SORTEE five years on: taking stock of the Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology

EcoEvoRxiv

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Authors
Affiliations

Timothy H. Parker

Whitman College

Dominique Roche

Carleton University

Rose E. O’Dea

University of Melbourne

Edward Ivimey‐Cook

University of East Anglia

Marija Purgar

University of Alberta

Kaija Gahm

University of California

Elliot Gould

University of New South Wales

Matthieu Paquet

Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (SETE), CNRS

Juliette Tariel‐Adam

Macquarie University

Alexa Fredston

University of California, Santa Cruz

Christian John

Michigan Technological University

Bawan Amin

Utrecht University

David R. Angelini

Colby College

Lewis J. Bartlett

University of Georgia

Samantha Burke

University of New South Wales

Antica Culina

Ruđer Bošković Institute

Szymon Drobniak

Jagiellonian University

Hannah L. Dugdale

University of Groningen

Stephanie Flaman

University of Regina

Natasha Jeanne Gownaris

Gettysburg College

Matthew Grainger

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Friederike Hillemann

Durham University

Malika Ihle

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Swastika Issar

National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS-TIFR)

Saoirse Kelleher

University of Melbourne

Clint D. Kelly

Université du Québec à Montréal

Ruby Krasnow

University of Maine

Brooke Lamonte Long‐Fox

MorphoBank, Phoenix Bioinformatics

Iain R. Moodie

Lund University

Shinichi Nakagawa

University of Alberta

Daniel W. A. Noble

Australian National University

Joel L. Pick

University of Edinburgh

Natalie E. van Dis

Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Stefan J. G. Vriend

Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Oakleigh Wilson

University of the Sunshine Coast

Michael Grant Bertram

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Esteban Fernández‐Juricic

Purdue University

Ineta Kačergytė

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Patrice Pottier

University of Gothenburg

Alfredo Sánchez‐Tójar

University of Coimbra

Aidan C. Tan

University of Sydney

Bonnie Claire Wintle

University of Melbourne

Malgorzat Lagisz

University of Alberta

Published

October 23, 2026

Abstract
In five years, the Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (SORTEE) has grown from a small network of like-minded researchers into a grassroots, international community. Founded in late 2020, SORTEE works to make ecology and evolutionary biology more open, reliable, and transparent at a time when prevailing incentives in academia often reward novelty and quantity over rigour. The society is run largely by early-career researchers and sustained by volunteers and small donations. Around this community, SORTEE has built a portfolio of services and infrastructure: EcoEvoRxiv, a community-governed preprint and postprint server; an annual virtual conference; monthly Code Clubs; a regular workshop and webinar series; and collaborative meta-research projects. The society also produced the first standardised guidelines for data and code quality control in ecology and evolutionary biology, now used by data editors at multiple journals. Over the next five years, SORTEE aims to build on this momentum to promote evidence-based change in how research is funded, conducted, evaluated, and taught, with a particular focus on education, regional outreach, advocacy, and meta-research to inform science policy. SORTEE offers a model for how volunteer-led communities can help drive cultural change in research.

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Citation

BibTeX citation:
@article{parker2026,
  author = {Parker, Timothy H. and Roche, Dominique and O’Dea, Rose E.
    and Ivimey‐Cook, Edward and Purgar, Marija and Gahm, Kaija and
    Gould, Elliot and Paquet, Matthieu and Tariel‐Adam, Juliette and
    Fredston, Alexa and John, Christian and Amin, Bawan and Angelini,
    David R. and Bartlett, Lewis J. and Burke, Samantha and Culina,
    Antica and Drobniak, Szymon and Dugdale, Hannah L. and Flaman,
    Stephanie and Gownaris, Natasha Jeanne and Grainger, Matthew and
    Hillemann, Friederike and Ihle, Malika and Issar, Swastika and
    Kelleher, Saoirse and Kelly, Clint D. and Krasnow, Ruby and
    Long‐Fox, Brooke Lamonte and Moodie, Iain R. and Nakagawa, Shinichi
    and Noble, Daniel W. A. and Pick, Joel L. and van Dis, Natalie E.
    and Vriend, Stefan J. G. and Wilson, Oakleigh and Bertram, Michael
    Grant and Fernández‐Juricic, Esteban and Kačergytė, Ineta and
    Pottier, Patrice and Sánchez‐Tójar, Alfredo and Tan, Aidan C. and
    Wintle, Bonnie Claire and Lagisz, Malgorzat},
  title = {SORTEE Five Years on: Taking Stock of the {Society} for
    {Open,} {Reliable,} and {Transparent} {Ecology} and {Evolutionary}
    Biology},
  journal = {EcoEvoRxiv},
  date = {2026-10-23},
  url = {https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15646/},
  doi = {10.32942/X20400},
  langid = {en},
  abstract = {In five years, the Society for Open, Reliable, and
    Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (SORTEE) has grown from
    a small network of like-minded researchers into a grassroots,
    international community. Founded in late 2020, SORTEE works to make
    ecology and evolutionary biology more open, reliable, and
    transparent at a time when prevailing incentives in academia often
    reward novelty and quantity over rigour. The society is run largely
    by early-career researchers and sustained by volunteers and small
    donations. Around this community, SORTEE has built a portfolio of
    services and infrastructure: EcoEvoRxiv, a community-governed
    preprint and postprint server; an annual virtual conference; monthly
    Code Clubs; a regular workshop and webinar series; and collaborative
    meta-research projects. The society also produced the first
    standardised guidelines for data and code quality control in ecology
    and evolutionary biology, now used by data editors at multiple
    journals. Over the next five years, SORTEE aims to build on this
    momentum to promote evidence-based change in how research is funded,
    conducted, evaluated, and taught, with a particular focus on
    education, regional outreach, advocacy, and meta-research to inform
    science policy. SORTEE offers a model for how volunteer-led
    communities can help drive cultural change in research.}
}
For attribution, please cite this work as:
Parker, T. H., D. Roche, R. E. O’Dea, E. Ivimey‐Cook, M. Purgar, K. Gahm, E. Gould, et al. 2026. SORTEE five years on: taking stock of the Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology. EcoEvoRxiv.