AB 1:i (2007)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab0000i

The Inter-Research Science Center (IR) journals Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) and Aquatic Microbial Ecology (AME) have been receiving increasing numbers of high-quality manuscripts that are principally biological, rather than ecological. With regret, we have had to turn these submissions away. Also, leading limnologists have for many years suggested that IR should provide an outlet for top quality articles on freshwater biology and ecology. Aquatic Biology (AB) fills these gaps.

Multidisciplinary and international, AB will be developed and tailored in accordance with the needs and interests of the scientific community, acting as a bridge between researchers working on all aquatic eco-domains (see Stergiou & Browman 2005). The scope of AB complements that of MEPS and AME. Manuscripts that are only peripherally related to ecological mechanisms and processes should be directed to AB, rather than to MEPS or AME.

The editorial policies and procedures of IR journals—including AB—conform to the recommendations of the Council of Science Editors (CSE 2006). Submitted manuscripts are pre-screened by the Editors-in-Chief and by Contributing (subject) Editors (CE). Although all manuscripts must be submitted to the journal’s editorial office, authors are encouraged to identify a CE for the peer review of their submission. In cases of poor quality or topical unsuitability, editors may return manuscripts without review.

AB publishes only high quality articles. The initial rejection rate for submissions has been approximately 60%, but IR journals have no fixed rejection rate—the number of pages that we publish is adjusted annually based upon the number of articles that our quality controllers decide are of a high enough standard. This allows our editors to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, without pressure to adjust rejection rates to a fixed number of pages. We solicit 3 to 4 evaluations of every manuscript. Neff & Olden (2006) concluded that the use of dual editorial pre-screening, and 3 to 4 evaluations, results in the highest possible standard of content quality control (see also Kinne 1988, 2004, Riisgård 2000, 2003, Browman & Kirby 2004).

Produced by the MEPS/AME team, and with an identical format, AB features the same leading standards as all IR journals. Peer review is managed using an online system. We strive to limit the duration of initial review to 8 weeks. AB volumes are ‘built’ online: articles appear as soon as the presentation of their contents and the layout have been approved by the author(s). Average time between final acceptance and online publication is about 20 days. IR encourages and facilitates the incorporation of supplementary online material (including videos) if this optimizes the presentation of the research results.

We are confident that AB will quickly become a global leader among aquatic science journals.

LITERATURE CITED

Browman HI, Kirby DS (2004) Quality in science publishing. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 270:265–287

Council of Science Editors (2006) CSE's white paper on promoting integrity in scientific journal publications. www.councilscienceeditors.org/editorial_policies/white_paper.cfm

Kinne O (1988) The scientific process – its links, functions and problems. Naturwissenschaften 74:275–279

Kinne O (2004) Quality assessment and improvement of manuscripts. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 279:1

Neff BD, Olden JD (2006) Is peer review a game of chance? BioScience 56:333–340

Riisgård HU (2000) The peer-review system: time for re-assessment? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 192:305–313

Riisgård HU (2003) Misuse of the peer-review system: time for countermeasures? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 258:297–309

Stergiou KI, Browman HI (2005) Bridging the gap between aquatic and terrestrial ecology. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 304:271–307