society of ethnobiology

What society of ethnobiology does

The Society of Ethnobiology is a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1979 and headquartered at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to advancing understanding of relationships between humans and their biological environments — plants, animals, and ecosystems. It operates as the field's central scholarly society, serving academic researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, museum staff, government and NGO personnel, and Indigenous community members worldwide.

Its core offerings comprise three peer-reviewed publications — the Journal of Ethnobiology (flagship quarterly journal since 1981, Volume 45 in 2025), Ethnobiology Letters (gold open access, fully online, indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and DOAJ), and the Contributions in Ethnobology monograph series — alongside an annual conference (2027 edition scheduled May 26-29 at Boston University), the Forage! Blog, and awards and fellowships including the Distinguished Ethnobiologist Award. The technology stack is conventional nonprofit/scholarly infrastructure: Open Journal Systems (OJS) for journal publishing and CiviCRM for membership management, with no proprietary AI or data platform components.

The Society's business model is membership-funded subscription revenue at multiple price points ($5 Indigenous online, $35 student online, $50 retired, $65 regular, $160-$190 print tiers, $2,000-$2,500 lifetime), supplemented by conference fees, journal publication activities, and AmazonSmile donations (0.5% of eligible Amazon purchases). Distribution is digital-first via website and OJS, with print journal delivery for print-tier members and a regional annual conference as the in-person engagement anchor. The organization is governed by an elected Board of Directors with named coordinator roles spanning publications, student engagement, web/social media, and publicity/community outreach.

Name

society of ethnobiology

Legal name

Society of Ethnobiology

Website

https://ethnobiology.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Society of Ethnobiology is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit scholarly society founded in 1979 that publishes peer-reviewed journals, hosts an annual conference, and serves academic researchers, students, museum staff, government/NGO personnel, and Indigenous community members worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scholarly Society

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Business Associations (813910), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD), Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC), Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Scholarly publishing
• Professional society
• Ethnobiology research
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Academic conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The Society generates revenue through annual membership fees at multiple tiers including student, retired, regular, indigenous individual, and lifetime memberships. Both online-only and print membership options are available with different price points.
2. Journal Publications: Revenue is generated from publication activities including the Journal of Ethnobiology (with print copies included in print memberships), Ethnobiology Letters (gold open access, no publication fees currently charged), and Contributions in Ethnobiology monograph series.
3. AmazonSmile Donations: The Society participates in AmazonSmile, receiving 0.5% of eligible purchase prices when supporters designate the Society as their charitable organization.
4. Annual Conference: Revenue generated through annual conferences attracting academics, students, museum staff, government/non-governmental agency personnel, and Indigenous community members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Society of Ethnobiology is a nonprofit professional organization that operates peer-reviewed scholarly publications (Journal of Ethnobiology, Ethnobiology Letters, and the Contributions in Ethnobiology monograph series), hosts an annual conference, and runs a tiered membership program with associated awards and fellowships. Its core products serve academic researchers, students, museum staff, government/NGO personnel, and Indigenous community members worldwide who study relationships between humans and their biological environments.

Product overview

The Society of Ethnobiology operates a portfolio of scholarly publications and professional services: the Journal of Ethnobiology (peer-reviewed quarterly journal) and Ethnobiology Letters (gold open access short communications journal) as the primary publications; Contributions in Ethnobiology monograph series for extended works; the annual Conference for professional networking; Forage! Blog for community engagement; membership programs with online and print tiers; awards and fellowships supporting research; and education/outreach resources including speaker series and lesson plans. The organization functions as a professional society rather than a technology company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Journal of Ethnobiology The Society's flagship peer-reviewed quarterly journal publishing research on the relationships between humans and their biological environments, currently in Volume 45, No. 4 (2025). Targeted at academic researchers, scholars, students, and library subscribers in ethnobiology, anthropology, and related disciplines.
• Ethnobiology Letters A gold open access, fully online, peer-reviewed journal for publication of short communications concerning ethnobiology, indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and DOAJ. Volume 16 was published in 2025 with a special issue on Historical Ecology and Cultural Keystone Places.
• Contributions in Ethnobiology A peer-reviewed monograph series featuring interdisciplinary ethnobiology research, including educational resources, field guides, and scholarly works such as titles on Aztec ornithology, Vietnamese hand papermaking traditions, and graduate research guidance.
• Annual Ethnobiology Conference Annual conference bringing together academics, students, museum staff, government and NGO personnel, interested laypeople, and Native/Indigenous community members to understand interactions of human cultures with plants and animals worldwide. Includes conference travel awards and fee waivers.
• Society Membership Program Tiered membership program with online and print options, providing access to publications, discounted conference registration, awards eligibility, networking opportunities, and mentorship matching. Pricing ranges from $5/year (Indigenous online) to $2,500 (print lifetime).
• Awards and Fellowships Program Multiple award and fellowship programs including the Distinguished Ethnobiologist Award, Undergraduate Ethnobiologist Award, Barbara Lawrence Award, Mentor Award, Best Poster Award, Early Career Award in Ethnobiology, Citation for Distinguished Service, Communities and Ethnobiology Grant, Grants-in-Aid of Field Research ('Two Steves Award'), Graduate Ethnobiology Research Fellowships, and Conference Travel Awards & Waivers.
• Forage! Blog A digital content platform for sharing stories and knowledge of the Society and ethnobiology community, featuring lessons from members' work, reflections on current events, and engagement with the changing world.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Society publishes the Journal of Ethnobiology (Volume 45, No. 4 in 2025) and Ethnobiology Letters (Volume 16 in 2025)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AmazonSmileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Society of Ethnobiology participates in AmazonSmile, a fundraising mechanism where Amazon donates 0.5% of eligible purchase prices to the Society when customers designate it as their charitable organization. This provides a passive income stream from member and supporter purchases.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Society of Ethnobiology: The international counterpart professional scholarly society dedicated to ethnobiology, operating with a parallel model of conferences, publications, and member-driven research across global Indigenous knowledge systems. Most directly comparable as a peer scholarly society in the same field.
• Society for Economic Botany: A scholarly society focused on ethnobotany and human-plant interactions, publishing the journal Economic Botany and hosting annual meetings. Directly comparable in mission, structure, and member profile to the Society of Ethnobiology.
• International Society for Ethnopharmacology: A scholarly society focused on medicinal plant research, traditional medicine, and pharmacology, with peer-reviewed journals and an annual conference. Highly comparable small scholarly society serving researchers at the intersection of traditional knowledge and life sciences.
• American Society for Ethnohistory: A scholarly society dedicated to ethnohistory and Indigenous history research, publishing the journal Ethnohistory. Comparable as a small professional society with overlapping Indigenous knowledge, anthropology, and historical research communities.
• Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition: A section of the American Anthropological Association focused on food systems and nutrition research, including Indigenous foodways. Comparable as a scholarly community with overlapping Indigenous food systems, traditional ecological knowledge, and applied research themes.

Broad incumbents

• Ecological Society of America: A large established scholarly society for ecologists and environmental scientists publishing multiple journals and hosting the largest annual ecology conference. Operates in an overlapping life sciences and environmental research space but at significantly greater scale and broader scope.
• American Anthropological Association: The largest professional association for anthropologists, encompassing cultural, biological, linguistic, and archaeological subfields. Overlaps with the Society of Ethnobiology through cultural anthropology and archaeology members but is vastly larger in membership and scope.
• Society for American Archaeology: A large professional society for archaeologists worldwide, publishing the American Antiquity journal and Latin American Antiquity. Overlaps with the Society of Ethnobiology through paleoethnobotany and Indigenous archaeology members but with a much broader archaeological focus.
• International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences: A global scholarly union for anthropology and ethnology encompassing national associations worldwide. Overlaps through ethnobiology and ethnological research but serves a much broader disciplinary mandate and international constituency.

Others

• BioOne: A nonprofit aggregator platform that hosts and distributes peer-reviewed journals from scientific societies, including those of the Society of Ethnobiology (e.g., Ethnobiology Letters). A key distribution and publishing infrastructure partner rather than a direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SofEthnobiology
• Facebookfacebook.com/societyofethnobiology
• Instagraminstagram.com/societyofethnobiology
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxs0PVc9pEzPFxo6vMe5vIg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about society of ethnobiology