Systemic territoriality in academia: The Gollum effect’s impact on scientific research and careers

Summary Addressing environmental challenges requires scientific collaboration, access to resources, and open knowledge exchange. However, possessive behaviors, referred to by these authors as the Gollum effect, undermine these principles by restricting resource access, obstructing research, and monopolizing opportunities. Despite widespread anecdotal evidence, the prevalence and impacts of these territorial behaviors remain unquantified. Here, we present a global study of this phenomenon, surveying 563 researchers from 64 countries in the fields of ecology, biodiversity conservation, and environmental science. We find that 44% of respondents have experienced the Gollum effect, particularly marginalized groups and early-career researchers. High-profile researchers, group members, supervisors, and competing groups were common perpetrators, frequently obstructing research planning, manuscript preparation, and fieldwork. Over two-thirds reported career disruptions, including abandoning research topics, changing institutions, or leaving academia/science. One-fifth acknowledged engaging in similar behaviors, driven by the hypercompetitive culture, fear, and limited resources that define modern academia. Systemic reforms like open science policies, increased awareness, and accountability are needed to mitigate impacts on researchers and scientific progress.