Research trends in Korean amphibian and reptile studies using text mining

초록

Amphibians and reptiles, with their unique morphology, physiology, and developmental processes, play a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Globally, research on these taxa spans across fields such as ecology, histology, genetics, and veterinary medicine, and they are also widely utilized in literature and engineering as sources of inspiration. This study applies text mining techniques to analyze the characteristics and trends of publications related to amphibians and reptiles in Korea. We identified major research periods, academic disciplines, and focal species. The analysis revealed that literature on amphibians and reptiles in Korea began in the 1950s and has increased exponentially every decade through 2020. A total of 984 amphibian-related and 644 reptile related publications were recorded from 1959 to 2022 and from 1960 to 2022, respectively. Among them, 563 amphibian studies (88.66%) focused on Anura, while 162 reptile studies (52.09%) focused on Testudines. The most frequently mentioned amphibian species was Oriental Fired-bellied Toad Bombina orientalis, and for reptiles, it was Reeves’ Turtle Mauremys reevesii. In terms of academic disciplines, amphibian studies were predominantly published in the natural sciences (657 papers, 66.77%), whereas reptile studies had the highest proportion in the field of literature (290 papers, 45.03%). The most frequently occurring word in both amphibian and reptile texts was “species.” Overall, the trends in amphibian and reptile research in Korea have been influenced by changing societal interests and contemporary issues, and the findings of this study may help guide future research directions for these important taxa.

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