International Journal on Ecological Modelling and Systems Ecology

Ecological Modelling uses an online, electronic submission system. By accessing the website http://ees.elsevier.com/ecomod you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. When submitting a manuscript to the Elsevier Editorial System, authors need to provide an electronic version of their manuscript. For this purpose original source files, not PDF files, are preferred. The author should specify a category designation for the manuscript (full length article, review article, short communication, etc.), choose a set of classifications from the prescribed list provided online and select an editor. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures to the Editorial Office. Once the uploading is complete, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be communicated by e-mail. Authors are requested to submit full contact details of at least four potential reviewers including email addresses.

Types of contributions: Before submitting an article to Ecological Modelling please read carefully the editorial policy which you can be found at the ECOMOD homepage. Editorial Policy

1. Original research papers (regular papers)
2. Review articles
3. Short communications
4. Letters to the Editor
5. Book reviews
6. News and announcements

Original research papers should report the results of original research. The material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a preliminary form.

Review articles should cover subjects falling within the scope of the journal which are of active current interest. They may be submitted or invited.

A Short communication is a concise but complete description of a limited investigation, which will not be included in a later paper. Short communication should be as completely documented, both by reference to the literature and description of the experimental procedures employed, as a regular paper. They should not occupy more than 6 printed pages (about 12 manuscript pages, including figures, tables and references).

Letters to the Editor offering comment or useful critique on material published in the journal are welcomed. The decision to publish submitted letters rests purely with the Editor-in-Chief. It is hoped that the publication of such letters will permit an exchange of views which will be of benefit to both the journal and its readers.

Book reviews will be included in the journal on a range of relevant books which are not more than 2 years old. Book reviews will be solicited by the Editor-in-Chief. Unsolicited reviews will not usually be accepted, but suggestions for appropriate books for review may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief: S.E. Jørgensen, Langkaer Vaenge 9, Vaerloese DK-3500, Denmark. Tel: +45 35 370850, Fax: +45 35 375744. E-mail: sej@dfuni.dk.

Submission of manuscripts Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Upon acceptance of the article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to sign 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

Abstracts The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words.

Preparation of manuscript We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used.
Line spacing should be double-spaced form with wide margins and numbered lines.
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). 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).

Tables

1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table.
2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.
3. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include reference to all tables.
4. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text.
5. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.
6. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.
7. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns; leave some extra space between the columns instead.
8. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.

References

1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the manuscript text. The author should carefully check the list for accuracy and correspondence with the text.
2. The references list should be arranged alphabetically on authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors, then the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates; publications of the same author with one co-author; publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1999a, 1999b, etc.
3. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed, if direct quote, by reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Smith (2004) has shown that...". "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Jones, 2001, pp. 12-16)".
4. In referring to a personal communication, give source, pers. comm., and year, e.g., "(H.T. Odum, pers. comm., 2001)".
5. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors, the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al." This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list, names of all authors should be given.
6. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically.
7. Use the International List of Periodical Title Word Abbreviations.
8. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
9. Use the following examples for your references:

For periodicals
Guisan, A., Zimmermann, N.E., 2000. Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecol. Model. 135, 147-186.

For books
Logofet, D.O., 1993. Matrices and Graphs-Stability Problems in Mathematical Ecology. C.R.C. Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 308 pp.

For multi-author books
Grant, W.E., Pedersen, E.K., Marin, S.L., 1997, Ecology and Natural Resource Management: Systems Analysis and Simulation. Wiley, New York, NY, 373 pp.

For edited books
M ller, F., Leupelt. M. (eds.), 1998. Eco Targets, Goal Functions, and Orientors. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 619 pp.

For book chapters
Patten, B.C., Bosserman, R.W., Finn, J.T., Cale, W.G., 1976. Propagation of cause in ecosystems. In: Patten, B.C. (ed.), Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology, vol. IV. Academic Press, New York, NY, USA, pp. 457-579.

For reports, departmental notes, etc.
Beck, M.B., 1981. Identifying Models of Environmental Systems' Behaviour. IIASA Working Paper WP-81-158, Laxenburg, Austria.

Illustrations
Preparation of electronic illustrations Submitting your artwork in an electronic format helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.

General points

1. Always supply high-quality printouts of your artwork, in case conversion of the electronic artwork is problematic.
2. Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
3. Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
4. Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times and Symbol.
5. Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
6. Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.
7. Provide all illustrations as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets.
8. Provide captions to illustrations separately.
9. Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
10. Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in publication, or as 35 mm slides. Polaroid colour prints are not suitable. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.
11. Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations.
12. This journal offers electronic submission services and graphic files can be uploaded.

Formulae

1. Formulae should be typewritten,if possible. Leave ample space around the formulae.
2. Subscripts and superscripts should be clear.
3. Greek letters and other non-Latin or handwritten symbols should be explained in the margin where they are first used. Take special care to show clearly the difference between zero(0) and the O, and between one (1) and the l.
4. Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
5. For simple fractions, use the solidus (/)instead of a horizontal line, e.g.,Ip/2m rather than Ip-2m
6. Equations should be numbered serially at the right-hand side in parentheses. In general only equations explicitly referred to in the text need be numbered.
7. The use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also, powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
8. Levels of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further explanation are P<0.05, P<0.01 and P<0.001.
9. In chemical formulae, the valence of ions should be given as, e.g. Ca²⁺ and CO^2– ₃
10. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g.¹³O.
11. The repeated writing of chemical formulae in the text is to be avoided where reasonably possible; instead, the name of the compound should be given in full. Exceptions may be made in the case of a very long name occurring very frequently or in the case of a compound being described as the end product of a gravimetric determination (e.g., phosphate as P2O5).

Please refer to Author Instructions in the journal to clarify details for formulae.

Footnotes Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it will be possible to incorporate the information in normal text. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers, and kept as short as possible.

Nomenclature Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclatureas laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. All biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.

Non-electronic illustrations Provide all illustrations as high-quality printouts, suitable for reproduction (which may include reduction) without retouching. Number illustrations consecutively in the order in which they are referred to in the text. They should accompany the manuscript, but should not be included within the text. Clearly mark all illustrations on the back (or - in case of line drawings - on the lower front side) with the figure number and the author's name and, in cases of ambiguity, the correct orientation. Mark the appropriate position of a figure in the article.

Captions Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate sheet, 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.

Supplementary data 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 is 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. More detailed instructions can be obtained at http://authors.elsevier.com.

Proofs Proofs will be sent to the author (first-named author if no corresponding author is identified on multi-authored papers) by PDF wherever possible and should be returned within 48 hours of receipt, preferably by e-mail. Corrections should be restricted to typesetting errors; any other amendments made may be charged to the author. Any queries should be answered in full. Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are returned to us in one all-inclusive e-mail or fax. Subsequent additional corrections will not be possible, so please ensure that your first communication is complete.

Offprints The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. 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.


Colour charges Authors will be charged for including colour illustrations in the printed version at the following rates and are encouraged only to consider colour if necessary for clarity or comprehension: 1st page: Euro 350. Every 2nd page: Euro 175 (Prices per October 2004).

Copyright guidelines
All authors must sign the 'Transfer of Copyright' agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement enables Elsevier Ltd to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the author's proprietary rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microform or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations, and includes the right to adapt the article for use in conjunction with computer systems and programs, including reproduction or publication in machine-readable form and incorporation in retrieval systems. Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists.

Conflicts of Interest
To allow scientists, the public, and policy makers to make more informed judgements about published research, this journal adopts a strong policy on conflicts of interest and disclosure. Authors should acknowledge all sources of funding and any direct financial benefits that could result from publication. Editors likewise require referees to disclosure current or recent association with authors and other special interest in this work.

Author enquiries
For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolmodel. From here you can also track accepted articles ( http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle) and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed, as well as detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions and more.

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.

Summary Guide and Checklist for Authors: Ecological Modelling This page is a summary of essential information. 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.

1. Submission of an article to ECOMOD implies that it is an original submission which has not been published previously or has not been submitted to any other journal.
2. All authors must suggest 4 reviewers on submission, together with their full addresses and email details. The suggested reviewers should not be a colleague, a close collaborator or in the same institutional location as the author(s).
3. Before submitting a manuscript to ECOMOD, please carefully read the Editorial Policy that can be found at the journal website. Be sure that the answer to the following five questions concerning the content of the manuscript is Yes:

Does the paper focus on an ecological model or on systems ecology?
Are the results based on ecological observations?
Is the ecological component sufficiently strong?
Does the paper present new results in ecological modelling or in systems ecology?
Does the paper clearly emphasize the scientific progress of results in ecological modelling or systems ecology compared with our established knowledge and with previously published results?;

1. As outlined in the Editorial Policy, all submissions will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

Has the model been presented by a conceptual diagram?
Has the model been presented in such details that the reader is able to develop the model?
Are the state variables, the forcing functions, and the parameters clearly presented?
Are the equations presented in sufficient details? Should the equations eventually be presented in an appendix (or on-line)?
Are all relevant references included?
Is the discussion also focusing on the scientific progress in ecological modelling?

1. Manuscripts should be in English and grammatically correct. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by an English-speaking colleague prior to submission.
2. Manuscripts should have wide margins and double spacing throughout. Every page of the manuscript should be numbered. Continuous line numbers should be inserted in order to facilitate reviewing.
3. Manuscripts should be organized in the following order: Title; Name(s) of author(s); Complete address(es) of affiliations; Full telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the corresponding author; Present address(es) of author(s) if applicable; Complete correspondence address to which the proofs should be sent; Abstract; key words normally 3-6 items; Introduction; material studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques, quality assurance/quality control program, etc.; results; discussion; conclusion; Acknowledgements and any additional information, research grants; References; Tables; Figure captions.
4. Your manuscript should be as concise and to-the-point as possible: brevity of papers is encouraged.
5. Tables

should be numbered according to their sequence in the text;
should have a brief and self-explanatory title;
Large tables and databases can be published as an Appendix in the web based version of the journal. Citation to this placement of the large data must be made in the printed version of the paper.

1. Figures and illustrations (line drawings and photographs): for detailed guidelines on electronic artwork, please consult http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
2. Illustrations should be:

numbered according to the sequence in which they appear in the text;
accompanied by a caption;
Digital photographs are only acceptable if they have good contrast and intensity.

1. Color: if you submit usable color figures together with your accepted article Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the web, 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.
2. References:

References should be presented in a list following the text. Authors' names and dates should be exactly the same in the text as in the reference list;
in the text should refer to the author's name (without initial) and year;
by more than 2 authors should use the name of the first author followed by "et al." though never in the list of references;
in the text should be arranged chronologically. The reference list should be arranged alphabetically on authors' names, and chronologically per author;
should be formatted by reference to a recent copy of the journal;
concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text;
citation by the number system is not acceptable.

1. Formulae should be presented in the line of normal text where possible. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
2. SI units should be used. The recommendations of the IUPAC IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature at http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb/ should be followed.

For any further information please contact the Author Support Department at authorsupport@elsevier.com.