Journal profile · Ecology
SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST
ISSN 0038-4909 · eISSN 1943-6262 · Southwestern Association of Naturalists · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1956
SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.22; subscription journal; review 18–36 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 57 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST is published by Southwestern Association of Naturalists and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Rangeland and Wildlife Management and Species Distribution and Climate Change, together about 27.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Southwestern Naturalist (a publication of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists since 1953) is an international journal (published quarterly) that reports original and significant research in any field of natural history. This journal promotes the study of plants and animals (living and fossil) in the multinational region that includes the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Appropriate submission of manuscripts may come from studies conducted in the countries of focus or in regions outside this area that report significant findings relating to biota occurring in the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Publication is in English, and manuscripts may be feature articles or notes. Feature articles communicate results of completed scientific investigations, while notes are reserved for short communications (e.g., behavioral observations, range extensions, and other important findings that do not in themselves constitute a comprehensive study). All manuscripts (feature articles and notes) require an abstract in both English and Spanish.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Ecology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science12.6%
- Rangeland and Wildlife ManagementEnvironmental Science8.1%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science6.8%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.8%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- Bat Biology and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science5.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 0.22LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.17LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 28LetPub ·
- h-index
- 59OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,468OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 33.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 56LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,157 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 0 | 4 |
| 2025 | 57 | 0 | 23 |
| 2024 | 61 | 2 | 24 |
| 2023 | 22 | 0 | 23 |
| 2022 | 60 | 0 | 119 |
| 2021 | 25 | 0 | 51 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 18–36 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Southwestern Association of Naturalists
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1956
- ISSN
- 0038-4909
- Electronic ISSN
- 1943-6262
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST
What CAS zone is SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biodiversity Conservation / Ecology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.22; CiteScore 0.5, h-index 59.
How long does peer review take at SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST?
Authors report an average review time of 18–36 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST open access, and what is the APC?
SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .