Format and style instructions for the Journal of Ecology
A standard paper should not normally be longer than 15 printed pages. (A page of printed text, without figures / tables carries c. 800 words.)
The typescript should be arranged as follows, with each section starting on a separate page.
Title page. This should contain:
1. A concise and informative title (as short as possible). Do not include the authorities for taxonomic names in the title.
2. A list of authors' names with names and addresses of Institutions.
3. The name and address of the correspondence author to whom proofs will be sent. (A telex and/or fax number and E-mail address for urgent communication should be supplied if possible.)
4. A running headline of not more than 45 characters.
Summary. This should list the main results and conclusions, using simple, factual, numbered statements. It must not exceed 350 words.
Keywords. A list in alphabetical order not exceeding five words or short phrases, excluding words used in the title.
Introduction. This should state the reason for doing the work, the nature of the hypothesis or hypotheses under consideration, and should outline the essential background.
Materials and methods. This should provide sufficient details of the techniques to enable the work to be repeated. Do not describe or refer to commonplace statistical tests in Methods but allude to them briefly in Results.
Results. This should state the results, drawing attention in the text to important details shown in tables and figures.
Discussion. This should point out the significance of the results in relation to the reasons for doing the work, and place them in the context of other work.
Acknowledgements
References (see Specifications).
Tables (see Specifications). These should be referred to in the text as Table 1, etc. Do not present the same data in both figure and table form.
Figure legends (see Specifications). Figures should be referred to in the text as Fig. 1, etc. (note Figs 1 and 2 with no period). Illustrations (see Specifications) should be referred to as Figures.
Appendices, particularly if they contain large tables of information which are relevant to (but not needed for the understanding of) the paper, may be published electronically in the Archive section of the Journal's home page on the www, rather than printed, but paper copies should be included with your manuscript.
Hard copies of figures should be included with the original submission. Figures should not be boxed and tick marks should be on the inside of the axes. Where possible, figures should be no bigger than A4 and designed appropriately if they are to be reduced in size for publication. Lettering is best in a sans-serif face (e.g. Helvetica) with capitals used for the initial letter only. After reduction, the size of the letters should be c. 8 point, i.e. capital letters should be about 2 mm tall. Label each figure with the authors' names and figure number.
Photographs, which are encouraged, should be glossy prints of good contrast. (Refer to these as figures in the text.) Where several photographs are used together to make one figure, they should be well matched for tonal range.
Lettering or arrows should be placed on by authors using suitable transfer film. Color photographs may be allowed if color is an essential feature of the result but authors will be asked to contribute to the cost. Five photocopies/copies should be provided for circulation to referees.
Legends should be grouped on a separate sheet, and furnish enough detail so that the figure can be understood without reference to the text.
Each table should be on a separate page, numbered and accompanied by a title at the top.
References to work by three or more authors in the text should be abbreviated (Able et al. 1986). When different groups of authors with the same first author and date occur, they should be cited thus: (Able, Baker & Charles 1986; Able, David & Edwards 1986).
The references in the list should be in alphabetical order with the journal name unabbreviated. The format for papers, entire books and chapters in books is as follows:
Boutin, C. & Harper, J.L. (1991) A comparative study of the population dynamics of five species of Veronica in natural habitats. Journal of Ecology, 79, 199-221.
Clarke, N.A. (1983) The ecology of dunlin (Calidris alpina L.) wintering on the Severn estuary. PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh.
Pimm, S.L. (1982) Food Webs. Chapman and Hall, London.
Sibly, R.M. (1981) Strategies of digestion and defecation. Physiological Ecology (eds C. R. Townsend & P. Calow), pp. 109-139. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
References should only be cited as 'in press' if the paper has been accepted for publication. Other references should be cited as 'unpublished' and not included in the list. One copy of any paper cited as 'in press' must be included with the typescript so that it can be seen by the editors. Work not yet submitted for publication may be cited in the text and attributed to its author as: 'full author name, unpublished data'.
Authors are requested to use the International System of Units (SI, Système International d'Unités) where possible for all measurements (see Quantities, Units and Symbols, 2nd edn (1975) The Royal Society, London). Note that mathematical expressions should contain symbols not abbreviations. If the paper contains many symbols, it is recommended that they should be defined as early in the text as possible, or within a subsection of the Materials and methods section.
Give the Latin names of each species in full, together with the authority for its name, at first mention in the main text. If there are many species, cite a Flora or checklist which may be consulted for authorities instead of listing them in the text. Do not give authorities for species cited from published references. Give priority to scientific names in the text (with colloquial names in parentheses, if desired).
When a special piece of equipment has been used it should be described so that the reader can trace its specifications by writing to the manufacturer; thus:
'Data were collected using a solid-state data logger (CR21X, Campbell Scientific, Utah, USA).'
Mathematical expressions should be carefully represented using the Mathematical equation editor that is available within Microsoft Word.
Make sure that there is no confusion between similar characters like l ('ell') and 1 ('one'). Also make sure that expressions are spaced as you would like them to appear, and if there are several equations they should be identified by a number in parentheses.
Do not use an excessive number of digits when writing a decimal number to represent the mean of a set of measurements (the number of digits should reflect the precision of the measurement).
Numbers from one to nine should be spelled out except when used with units; e.g. two eyes but 10 stomata and 5 years.