Global environmental changes present unprecedented challenges to humans and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The need for interdisciplinary approaches to solve such multidimensional challenges is clear, however less clear is whether current attempts to cross disciplinary boundaries are succeeding. Indeed, efforts to further interdisciplinary approaches remain hampered by failures in assessing their scope and success. Here a set of measures examined the interdisciplinarity of the environmental sciences and tested two literature-based hypotheses: (1) newer and larger disciplines are more interdisciplinary; and (2) interdisciplinary research has lower impact factors than its counterparts. In addition, network analysis was used to map interdisciplinarity and determine the relative extent to which environmental science disciplines draw on alternative disciplinary perspectives. Contrary to expectations, age and size of a discipline had no effect on measures of interdisciplinarity for papers published in 2006, though metrics indicated larger articles and journals were more interdisciplinary. In addition, interdisciplinary research had a greater impact factor than its more strictly disciplinary peers. Network analysis revealed disciplines acting as ‘interdisciplinary frontiers’, bridging critical gaps between otherwise disparate subject areas. Whilst interdisciplinarity is complex, a combination of diversity metrics and network analysis provides valuable preliminary insights for interdisciplinary environmental research policy. The successful promotion of interdisciplinarity is needed to help dispel commonly perceived barriers to interdisciplinarity and create opportunities for such work by increasing the space available for different disciplines to encounter each other. In particular, the networks presented highlight the importance of considering disciplinary functioning within the wider context, to ensure maximum benefit to the scientific community as a whole.

Little is known about local extinctions of finfish species in the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the most marine biodiverse and anthropogenically threatened region on Earth. This paper examines coral reef associated finfish species that disappeared in the catches around the island of Bohol over the period 1950 to 2007, based on the only available data, namely traditional ecological knowledge. Generalized least squares (GLS) tests showed steep declines to zero among species formerly recorded in catches. Finfish species recommended as priority for further monitoring based on life history and disappearances in fish catch are giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) and African pompano (Alectis ciliaris). Twenty out of the 21 species that disappeared from catches were moderate to very large-bodied, six were slow-growing fish and four were late-maturing fish. Species of large body size and subject to high fishing pressure may be particularly vulnerable. Traditional ecological knowledge when applied to population dynamics studies can add value to development of new monitoring methods. This knowledge can moreover inform the prioritization of species for fisheries assessment and conservation action.