Sri Lankan Footprint in Global Aquatic Science Research: A Scientometric Analysis

The present study summarizes the research productivity and international collaboration in aquatic studies conducted by Sri Lankan scholars during 2000-2019. The study was based on the SCOPUS^®database. R programming language, packagebibliometrixand Vosviewer software were employed in the analysis. Results of the present study indicate that increasing growth trend in the annual number of publications. A significant correlation (p<0.05) between the number of articles and per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Production) was also observed. Senior authors dominated in terms of the article count, citation count,hindex, and other author productivity indices. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka had the highest article count (n=33). Aquatic studies in Sri Lanka were more locally funded. Sri Lanka had strong research collaborations with Japan, South Korea and Australia. During 2000-2019, the transition of aquatic studies from lacustrine field studies to molecular lab-based studies were observed. The findings of the present study may provide a comprehensive understanding on the current context and future directions of aquatic studies in Sri Lanka.