Perceptible Changes: Open access journals in ecology and what to make of Ecosphere?

“I recall talking to a very prominent ecologist, perhaps the seminal ecologist of the last 20-years ... the talk of open-access (OA) journals came up and the grad students in the conversation immediately began advocating for more open-source journals. Then the ‘buts’ rolled in from a few people. ‘They're good, but, they charge just to submit...’ ‘They have their place, but they accept just about anything...’ ‘...But nobody publishes in those - except second-rate authors...’ ‘I like TIEE, but they don't even have peer-review...’  Famous ecologist even said, ‘...the impression that anyone can get it and papers are submitted after being rejected in traditional outlets shows that Ecosphere is second-rate.’ I was floored. Here is the author of numerous texts, hundreds of highy-read and cited papers, and he was saying OA is, is...BS? Because anyone can get it? Really? Seriously? I was astounded and disappointed at how a few students quickly agreed with him. Like sheep, they flocked to the opinion of a really famous guy ... Welcome to Bummerville, even while sitting next to a famous guy (famous for an ecologist - not like Snooki or anything)...  Ecology and Society, Ecosphere, and Ideas in Ecology and Evolution are all OA ecology journals, while the Public Library of Science (PLoS One) has numerous journals based on subject matter and discipline, including ecology... I tend to think of these journals as very important to ecological science, scientific practice in general and the public for numerous reasons:1. They bring science that is commonly done with public money, on public land, and/or at public universities to, well, the general public... 2. These journals encourage scientists to think outside of the historic ‘system.’  While tenure committees may have historically been looking for that Science or Nature paper, I tend to think that they are now examining how science merges with application, how many citations are conferred and how good the science is ... 3. These journals have the ability not only to change what science is emphasized (high impact factor vs. quality and intended audience), but also the submission, peer-review and publishing processes. These processes are perceived to be broken by many, including the editorial staff at IEE and numerous Ecolog participants... Morgan Ernest, Ethan White, Jarrett Byrnes and Jeremy Fox have all been sorting out the place of Ecosphere relative to the traditional ESA journals, Ecology, Ecological Applications, etc. and to some extent OA over at Jabberwocky Ecology. Jeremy has also posted his own piece at Dynamic Ecology. Their discussion of both Ecosphere and OA have encouraged me to consider where OA fits, what purpose it serves and whether it is being fully utilized (my gut instinct: it isn't fully utilized anywhere...yet). I hope this discussion continues in real time...  I'm still curious what others, especially those in the applied realm of ecology think of the OA journals. I personally think that I'm going to be forced to publish in journals that track my subdisciplines of ecology - applied plant community ecology and restoration, wetland, riparian and forest management, ecology and restoration... it seems that the OA community, including both advocates and journals, has forgotten that ecology and environmental science have application, and inherently the papers deemed most worthy of running in the OA journals are generally basic in nature. Is this because applied ecologists submit exclusively to their disciplinary journals, or is it because the OA concept is not for science that has rapid application in environmental management? ... Is it the applied researchers, the journals, the OA advocates or a perfect storm of all three that keeps the basic research at the forefront of OA? I can think of a lot of non-profit groups, local land management agencies and informed citizens who would benefit greatly from having free access to work like that in Ecological Restoration, Restoration Ecology, Wetlands, River Research and Applications or Natural Areas Journal, just to name a few mid-level applied players. So what's the place of OA beyond the ivory tower and who is benefitting from this push, if not the applied ecology, restoration, conservation and environment