Protecting and restoring coral reefs demands concerted global efforts that transcend national boundaries. However, equitable participation in coral reef science remains challenging, particularly for researchers from lower-income nations. Through quantitative scientometric analyses and qualitative surveys, we examined global collaboration dynamics in coral reef research. Our findings reveal that high-income countries dominate the research landscape, often sidelining contributions from lower-income regions. While international collaborations were valued for benefits like access to funding, opportunities for professional development, enhanced publication success and improved conservation outcomes, most partnerships were short-term, with limited opportunities for evolving roles. Researchers from developing nations face significant barriers, including undervaluation of contributions, differing expectations around authorship, and ethical concerns like parachute science and tokenism, raising concerns about inclusivity and respect for local expertise. To improve collaborative practices and increase participation in coral reef science we propose actionable recommendations directed towards publishers, funders and the greater coral reef research community. We recommend fostering mutual respect, building long-term relationships, and promoting fair funding and publishing practices. These steps are essential for equitable research collaborations that support coral reefs and the communities that depend on them.

Survey design and implementation

We conducted an international survey aimed at evaluating collaboration and authorship practices within the coral reef science/conservation community. This study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines and received approval from the Institutional Biosafety and Ethics Committee (IBEC) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under protocol 23IBEC062 and 24IBEC024. All participants were informed about the purpose of the research, and their participation was voluntary. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and they were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses. Participants were given the right to withdraw from the study at any time without any consequences.

The survey, comprising 58 questions, was open to anyone working with coral reefs and we received responses from people working in academia, NGOs, government, industry, and tourism. The survey addressed a variety of ethical consideration, encompassing critical elements such as authorship naming, the prevalence of "parachute science" and “tokenism” practices, and ethical misconduct. Explanations for concept such as parachute science and tokenism were provided in the survey. Parachute was described as the practice whereby international scientists from higher-income countries, conduct field studies in a lower income nation, without engaging or acknowledging any local researchers, and tokenisms was described as the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial (or gender) equality within a workplace or educational context. The survey was designed to explore variables such as gender, career rank, nationality/geographic factors, and more, aiming to uncover their influence on collaborative dynamics and ethical practices. To ensure the survey’s relevance across diverse cultural and economic contexts, a dedicated webinar was organized in partnership with collaborators (authors), to draft relevant questions attuned to a variety of socio-economic situations. This collective effort significantly shaped the survey's inclusivity and cultural sensitivity. Additionally, the survey was translated into eight different languages, to enhance its accessibility to a broader audience. Translations were done using AI tools (ChatGPT and Google translate) and were later reviewed and corrected by native speakers to ensure comprehensibility.

Prospective survey participants were identified using the WOS database that was used for the bibliometric analysis, from which email addresses of corresponding authors could be extracted. The sample was randomly selected but we tried to specifically select for a broad geographical representation. Using the Web of Science (WoS) as a database inherently introduces biases, as it tends to favor researchers working in the natural sciences and those with higher publication outputs. To mitigate this bias, enhance outreach, and encourage participation from a diverse range of backgrounds, the survey was also promoted on various social media platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Moreover, it was directly shared within the professional networks of all co-authors and we encouraged people to share the survey in their institutions and networks. We also asked international coral reef organisations to share the survey on their platforms.

The survey was launched in November 2023 and responses were collected over four months (until March 1^st 2024). Overall, we received 138 responses, but our analysis was constrained to 105 respondents who provided complete and comprehensive responses on the selected analytical variables.