World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
33
Citations
4082
World Ranking
7897
National Ranking
103

Thomas Merckx 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 Thomas Merckx 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: 73 publications — 4th percentile

4% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

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

Thomas Merckx 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 Thomas Merckx 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: 33 D-Index — 8th percentile

8% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

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

Overview

Thomas Merckx is affiliated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium and conducts research primarily within the fields of Environmental Science and Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Their work frequently addresses topics related to species distribution and climate change, plant and animal studies, and ecology and vegetation dynamics.

Their research spans several subfields, including ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, ecological modeling, genetics, nature and landscape conservation, and ecology. Specific focus areas include the biology and taxonomy of Lepidoptera, animal behavior and reproduction, insect and arachnid ecology and behavior, and the impact of light on the environment and health.

Merckx's recent publications demonstrate an emphasis on ecological adaptations and behavioral responses in insects, particularly moths and butterflies. Notable papers include:

  • "Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera" (2021) published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • "Dim light pollution prevents diapause induction in urban and rural moths" (2023) published in Journal of Applied Ecology
  • "Ecological and life-history traits predict temporal trends in biomass of boreal moths" (2023) published in Insect Conservation and Diversity
  • "Evolutionary change in flight-to-light response in urban moths comes with changes in wing morphology" (2024) published in Biology Letters
  • "An experimental test of changed personality in butterflies from anthropogenic landscapes" (2020) published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Merckx has published frequently in venues such as Insect Conservation and Diversity, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Applied Ecology, and Biology Letters.

Collaborations have been established with several recurrent co-authors, including:

  • Sami M. Kivelä
  • Tuomas Kankaanpää
  • Matthew E. Nielsen
  • Mahtab Yazdanian
  • Hans Van Dyck

Best Publications

  • Urbanization drives cross-taxon declines in abundance and diversity at multiple spatial scales.

    Elena Piano;Elena Piano;Caroline Souffreau;Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Lisa F. Baardsen

  • Body-size shifts in aquatic and terrestrial urban communities.

    Thomas Merckx;Caroline Souffreau;Aurelien Kaiser;Lisa F Baardsen

  • Optimizing the biodiversity gain from agri-environment schemes

    Thomas Merckx;Ruth E. Feber;Philip Riordan;Martin C. Townsend

  • Macro-moth families differ in their attraction to light: implications for light-trap monitoring programmes

    Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Eleanor M. Slade;Eleanor M. Slade

  • Life-history traits and landscape characteristics predict macro-moth responses to forest fragmentation

    Eleanor M. Slade;Eleanor M. Slade;Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Terhil Riutta;Daniel P. Bebber

  • Urbanization drives community shifts towards thermophilic and dispersive species at local and landscape scales

    Elena Piano;Elena Piano;Katrien De Wolf;Katrien De Wolf;Francesca Bona;Dries Bonte

  • The dragonfly delusion: why it is essential to sample exuviae to avoid biased surveys

    Eva M. Raebel;Eva M. Raebel;Thomas Merckx;Philip Riordan;David W. Macdonald

  • Reshaping agri-environmental subsidies: From marginal farming to large-scale rewilding

    Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Henrique M. Pereira;Henrique M. Pereira

  • Effect of field margins on moths depends on species mobility: Field-based evidence for landscape-scale conservation

    Thomas Merckx;Ruth E. Feber;Rebecca L. Dulieu;Martin C. Townsend

  • The evolution of movements and behaviour at boundaries in different landscapes: a common arena experiment with butterflies

    Thomas Merckx;Hans Van Dyck;Bengt Karlsson;Olof Leimar

  • Elevational species richness gradients in a hyperdiverse insect taxon: a global meta-study on geometrid moths

    Jan Beck;Christy M. McCain;Jan C. Axmacher;Louise A. Ashton

  • Hedgerow trees and extended‐width field margins enhance macro‐moth diversity: implications for management

    Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Lorenzo Marini;Lorenzo Marini;Ruth E. Feber;David W. Macdonald

  • The Urban Heat Island and its spatial scale dependent impact on survival and development in butterflies of different thermal sensitivity.

    Aurélien Kaiser;Thomas Merckx;Hans Van Dyck

  • Urbanization‐driven homogenization is more pronounced and happens at wider spatial scales in nocturnal and mobile flying insects

    Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Hans Van Dyck

  • Landscape structure and phenotypic plasticity in flight morphology in the butterfly Pararge aegeria

    Thomas Merckx;Hans Van Dyck

  • Shelter benefits less mobile moth species: The field-scale effect of hedgerow trees

    Thomas Merckx;Ruth E. Feber;Claire Mclaughlan;Nigel A.D. Bourn

  • Increased body size along urbanization gradients at both community and intraspecific level in macro-moths.

    Thomas Merckx;Aurélien Kaiser;Hans Van Dyck

  • Conserving threatened Lepidoptera: Towards an effective woodland management policy in landscapes under intense human land-use

    Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Ruth E. Feber;Daniel J. Hoare;Mark S. Parsons

  • Habitat fragmentation affects habitat-finding ability of the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria L.

    Thomas Merckx;Hans Van Dyck

  • Multi-scale effects of farmland management on dragonfly and damselfly assemblages of farmland ponds

    Eva M. Raebel;Eva M. Raebel;Thomas Merckx;Thomas Merckx;Ruth E. Feber;Philip Riordan

Frequent Co-Authors

Hans Van Dyck
Hans Van Dyck Université Catholique de Louvain
David W. Macdonald
David W. Macdonald University of Oxford
Henrique M. Pereira
Henrique M. Pereira Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Frederik Hendrickx
Frederik Hendrickx Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Philip Riordan
Philip Riordan University of Southampton
Erik Matthysen
Erik Matthysen University of Antwerp
Eleanor M. Slade
Eleanor M. Slade Nanyang Technological University
Dries Bonte
Dries Bonte Ghent University
Luc De Meester
Luc De Meester Freie Universität Berlin
Luc Lens
Luc Lens Ghent University

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