An International Journal on Biocomplexity in the Environment and Theoretical Ecology
Guide for Authors
Submission of manuscripts
Submission of a paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration
for publication elsewhere, and that if accepted it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language,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 Publisher.
Upon acceptance of an article by Ecological Complexity, the author(s) will
be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to Elsevier. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.
Online Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article.
Via the (http://ees.elsevier.com/ecocom) page of this journal you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading
of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used
in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF 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 and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.
The
above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Authors" section from
the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.
Electronic format requirements for accepted articles
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.
Please be informed that:
1.
Colour illustrations in print will be charged on the author. Illustration costs are EURO 350 for every first page. All subsequent pages
cost EURO 175.
2. Colour illustrations on the web (ScienceDirect) are free of charge.
If you want a colour illustration on the
web and the same illustration in black and white in the print version of the journal, please note that you will then have to submit two
different illustration files, one colour and one black and white version.
Please see detailed information on illustrations further
below in the guide for authors.
Types of contributions
The following contributions will be accepted:
Original research
papers and case studies
Review articles
Special themes issues
Short notes
Viewpoint articles (invited)
Letters to
the Editor
Book Reviews
Preparation of manuscript
1. Manuscripts are to be written in good English. Authors whose
native language is not English are advised to seek the help of an English-speaking colleague, if possible, before submitting their manuscripts. English language help service: Upon request, Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the English
of their paper (before submission). Please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information.
2. Generally,
manuscripts should not exceed 7,000 words, the maximum word length being 10,000.
3. Manuscripts should contain numbered lines, wide
margins and double spacing throughout. The same applies for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including
the title page, references and tables, should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. However, in the text no reference should be
made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Underline words that should be in italics, and do not underline any other
words. Avoid excessive usage of italics to emphasize part of the text.
4. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following
order: Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long) Name(s) of author(s) Affiliation(s) Present address(es)of author(s)
Complete correspondence address including fax number and e-mail address.
Any(short) additional information concerning research grants,
etc., may be included on the title page under the address(es). If this information is long, please include it in the text, either at
the end of the introduction or in a separate acknowledgment section preceding the references.
Abstract
Key words (four to six)
Introduction
Material studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Tables
Figure captions
5. In typing the manuscript, titles and subtitles should not run within the text. They
should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Use lower-case lettertype.
6. SI units should be used.
7. Elsevier reserves
the privilege of returning to the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations that are not in the proper form given in
this guide.
Abstracts
The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words.
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. Drawn tables, from which blocks need to be made, should not be folded. 4. Tables should be numbered
according to their sequence in the text. The text should include reference to all tables. 5. Each table should be typewritten on a separate
page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text. 6. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title. 7.
Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between
parentheses. 8. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns; leave some extra space between the columns instead. 9. Any explanation
essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.
Electronic illustrations
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, Helvetica,
Times, Symbol.
Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
Use a logical naming convention for
your artwork files.
Provide all illustrations as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets.
Provide
captions to illustrations separately.
Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
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: Colour or greyscale 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 (colour or greyscale): 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.
Colour
illustrations
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 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. Please indicate your preference for colour 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 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 versions of all the colour illustrations.
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 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) in addition to colour reproduction in print. For further information
on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
References
1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. The manuscript
should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference
list. 2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed, if necessary, by a short reference
to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Peterson (1989) has shown that...". "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer,
1992, pp. 12-16)". 3. 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
first author and co-authors should be mentioned. 4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list
of references 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, 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 1974a, 1974b,etc. 5. Use the following system for arranging your references:
b. For edited symposia, special issues, etc., published in a periodical
Reiche, E.-W., 1993. Modelling water and nitrogen
dynamics on catchment scale. In: B. Breckling and F. Muller (Editors), State-of-the-Art in Ecological Modelling. Ecol. Model., 75/76;
371-384.
c. For books
Ahmad, Y., El Serafy, S. and Lutz, E. (Editors), 1989. Environmental Accounting for Sustainable
Development. The World Bank, Washington, DC, 100 pp.
d. For multi-author books
Daly, H.E., 1991. Ecological economics
and sustainable development. In: C. Rossi and E. Tiezzi (Editors), Ecological Physical Chemistry. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 185-201.
e. For unpublished reports, departmental notes, etc.
Goodland, R.,Daly, H.E. and El Serafy, S., 1991. Environmentally
Sustainable Economic Development: Building on Brundtland. Environment Working Paper No. 46, World Bank, Washington, DC.
6. Do not
abbreviate the titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references; alternatively use the International List of Periodical Title
Word Abbreviations. 7. 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. 8. In referring to a personal communication, the two words are followed by the year, e.g., "(J. McNary,
personal communication,1992)".
Formulae1. Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle,
variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line,
e.g., Xp/Ymrather
than divided with a —
2. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. 3. Number consecutively any equations that
have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text). 3. 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. 4. The use of fractional
powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also, powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. 5. 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, valence of ions should be given as, e.g., Ca2+ and CO2-3 not as Ca++
or CO--3. 6. 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 1. Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential.
In most cases it will be possible to incorporate the information in normal text. 2. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated
by superscript numbers, and kept as short as possible.
Nomenclature 1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged
to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 2. 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. 3. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first
used in the text. 4. 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.
Copyright
1. When quoting from someone else's work or when considering reproducing an illustration or table from a book or journal article, the
author should make sure that he is not infringing a copyright. 2. Although in general an author may quote from other published works,
he should obtain permission from the holder of the copyright if he wishes to make substantial extracts or to reproduce tables, plates,
or other illustrations. If the copyright-holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended that the permission
of the author should also be sought. 3. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless
permission has been obtained. 4. A suitable acknowledgment of any borrowed material must always be made.
Supplementary data
Elsevier accepts 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.
For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Proofs One set of page proofs in PDF format 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). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe
Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you
may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return 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 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.
Ecological Complexity carries no page charges
Authors can keep a
track on the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by
using the "Track a Paper" feature of Elsevier's Journal Homepage.
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. 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"
• 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)
• Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended
for colour reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced in colour on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white
in print
• If only colour on the Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
