Ecology
Submission Types
Table of Contents
Summary of Length Limits by Submission Type ............................................................................................ 2
Submission Types .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Article ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Comment .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Reply ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Concepts & Synthesis ................................................................................................................................ 4
Data Paper................................................................................................................................................. 4
Perspective ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Report ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Statistical Report ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Additional requirements for Statistical Reports ................................................................................... 6
The Scientific Naturalist ............................................................................................................................ 7
Special Features and Forums ........................................................................................................................ 8
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Commentary ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Summary of Length Limits by Submission Type
Submission
Type
Manuscript page
length limit*
Abstract
required?
Abstract length
(words)
Key words
required?
Additional
Requirements
Article
30
†
Yes 350 Yes N/A
Comment
16
No
N/A
No
N/A
Commentary
16
No
N/A
No
By invitation only
Concepts &
Synthesis
30
†
Yes 350 Yes N/A
Data Paper
N/A
Yes
500
Yes
Introduction
5
No
N/A
No
By invitation only
Perspective
30
Yes
350
Yes
By invitation only
Reply
16
No
N/A
No
By invitation only
Report
20
Yes
200
Yes
N/A
Statistical
Report
30 Yes 200 Yes N/A
The Scientific
Naturalist
12 No N/A Yes N/A
*See our complete manuscript preparation guidelines (PDF)
for instructions on calculating manuscript
length. The page count includes all pages (title page, body, References section, figures, figure captions,
tables, and table captions) and does not include supporting information. Please see each manuscript
type’s description below for specifics regarding length.
†
See the specific section below for this manuscript type regarding manuscripts over 30 pages.
Submission Types
Article
This section is intended for original research articles. Papers in this section generally consist of an
Introduction, Methods/Materials, Results, and Discussion, and often contain tables and figures. An
Article tells a more complicated story with distinct components than papers in our Reports section,
while a Report is the suggested format for a concise scientific statement on a single simple topic. The
greater length of Articles relative to Reports must be justified by their greater complexity and appeal to
a broad ecological audience. Authors should strive to submit short, well-organized text, with judicious
use of display items (tables; figures) and appendices.
Longer submissions (those over 30 pages, but under a maximum allowable 50 pages) should be
accompanied by a detailed justification for the length in the cover letter at the time of submission.
If your Article exceeds 30 pages, you should include two numbered sections in your cover letter to
justify the increased length:
(Section 1) Clearly explain the contribution of the work to the broad field of ecology, including how it
advances the field beyond an improved understanding of a particular habitat, taxon, or subfield and
(Section 2) Clearly explain the value provided by the additional length and why this material cannot be
adequately presented as Supplemental Material.
Manuscripts with incomplete justifications may be rejected without further consideration. The longer
the paper, the greater the pressure for a general framing that will be of interest to all ecologists and for
more space devoted in the cover letter to explaining why the extra length is needed.
Comment
A Comment points out errors of fact or interpretation in an article that was previously published in
Ecology. Comments will be considered on papers in Early View (the typeset version of record) or within a
published issue. Comments on a "preprint" are not permitted; submission should only be made after
release of the version of record.
Comments that point out errors of fact or interpretation in an important article or book that is the basis
for numerous articles being published in Ecology may also be considered.
See our guidelines for Comments (PDF)
for more information.
Reply
A Reply is submitted after invitation from the journal’s editorial staff in response to a Comment by the
author of the manuscript that was commented upon. In order to submit a Reply, this author must have
previously submitted a signed review of the Comment.
See our guidelines for Replies (PDF)
for more information.
Concepts & Synthesis
The Concepts & Synthesis section publishes papers that conceptually advance the field of ecology,
including reviews that lead to a more synthetic overview of a subfield. These papers are expected to go
well beyond works being reviewed and include discussion of new directions, new syntheses, and
resolutions of old questions. Longer submissions (those over 30 pages, but under a maximum allowable
50 pages) should be accompanied by a detailed justification for the length in the cover letter at the time
of submission.
If your manuscript exceeds 30 pages, you should include two numbered sections in your cover letter to
justify the increased length:
(Section 1) Clearly explain the contribution of the work to the broad field of ecology, including how it
advances the field beyond an improved understanding of a particular habitat, taxon, or subfield and
(Section 2) Clearly explain the value provided by the additional length and why this material cannot be
adequately presented as Supplemental Material.
Manuscripts with incomplete justifications may be rejected without further consideration. The longer
the paper, the greater the pressure for a general framing that will be of interest to all ecologists and for
more space devoted in the cover letter to explaining why the extra length is needed.
Small groups of papers will also be considered; see the Special Features section
for information on
groups of papers.
Data Paper
Data Papers emphasize the collection, organization, and synthesis of data, and provide thorough
documentation of data sets of ecological value. Only the abstract is typeset for publication in Ecology.
The data and metadata are published as supporting information to this abstract and must be provided at
the time of submission. See our Open Research policy
for full guidelines regarding data archival.
By providing a peer-review process for such Data Papers and publication in Ecology, ESA provides a high-
profile outlet for data compilations and recognition for ecologists who create them. Our
guidelines for
Data Papers (PDF) explain how to prepare data and metadata.
Perspective
This section, prominently featured at the beginning of an issue, is intended for papers that provide a
synthetic overview, critical commentary, or historical perspective, and are primarily written by an
eminent ecologist.
• The MacArthur Award lectures are published in this section.
• Coauthored papers are generally not appropriate for this section.
• Perspectives papers are generally invited papers, but proposals for submitting a paper will
be considered. Proposals should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief
.
Report
Reports are expected to disclose new and exciting work in a concise format. These papers should
present results that substantially advance a field or overturn existing ideas.
As an added incentive for authors to cast their submissions in the concise Reports format, all Reports are
freely available for no extra charge (i.e., one need not be a subscriber or have institutional access to
view full text online) but note the author is still responsible for page charge fees or an open-access
publication fee.
Statistical Report
The primary goal of Statistical Reports is to increase the awareness and use of modern statistical
techniques in the analysis of ecological data. Thus, Statistical Reports should be concise papers that
illustrate how well-established, unfamiliar, or new statistical techniques can be applied to timely and
interesting ecological questions. Statistical Reports should extend the boundaries of statistical methods
and techniques normally used by ecologists and should be presented in a way that promotes the
continued evolution of good statistical practice by ecologists.
Statistical Reports do not come with the same incentives as Reports, i.e., they are not available to
readers free of charge.
Additional requirements for Statistical Reports
To encourage the broadest use by ecologists of methods and techniques published in Statistical Reports,
submissions of this type must have all data and novel code associated with the manuscript provided for
review in an external repository at the manuscript submission stage, in addition to being archived in an
external repository upon acceptance. Please see our Open Research policy
for more information.
The Scientific Naturalist
This series highlights the natural history of particular organisms, including their morphology and
behavior, their life histories, their habitats, their roles in communities, food webs, and ecosystems, and
other aspects. The natural histories of organisms and the communities, ecosystems, and landscapes
they inhabit is the foundation of ecology, evolution, and conservation. The implications of these
observations can then be subsequently tested experimentally or modeled mathematically. Natural
history has had a long tradition of high-quality writing and art and we are pleased to continue this
tradition in Ecology with “The Scientific Naturalist”.
Please see our complete overview of “The Scientific Naturalist” (PDF)
for full submission guidelines.
Special Features and Forums
Special Features and Forums are groups of papers intended to address various aspects of a theme that is
likely to be of broad interest to ecologists. Ideally, the group of papers should teach a large audience
about an unfamiliar topic or an area in which there has been considerable recent progress, or it should
cause the audience to reexamine an issue that is not as settled as most have presumed. Proposals for
Special Features and Forums should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief
.
There is essentially no limit to the topics for Special Features and Forums, so long as they fit within the
broader scope and subject matter guidelines for Ecology. The key guideline is that the papers address
aspects of a topic or theme that is likely to be of broad interest to ecologists.
Special Feature and Forum submissions must be approved prior to manuscript submission. In
ScholarOne, these manuscripts are submitted as any of the standard paper types (See “Submission
Types” earlier in this document) or one of the Special Feature-specific types below. When submitting,
the appropriate Special Feature or Forum must be selected in the designated field. For more
information, see our complete overview of Special Features and Forums.
Introduction
This is a specific paper type to be included only within invited Special Features and Forums, and it should
be submitted by invitation only.
Commentary
This is a specific paper type to be included only within invited Special Features and Forums, and it should
be submitted by invitation only.
Commentaries represent personal responses to a paper (or papers) or to a concept considered to be of
very broad interest and significance within the field of applied ecology.
