Aims & Scope
Research Domains
Tier 1: Core Focus AreasPopulation & Community Ecology
- Population dynamics and demography
- Species distribution and range shifts
- Community assembly and structure
- Trophic interactions and food webs
- Predator-prey dynamics
- Competition and coexistence mechanisms
Long-term monitoring of migratory bird populations revealing climate-driven phenological shifts and their cascading effects on community composition in temperate ecosystems.
Conservation Biology & Biodiversity
- Threatened species conservation strategies
- Habitat fragmentation and connectivity
- Protected area effectiveness
- Biodiversity assessment and monitoring
- Human-wildlife conflict mitigation
- Restoration ecology outcomes
Evaluating corridor effectiveness for large carnivore movement between fragmented habitats using GPS telemetry and genetic connectivity analyses.
Behavioral Ecology & Ethology
- Foraging strategies and optimal behavior
- Mating systems and sexual selection
- Social organization and cooperation
- Communication systems and signaling
- Cognitive ecology and decision-making
- Migration and movement ecology
Experimental manipulation of social group size in cooperative breeders to test predictions about helping behavior and reproductive success in wild populations.
Evolutionary Ecology & Adaptation
- Local adaptation to environmental gradients
- Life history evolution and trade-offs
- Phenotypic plasticity in natural populations
- Evolutionary responses to anthropogenic change
- Population genetics and phylogeography
- Speciation and diversification processes
Genomic analysis revealing rapid evolutionary adaptation to urbanization in native rodent populations, with implications for understanding contemporary evolution.
Marine & Aquatic Ecology
Research on marine mammals, fish populations, coral reef systems, and freshwater ecosystems. Focus on ecological processes rather than fisheries management alone.
Disease Ecology
Host-pathogen dynamics in wild populations, disease transmission networks, and impacts on population viability. Ecological perspective on wildlife disease, not veterinary treatment.
Ecophysiology
Physiological adaptations to environmental conditions, thermal biology, metabolic ecology, and stress responses in natural populations under field conditions.
Landscape Ecology
Spatial patterns of biodiversity, habitat selection across scales, landscape genetics, and effects of land-use change on animal populations and communities.
Taxonomic Studies
Species descriptions, systematic revisions, and phylogenetic analyses that advance understanding of biodiversity patterns and evolutionary relationships.
Methodological Innovations
Novel field methods, analytical approaches, or technological tools that advance ecological research capabilities (e.g., remote sensing, eDNA, biologging).
Urban Ecology
Wildlife responses to urbanization, urban-rural gradients, and ecological processes in human-dominated landscapes. Requires strong ecological framework.
Climate Change Biology
Species responses to climate change, range shifts, phenological mismatches, and adaptive capacity. Must demonstrate clear ecological mechanisms.
AI Applications in Ecology
Machine learning for species identification, behavioral analysis from camera traps, or predictive modeling of ecological processes. Technology must serve ecological questions.
Invasion Biology
Mechanisms of biological invasions, impacts on native communities, and management effectiveness. Focus on ecological processes and community-level effects.
✗ Out of Scope
Rationale: Studies focused on diagnosis, treatment, or clinical management of individual animal patients belong in veterinary journals. We publish disease ecology in wild populations, not clinical case reports.
Rationale: Studies using animals solely as laboratory models without ecological context or wild population relevance. Exception: comparative studies that inform understanding of wild species ecology.
Rationale: Livestock management, animal husbandry, or agricultural optimization studies. Focus must be on wild populations or ecological systems.
Rationale: Molecular studies without clear ecological or evolutionary context. Genetic work must address population-level processes, adaptation, or biodiversity patterns.
Rationale: Zoo-based research focused solely on captive management or welfare without implications for wild populations or conservation. Exception: studies directly informing reintroduction programs or wild population management.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
Priority 1: Fast-Track Review
- Original Research Articles (4,000-8,000 words)
- Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
- Methods & Protocols (novel field/analytical methods)
- Conservation Applications (evidence-based)
Priority 2: Standard Review
- Short Communications (2,000-3,000 words)
- Data Papers (well-documented datasets)
- Perspectives & Syntheses
- Taxonomic Descriptions (with ecological context)
Rarely Considered
- Opinion pieces without data
- Single-species case reports (unless exceptional)
- Purely descriptive studies
- Conference proceedings
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines
- ARRIVE 2.0 for animal research
- PRISMA for systematic reviews
- STROBE for observational studies
- CONSORT for experimental designs
Data & Reproducibility
- Data availability statement required
- Raw data deposition encouraged (Dryad, Figshare)
- Code sharing for computational analyses (GitHub, Zenodo)
- Materials and methods sufficient for replication
Ethics & Permits
- Institutional ethics approval documentation
- Field research permits and permissions
- CITES compliance for threatened species
- Indigenous community consultation (where applicable)
Open Science Policies
- Preprints permitted (bioRxiv, EcoEvoRxiv)
- Preregistration encouraged for hypothesis-driven studies
- Open peer review option available
- Author ORCID required for corresponding authors
