World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Gerhard J. Herndl

Gerhard J. Herndl

Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
Austria
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
98
Citations
34738
World Ranking
307
National Ranking
3

Gerhard J. Herndl publication distribution in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Ecology and Evolution in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Gerhard J. Herndl sits on this spectrum.

37–41 publications: 2 scientists 42–46 publications: 9 scientists 47–51 publications: 10 scientists 52–56 publications: 31 scientists 57–61 publications: 56 scientists 62–66 publications: 91 scientists 67–71 publications: 92 scientists 72–76 publications: 127 scientists 77–81 publications: 173 scientists 82–86 publications: 236 scientists 87–91 publications: 227 scientists 92–96 publications: 240 scientists 97–101 publications: 333 scientists 102–106 publications: 280 scientists 107–111 publications: 300 scientists 112–116 publications: 285 scientists 117–121 publications: 305 scientists 122–126 publications: 287 scientists 127–131 publications: 278 scientists 132–136 publications: 289 scientists 137–141 publications: 273 scientists 142–146 publications: 262 scientists 147–151 publications: 246 scientists 152–156 publications: 235 scientists 157–161 publications: 205 scientists 162–166 publications: 199 scientists 167–171 publications: 174 scientists 172–176 publications: 164 scientists 177–181 publications: 173 scientists 182–186 publications: 189 scientists 187–191 publications: 170 scientists 192–196 publications: 139 scientists 197–201 publications: 128 scientists 202–206 publications: 117 scientists 207–211 publications: 115 scientists 212–216 publications: 107 scientists 217–221 publications: 124 scientists 222–226 publications: 81 scientists 227–231 publications: 82 scientists 232–236 publications: 85 scientists 237–241 publications: 75 scientists 242–246 publications: 66 scientists 247–251 publications: 81 scientists 252–256 publications: 69 scientists 257–261 publications: 70 scientists 262–266 publications: 55 scientists 267–271 publications: 64 scientists 272–276 publications: 49 scientists 277–281 publications: 48 scientists 282–286 publications: 44 scientists 287–291 publications: 45 scientists 292–296 publications: 36 scientists 297–301 publications: 39 scientists 302–306 publications: 38 scientists 307–311 publications: 30 scientists 312–316 publications: 34 scientists 317–321 publications: 25 scientists 322–326 publications: 22 scientists 327–331 publications: 28 scientists 332–336 publications: 30 scientists 337–341 publications: 22 scientists 342–346 publications: 30 scientists 347–351 publications: 26 scientists 352–356 publications: 22 scientists 357–361 publications: 29 scientists 362–366 publications: 21 scientists 367–371 publications: 12 scientists 372–376 publications: 18 scientists 377–381 publications: 17 scientists 382–386 publications: 13 scientists 387–391 publications: 21 scientists 392–396 publications: 13 scientists 397–401 publications: 10 scientists 402–406 publications: 15 scientists 407–411 publications: 8 scientists 412–416 publications: 9 scientists 417–421 publications: 8 scientists 422–426 publications: 4 scientists 427–431 publications: 10 scientists 432–436 publications: 10 scientists 437–441 publications: 5 scientists 442–446 publications: 4 scientists 447–451 publications: 10 scientists 452–456 publications: 2 scientists 457–461 publications: 4 scientists 462–466 publications: 7 scientists 467–471 publications: 7 scientists 472–476 publications: 6 scientists 477–481 publications: 6 scientists 482–486 publications: 3 scientists 487–491 publications: 3 scientists 492–496 publications: 4 scientists 497–501 publications: 4 scientists 502–506 publications: 8 scientists 507–511 publications: 5 scientists 512–516 publications: 4 scientists 517–521 publications: 5 scientists 522–526 publications: 4 scientists 527–530 publications: 5 scientists 531+ publications: 100 scientists
37 publications 531+

This scientist: 357 publications — 95th percentile

95% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 531 publications or more.

Gerhard J. Herndl D-index placement in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Ecology and Evolution scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Gerhard J. Herndl sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 95 scientists 31 D-Index: 123 scientists 32 D-Index: 191 scientists 33 D-Index: 245 scientists 34 D-Index: 252 scientists 35 D-Index: 244 scientists 36 D-Index: 249 scientists 37 D-Index: 244 scientists 38 D-Index: 254 scientists 39 D-Index: 254 scientists 40 D-Index: 280 scientists 41 D-Index: 274 scientists 42 D-Index: 266 scientists 43 D-Index: 233 scientists 44 D-Index: 248 scientists 45 D-Index: 208 scientists 46 D-Index: 201 scientists 47 D-Index: 213 scientists 48 D-Index: 207 scientists 49 D-Index: 172 scientists 50 D-Index: 209 scientists 51 D-Index: 199 scientists 52 D-Index: 153 scientists 53 D-Index: 169 scientists 54 D-Index: 163 scientists 55 D-Index: 148 scientists 56 D-Index: 120 scientists 57 D-Index: 146 scientists 58 D-Index: 137 scientists 59 D-Index: 140 scientists 60 D-Index: 104 scientists 61 D-Index: 119 scientists 62 D-Index: 118 scientists 63 D-Index: 99 scientists 64 D-Index: 77 scientists 65 D-Index: 100 scientists 66 D-Index: 86 scientists 67 D-Index: 83 scientists 68 D-Index: 75 scientists 69 D-Index: 94 scientists 70 D-Index: 57 scientists 71 D-Index: 68 scientists 72 D-Index: 59 scientists 73 D-Index: 63 scientists 74 D-Index: 66 scientists 75 D-Index: 60 scientists 76 D-Index: 42 scientists 77 D-Index: 49 scientists 78 D-Index: 39 scientists 79 D-Index: 37 scientists 80 D-Index: 43 scientists 81 D-Index: 41 scientists 82 D-Index: 45 scientists 83 D-Index: 34 scientists 84 D-Index: 40 scientists 85 D-Index: 35 scientists 86 D-Index: 55 scientists 87 D-Index: 24 scientists 88 D-Index: 24 scientists 89 D-Index: 30 scientists 90 D-Index: 23 scientists 91 D-Index: 25 scientists 92 D-Index: 27 scientists 93 D-Index: 27 scientists 94 D-Index: 13 scientists 95 D-Index: 23 scientists 96 D-Index: 12 scientists 97 D-Index: 14 scientists 98 D-Index: 19 scientists 99 D-Index: 16 scientists 100 D-Index: 14 scientists 101 D-Index: 5 scientists 102 D-Index: 21 scientists 103 D-Index: 16 scientists 104 D-Index: 10 scientists 105 D-Index: 7 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 7 scientists 108 D-Index: 6 scientists 109 D-Index: 9 scientists 110 D-Index: 11 scientists 111 D-Index: 12 scientists 112 D-Index: 9 scientists 113 D-Index: 7 scientists 114 D-Index: 3 scientists 115 D-Index: 8 scientists 116 D-Index: 5 scientists 117 D-Index: 11 scientists 118 D-Index: 4 scientists 119 D-Index: 2 scientists 120 D-Index: 5 scientists 121+ D-Index: 100 scientists
30 D-Index 121+

This scientist: 98 D-Index — 96th percentile

96% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 121 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Austria Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Austria Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Austria Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Austria Leader Award

Overview

Gerhard J. Herndl is affiliated with the University of Vienna in Austria and has contributed extensively to research in environmental and earth sciences. Their work engages deeply with microbial ecology, molecular biology, and oceanography, focusing on key aspects of environmental systems and carbon cycling.

Their recent scholarly output includes papers published in reputable journals with notable citation counts. Some significant recent publications are:

  • The microbial carbon pump and climate change (2024), Nature Reviews Microbiology
  • Linking extracellular enzymes to phylogeny indicates a predominantly particle-associated lifestyle of deep-sea prokaryotes (2020), Science Advances
  • Nitrifier adaptation to low energy flux controls inventory of reduced nitrogen in the dark ocean (2020), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Reviews and syntheses: Heterotrophic fixation of inorganic carbon - significant but invisible flux in environmental carbon cycling (2021), Biogeosciences
  • Correcting a major error in assessing organic carbon pollution in natural waters (2021), Science Advances

Their collaborative network includes frequent co-authors such as Zihao Zhao, Federico Baltar, Chie Amano, Eva Sintes, and Tinkara Tinta, indicating sustained partnerships in microbiology and marine sciences.

Herndl's publication record shows a presence in journals and platforms where environmental and microbial sciences intersect, including:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Microbiome
  • Science Advances
  • Frontiers in Marine Science

Their research spans several broad fields and specialized subfields. The main fields of study they contribute to are:

  • Environmental Science
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Within those fields, they focus on subfields including:

  • Ecology
  • Oceanography
  • Molecular Biology
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Pollution

Thematic areas that characterize their work encompass:

  • Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
  • Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
  • Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
  • Marine and coastal ecosystems
  • Protist diversity and phylogeny
  • Marine Biology and Ecology Research
  • Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

Best Publications

  • Microbial diversity in the deep sea and the underexplored “rare biosphere”

    Mitchell L. Sogin;Hilary G. Morrison;Julie A. Huber;David Mark Welch

  • Microbial production of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter: long-term carbon storage in the global ocean.

    Nianzhi Jiao;Gerhard J. Herndl;Dennis A. Hansell;Ronald Benner

  • Archaeal nitrification in the ocean

    Cornelia Wuchter;Ben Abbas;Marco J. L. Coolen;Lydie Herfort

  • Contribution of Archaea to Total Prokaryotic Production in the Deep Atlantic Ocean

    G.J. Herndl;T. Reinthaler;E. Teira;H.M. van Aken

  • Dissolved organic carbon leaching from plastics stimulates microbial activity in the ocean.

    Cristina Romera-Castillo;Cristina Romera-Castillo;Maria Pinto;Teresa M. Langer;Xosé Antón Álvarez-Salgado

  • Potential for Chemolithoautotrophy Among Ubiquitous Bacteria Lineages in the Dark Ocean

    Brandon K. Swan;Manuel Martinez-Garcia;Christina M. Preston;Alexander Sczyrba

  • Microbial oceanography of the dark ocean's pelagic realm

    Javier Arístegui;Josep M. Gasol;Carlos M. Duarte;Gerhard J. Herndl

  • Optimization of terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for complex marine bacterioplankton communities and comparison with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

    Markus M. Moeseneder;Jesús M. Arrieta;Gerard Muyzer;Christian Winter

  • Deep carbon export from a Southern Ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom

    Victor Smetacek;Victor Smetacek;Christine Klaas;Volker H. Strass;Philipp Assmy;Philipp Assmy

  • Major role of ultraviolet-B in controlling bacterioplankton growth in the surface layer of the ocean

    Gerhard J. Herndl;Gerald Müller-Niklas;Jürgen Frick

  • Microbial control of the dark end of the biological pump.

    Gerhard J. Herndl;Thomas Reinthaler

  • Combining Catalyzed Reporter Deposition-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Microautoradiography To Detect Substrate Utilization by Bacteria and Archaea in the Deep Ocean

    Eva Teira;Thomas Reinthaler;Annelie Pernthaler;Jakob Pernthaler

  • Phytoplankton extracellular release and bacterial growth: dependence on the inorganic N: P ratio

    Ingrid Obernosterer;Gerhard J. Herndl

  • The microbiome of coral surface mucus has a key role in mediating holobiont health and survival upon disturbance

    Bettina Glasl;Gerhard J Herndl;Pedro R Frade;Pedro R Frade

  • Dilution limits dissolved organic carbon utilization in the deep ocean

    Jesús M. Arrieta;Jesús M. Arrieta;Eva Mayol;Roberta L. Hansman;Gerhard J. Herndl

  • Major gradients in putatively nitrifying and non-nitrifying Archaea in the deep North Atlantic

    Hélène Agogué;Maaike Brink;Julie Dinasquet;Gerhard J. Herndl

  • Major role of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in dark ocean carbon fixation

    Maria G. Pachiadaki;Eva Sintes;Kristin Bergauer;Julia M. Brown

  • Thick-shelled, grazer-protected diatoms decouple ocean carbon and silicon cycles in the iron-limited Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

    Philipp Assmy;Philipp Assmy;Victor Smetacek;Victor Smetacek;Marina Montresor;Christine Klaas

  • Water mass-specificity of bacterial communities in the North Atlantic revealed by massively parallel sequencing.

    Hélène Agogué;Dominique Lamy;Phillip R. Neal;Mitchell L. Sogin

  • The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession

    Maria Pinto;Teresa M. Langer;Thorsten Hüffer;Thilo Hofmann

  • Extracellular enzymatic activity and secondary production in free-living and marine-snow-associated bacteria

    Markus Karner;Gerhard J. Herndl

Frequent Co-Authors

Eva Sintes
Eva Sintes Spanish Institute of Oceanography
Jesús M. Arrieta
Jesús M. Arrieta Spanish Institute of Oceanography
Markus G. Weinbauer
Markus G. Weinbauer Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS
Josep M. Gasol
Josep M. Gasol Spanish National Research Council
Javier Arístegui
Javier Arístegui University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Carlos M. Duarte
Carlos M. Duarte King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Ingrid Obernosterer
Ingrid Obernosterer Université Paris Cité
Ramunas Stepanauskas
Ramunas Stepanauskas Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences
Nianzhi Jiao
Nianzhi Jiao Xiamen University
Eva Teira
Eva Teira Universidade de Vigo

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring a future in Ecology and Evolution can open doors not only in research and conservation, but also in healthcare, education, and policy. Many students interested in science may consider online degrees for greater flexibility and faster completion.

If you’re thinking about branching into the healthcare industry, accelerated programs like a 6-month rn to bsn program online can help qualified professionals quickly build on their existing clinical experience. Additionally, rn to np bridge programs provide opportunities for nurses to advance their education and transition to nurse practitioner roles.

For those without a nursing background, direct entry msn programs online offer a pathway to enter the field and blend ecological or evolutionary science perspectives with healthcare.

When choosing an online program, it’s important to compare institutions. To help you decide, see this useful guide on which school is better snhu vs wgu to find the best fit for your goals and learning style.

Best Scientists Citing Gerhard J. Herndl

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles