INTRODUCTION • Types of paper BEFORE YOU BEGIN • Ethics in Publishing • Policy and Ethics • Submission declaration • Copyright • Retained author rights • Role of the funding source • Funding body agreements and policies • Language and language services • Submission • Referees • Additional Information PREPARATION • Use of wordprocessing software • Cover letter • Article structure • Essential title page information • Abstract • Stereochemistry abstract • Keywords • Abbreviations • Acknowledgements • Nomenclature and Units • Math formulae • Footnotes • Artwork • Tables • References • Supplementary material • Submission checklist AFTER ACCEPTANCE • Use of the Digital Object Identifier • Proofs • Offprints AUTHOR INQUIRIES

Please read all information carefully and follow the instructions in detail when preparing your manuscript.
Manuscripts that are not prepared according to our guidelines will be sent back to authors without review.


Biological Conservation encourages the submission of high-quality manuscripts that advance the science and practice of conservation, or which demonstrate the application of conservation principles for natural resource management and policy. Given the broad international readership of the journal, published articles should have global relevance in terms of the topics or issues addressed, and thus demonstrate applications for conservation or resource management beyond the specific system or species studied.

Types of paper

Word counts include text, references, figures and tables. Each figure or table should be considered equal to 300 words.

1. Full length articles (Research papers)
Research papers report the results of original research. The material must not have been previously published elsewhere. Full length articles are usually up to 8,000 words.

2. Review articles
Reviews should address topics or issues of current interest. They may be submitted or invited. Review articles are usually up to 12,000 words.

3. Systematic reviews:
Systematic review is a methodology used to summarize, appraise and communicate the results and implications of a large quantity of research and information. Although the manuscript should report the main outcomes of the systematic review, it is expected that the full review and associated data will be made available online. The length of a systematic review should not exceed 8,000 words. For a more elaborate explanation of systematic reviews, please check the following link: http://www.cebc.bangor.ac.uk/introSR.php. Authors who intend to write a systematic review are kindly asked to contact Andrew Pullin first.

4. Short communications
Short communications are meant to highlight important research that is novel or represents highly significant preliminary findings, and should be less than 4,000 words.

5. Book Reviews
Book reviews will be included in the journal on a range of relevant titles that are not more than two years old. These are usually less than 2,000 words.

6. Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor are written in response to a recent article appearing in the journal. Letters should be less than 800 words, with references kept to a minimum (three or fewer references).



Ethics in Publishing

For information on Ethics in Publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication see http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.

Policy and Ethics

All appropriate ethics and other approvals were obtained for the research. Where appropriate, authors should state that their research protocols have been approved by an authorized animal care or ethics committee, and include a reference to the code of practice adopted for the reported experimentation or methodology. The Editor will take account of animal welfare issues and reserves the right not to publish, especially if the research involves protocols that are inconsistent with commonly accepted norms of animal research.

Editors likewise require reviewers to disclose current or recent association with authors and other special interest in this work.

Submission declaration

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.

Retained author rights

As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details you are referred to: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.

Role of the funding source

You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement then this should be stated. Please see http://www.elsevier.com/funding.

Funding body agreements and policies

Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.

Language and language services

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission please visit http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at http://epsupport.elsevier.com for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions: http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.

Submission

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts source files to a single PDF file of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF files at submission for the review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail removing the need for a paper trail.

Referees

Authors are at liberty to suggest the names of up to three potential reviewers (with full contact details). Potential reviewers should not include anyone with whom the authors have collaborated during the research being submitted.

Additional Information

Editorial Process


Publishing space in the journal is limited, such that many manuscripts must be rejected. To expedite the processing of manuscripts, the journal has adopted a two-tier review process. During the first stage of review, the handling editor evaluates the manuscript for appropriateness and scientific content, taking advice where appropriate from members of the editorial board. Criteria for rejection at this stage include:

• Manuscript lacks a strong conservation focus or theme, or management implications not well-developed. Please note that research on a rare or endangered species or ecosystem is not sufficient justification to merit publication in Biological Conservation. Published research must also advance the science and practice of conservation biology, and thus have broader application for a wide international audience.
• Manuscript subject matter more appropriate for another journal. Natural history or biodiversity surveys, including site descriptions, are usually better suited for other outlets, such as a regional or taxon-specific journal. Similarly, manuscripts with a primarily behavioral, genetic or ecological focus are more appropriate for journals in those fields. For example, studies reporting on disturbance effects, species interactions (e.g., predator-prey, competitive, or pollinator-host plant interactions), species-habitat relationships, descriptive genetics (e.g., assays of genetic variation within or between populations), or behavioral responses to disturbance will be referred elsewhere if they lack a clear conservation message. Authors are advised to contact an Editor prior to submission if there are any questions regarding the appropriateness of a manuscript for the journal.
• Study primarily of local or regional interest. Biological Conservation is international in scope, and thus research published in the journal should have global relevance, in terms of the topics or issues addressed.
• Study poorly designed or executed. Research lacks spatial or temporal replication, has insufficient sample sizes, or inadequate data analysis. Such obvious indications of poor-quality science will be cause for immediate rejection.
• Manuscript poorly written. Poor writing interferes with the effective communication of science. Authors for whom English is not the first language are advised to consult with a technical language editor before submission.
• Conservation research ethics violated. Research was unnecessarily destructive, was conducted for the express purpose of causing harm/mortality (e.g., simulation of treatment or disturbance effects on survivorship), or violated ethics in the treatment and handling of animals. Where appropriate, authors must provide a statement and supporting documentation that research was approved by the authors' institutional animal care and use committee(s).

Manuscripts that pass this first stage of editorial review are then subjected to a second stage of formal peer review. This involves evaluation of the manuscript by at least two specialists within the field of study, which may include one or more members of the editorial board. Beyond a critical assessment of the scientific content and overall presentation, referees are asked to evaluate the originality, likely impact and global relevance of the research. Referees make a recommendation to the handling editor, but note that it is ultimately the decision of the handling editor as to whether a manuscript is accepted for publication in Biological Conservation.



Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Richard B. Primack
Biology Department
Boston University
5 Cummington Street
Boston, MA 02215
USA
Phone: 1-617-353-2454
Email: primack@bu.edu


Editors


Dr. Richard Corlett
14 Science Drive 4, Biological Sciences, national University of Singapore, Singapore, Email: corlett@nus.edu.sg


M. Fischer
Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland, Email: markus.fischer@ips.unibe.ch


Dr. Andrew B. Gill
Department of Natural Resources, School of Applied Sciences, Building 37, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK MK43 0AL, Phone: 44 (0)1234 750111 x2711, Email: a.b.gill@cranfield.ac.uk


Dr. Jean-Paul Metzger
Universidade de Sao Paulo, Dep. de Ecologia, Inst. de Biociencias, Rua do Matao, 321, travessa 14, 05508-900 Sao Paulo, Brazil, Email: jpm@ib.usp.br

Dr. Andrew S. Pullin
Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation, School of Environment and Natural, Resources, University of Wales, Bangor Bangor, Gwynedd UK LL57 2UW, Phone: 01248382289, Email: a.s.pullin@bangor.ac.uk


Dr. Navjot S. Sodhi
National University of Singapore, Department of Biological Sciences, 14 Science Drive 2, 117543, Singapore Phone: 65 6516 2700, Email: dbsns@nus.edu.sg


Dr. Kimberly A. With
Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 USA, Phone: 1-785-532-5040, Email: kwith@ksu.edu


Book Review Editor
Dr. Barry Meatyard
University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, Email: barry.meatyard@warwick.ac.uk




Use of wordprocessing software

It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication). Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions of your wordprocessor.

Set up your document one-sided, using double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins. Use continuous line numbering throughout the document. Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin. Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Number every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references tables, etc. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Layout and conventions must conform with those given in this guide to authors. Journal style has changed over time so do not use old issues as a guide. Number all pages consecutively. Italics are not to be used for expressions of Latin origin, for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above).

Cover letter

Submission of a manuscript must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes the following statements or acknowledgements:

• The work is all original research carried out by the authors.
• All authors agree with the contents of the manuscript and its submission to the journal.
• No part of the research has been published in any form elsewhere, unless it is fully acknowledged in the manuscript. Authors should disclose how the research featured in the manuscript relates to any other manuscript of a similar nature that they have published, in press, submitted or will soon submit to Biological Conservation or elsewhere.
• The manuscript is not being considered for publication elsewhere while it is being considered for publication in this journal.
• Any research in the paper not carried out by the authors is fully acknowledged in the manuscript.
• All sources of funding are acknowledged in the manuscript, and authors have declared any direct financial benefits that could result from publication.
• All appropriate ethics and other approvals were obtained for the research. Where appropriate, authors should state that their research protocols have been approved by an authorized animal care or ethics committee, and include a reference to the code of practice adopted for the reported experimentation or methodology. The Editor will take account of animal welfare issues and reserves the right not to publish, especially if the research involves protocols that are inconsistent with commonly accepted norms of animal research.
• Please include a short paragraph that describes the main finding of your paper, and its significance to the field of conservation biology.

Article structure

Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to "the text". Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.

Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Material and methods
Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.

Theory/calculation
A Theory section should extend, not repeat, the background to the article already dealt with in the Introduction and lay the foundation for further work. In contrast, a Calculation section represents a practical development from a theoretical basis.

Results
Results should be clear and concise.

Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

Glossary
Please supply, as a separate list, the definitions of field-specific terms used in your article.

Appendices
If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on.

Essential title page information

• Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
• Author names and affiliations. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.
• Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent address") may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length of 250 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Stereochemistry abstract

For each important chiral compound you are requested to supply a stereochemistry abstract detailing structure, name, formula and all available stereochemical information for eventual incorporation into a database. An abstract for only one enantiomer per compound is required.

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Abbreviations

Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Acknowledgements

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

Nomenclature and Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI) for all scientific and laboratory data. If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.

Common names must be in lower-case except proper nouns. All common names must be followed by a scientific name in parentheses in italics. For example, bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). Where scientific names are used in preference to common names they should be in italics and the genus should be reduced to the first letter after the first mention. For example, the first mention is given as Tursiops aduncus and subsequent mentions are given as T. aduncus.

Math formulae

Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

Footnotes

Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many wordprocessors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.
Table footnotes
Indicate each footnote in a table with a superscript lowercase letter.

Artwork

Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
• Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
• Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
• Submit each figure as a separate file.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
• Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color in print or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the color illustrations.

Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Tables

Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

References

Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.

Reference style
Text: All citations in the text should refer to:
1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by "et al." and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.
Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently shown ...."
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2000. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci. Commun. 163, 51-59.
Reference to a book:
Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 1979. The Elements of Style, third ed. Macmillan, New York.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 1999. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281-304.

Supplementary material

Elsevier accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data are provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. Video files: please supply 'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame from the video or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your supplementary information. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Submission checklist

It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal's Editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One Author designated as corresponding Author:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• Telephone and fax numbers
All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords
• All figure captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked" and "grammar-checked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)
• Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only color on the Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
For any further information please visit our customer support site at http://epsupport.elsevier.com.



Use of the Digital Object Identifier

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal Physics Letters B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.

Proofs

One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post) or, a link will be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download the files themselves. Elsevier now provides authors with PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs (also given online). The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return them to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Offprints

The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.



For inquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage. You can track accepted articles at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.