	6.3k 1.1×	5.7k 1.2×	4.4k 1.1×	2.0k 0.7×	1.1k 0.4×	203	13.8k

Countries citing papers authored by Michael J. Samways

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Michael J. Samways's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Michael J. Samways with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Michael J. Samways more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Michael J. Samways

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Michael J. Samways. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Michael J. Samways. The network helps show where Michael J. Samways may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Michael J. Samways

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Michael J. Samways. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Michael J. Samways based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Michael J. Samways. Michael J. Samways is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

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20 of 20 papers shown

Gaigher, René, James S. Pryke, & Michael J. Samways. (2025). Soil arthropods make an important contribution to litter decomposition in both indigenous and plantation forests. Applied Soil Ecology. 207. 105945–105945. 2 indexed citations

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (2024). Umbrella index as a conservation tool across pondscapes: A case study using frogs, aquatic insects, and plants in South Africa. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators. 24. 100478–100478. 1 indexed citations

Simaika, John P., Michael J. Samways, Guy F. Midgley, et al.. (2024). Drivers of compositional turnover in narrow‐ranged and widespread dragonflies and damselflies in Africa. Insect Conservation and Diversity. 17(3). 501–511. 4 indexed citations

Pryke, James S., Michael J. Samways, T. R. New, Pedro Cardoso, & René Gaigher. (2024). Routledge Handbook of Insect Conservation. 14 indexed citations

Samways, Michael J., James S. Pryke, René Gaigher, & Charl Deacon. (2024). Eco‐evolutionary origins and diversification in a megadiverse hotspot: Arthropods in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Ecology and Evolution. 14(8). e70195–e70195. 1 indexed citations

Deacon, Charl, James S. Pryke, & Michael J. Samways. (2024). Unpaved road verges are attractive habitats for dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in a plantation forestry-grassland mosaic. Journal of Insect Conservation. 28(2). 379–388. 1 indexed citations

Kietzka, Gabriella J., James S. Pryke, René Gaigher, & Michael J. Samways. (2021). Webs of well-designed conservation corridors maintain river ecosystem integrity and biodiversity in plantation mosaics. Biological Conservation. 254. 108965–108965. 21 indexed citations

Kratschmer, Sophie, Bärbel Pachinger, René Gaigher, et al.. (2021). Enhancing flowering plant functional richness improves wild bee diversity in vineyard inter‐rows in different floral kingdoms. Ecology and Evolution. 11(12). 7927–7945. 20 indexed citations

Simaika, John P., Jessica L. Ware, Rosser W. Garrison, & Michael J. Samways. (2020). Phylogeny of the Synlestidae (Odonata: Zygoptera), with an emphasis on Chlorolestes Selys and Ecchlorolestes Barnard. Scientific Reports. 10(1). 15088–15088. 4 indexed citations

10.

Poniatowski, Dominik, et al.. (2020). Relative impacts of land‐use and climate change on grasshopper range shifts have changed over time. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 29(12). 2190–2202. 49 indexed citations

11.

Simaika, John P. & Michael J. Samways. (2010). Biophilia as a Universal Ethic for Conserving Biodiversity. Conservation Biology. 24(3). 903–906. 91 indexed citations

12.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (2008). Shade Alone Reduces Adult Dragonfly (Odonata: Libellulidae) Abundance. Journal of Insect Behavior. 21(6). 460–468. 97 indexed citations

13.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (2006). Remarkable elevational tolerance in an African Odonata larval assemblage. Odonatologica. 35(3). 265–280. 10 indexed citations

14.

Samways, Michael J.. (2002). Red-listed Odonata of Africa. Odonatologica. 31(2). 151–170. 12 indexed citations

15.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (2001). Life history of the threatened Karkloof blue butterfly, Orachrysops ariadne (Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae). African Entomology. 9(2). 137–151. 6 indexed citations

16.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (2000). Conserving dragonflies (Odonata) along streams running through commercial forestry.. Odonatologica. 29(3). 195–208. 52 indexed citations

17.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (1996). Dragonflies (Odonata) as Indicators of Biotope Quality in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Journal of Applied Ecology. 33(5). 1001–1001. 168 indexed citations

18.

Samways, Michael J.. (1996). Workability of the new ‘IUCN Categories of Threat’ with Odonata in South Africa. Odonatologica. 25(4). 347–354. 4 indexed citations

19.

Gaston, Kevin J., T. R. New, & Michael J. Samways. (1993). Perspectives on insect conservation. 108 indexed citations

20.

Samways, Michael J., et al.. (1980). The arthropod complex on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) at Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.. 9(1). 3–10. 1 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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