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AB
Aquatic Biology


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Companion journal to Marine Ecology Progress Series and Aquatic Microbial Ecology


Produced by the Marine Ecology Progress Series/Aquatic Microbial Ecology (MEPS/AME) team, and with an identical format, Aquatic Biology (AB) features the same leading standards as all IR journals:

  • high quality of scientific contributions
  • rapid publication
  • high technical standard of presentation

These are among the reasons why IR journals are recognized as leaders in their respective fields of science.

According to the Journal Citation Reports 2023 release, AB features an impact factor (IF) of 1.4 from 1331 total cites (5-year IF = 1.9), Immediacy Index = 0.3, Eigenfactor = 0.00028, JCI = 0.53.


History


AB was founded and is owned by Inter-Research as an outlet for research on the biology of aquatic organisms. It thereby complements the material that appears in MEPS and AME.

As of 1 January 2016, SEDAO has been incorporated into AB.


Aim


AB aims to operate as a worldwide forum for research on all aspects of the biology of organisms living in marine, fresh or brackish waters, or in the intertidal zone, floodplains, connected ground waters, and other wetlands. AB thus acts as a bridge between scientists working on organisms from all of these domains. Multidisciplinary and international, the journal reflects the evolving needs of the scientific community it serves.


Scope


AB publishes rigorously refereed and carefully selected Feature Articles, Research Articles, Reviews and Notes, as well as Comments/Reply Comments (for details see MEPS 228:1), Theme Sections, Opinion Pieces (previously called 'As I See It') (for details consult the Guidelines for Authors) concerned with the biology, physiology, biochemistry and genetics (including the ’omics‘) of all aquatic organisms under laboratory and field conditions, and at all levels of organisation and investigation. Areas covered include:

  • Biological aspects of biota: Evolution and speciation; life histories; biodiversity, biogeography and phylogeography; population genetics; biological connectedness between marine and freshwater biota; paleobiology of aquatic environments; invasive species.
  • Biochemical and physiological aspects of aquatic life; synthesis and conversion of organic matter (mechanisms of auto- and heterotrophy, digestion, respiration, nutrition); thermo-, ion, osmo- and volume-regulation; stress and stress resistance; metabolism and energy budgets; non-genetic and genetic adaptation.
  • Species interactions: Environment–organism and organism–organism interrelationships; predation: defenses (physical and chemical); symbioses.
  • Molecular biology of aquatic life.
  • Behavior: Orientation in space and time; migrations; feeding and reproductive behavior; agonistic behavior.
  • Toxicology and water-quality effects on organisms; anthropogenic impacts on aquatic biota (e.g. pollution, fisheries); stream regulation and restoration.
  • Theoretical biology: mathematical modelling of biological processes and species interactions.
  • Methodology and equipment employed in aquatic biological research; underwater exploration and experimentation.
  • Exploitation of aquatic biota: Fisheries; cultivation of aquatic organisms: use, management, protection and conservation of living aquatic resources.
  • Reproduction and development in marine, brackish and freshwater organisms

Production schedule


AB volumes are built online, with articles appearing as soon as editorial modifications are approved by the authors.

AB encourages and facilitates the incorporation of essential supplementary online material –– such as movies or oversize tables, figures or mathematics –– to assist authors in more effectively transmitting their research results.

High quality color illustrations are welcome and will be published without extra charge.


Article Processing Charges


AB is published entirely Open Access (see the IR Open Access policy for details) under the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) Licence. Please refer to the ‘Open Access’ tab on the present page for pricing details as well as options for discounts and waivers for authors from certain countries. AB does not charge authors for color figures or any additional page charges.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, Reviewers and Editors must disclose relationships (e.g. financial, economic, institutional) that may affect the integrity of the scientific process. Please refer to our Conflict of Interest Policy for details.

Neutrality of editorial decisions

Inter-Research journals are following the Committee of Publication Ethics advice on neutrality for editorial decisions. In brief, editorial decisions in Inter-Research journals shall not be affected by the origins of the manuscript, including the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race or religion of the authors. Decisions to review, edit and publish shall not be determined by the policies of governments or other agencies, but just by the journals themselves, and are purely based on scientific merit of the submitted work and the work’s fit within each journal’s scope.

AB is published entirely Open Access under the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) Licence.

Article Processing Charges (APCs) for publication apply. Copyright remains with the original copyright owners, and copying and re-use is almost unrestricted.

The APC is based on article type and date of article submission, so the final APC price is already fixed for APC funding applications necessary prior to article submission.


The Article Processing Charges (APCs) are:


Articles submitted on or after 1 November 2022


  • €2500 for Research or Review articles
  • €1250 for Notes
  • € 650 for Opinion Pieces or Comments

Articles submitted on or after 1 June 2021 and before 1 November 2022


  • €2000 for Research or Review articles
  • €1000 for Notes
  • € 500 for Opinion Pieces or Comments

No additional page charges apply.


Tax information


For purchases in the European Union, the VAT number of the paying institution must be provided, otherwise VAT will be added at the standard rate for the country of the purchaser. For Germany, VAT at 7% will always be added.


Fee discounts or waivers


Authors of studies originating from countries where limited funds are available for APCs can request to have the APC reduced or waived. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and will require the provision to Inter-Research of specific funding and other resourcing information related to the study. In general a study must have been funded to at least 50% by a country eligible for the Research4Life program or classified by the World Bank as low or lower-middle income. Please apply to Feewaiver before submitting your manuscript.


Creative Commons Licence labelling


Only articles clearly marked with "CC BY" in the top right corner of the front page are published with the Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. The CC-BY option was not available for Inter-Research journals before 1 April 2013. Articles marked "Open Access" or "Free Access" but not marked "CC BY" are made freely accessible to all users at the time of publication but are subject to standard copyright law regarding reproduction and distribution.


AB is fully Open Access (author-pays model).

All AB articles are available online and are freely accessible to all users. As from Volume 25 (2016), the print version has been discontinued. Thus subscriptions are no longer available..

Back print issues are available for substantially reduced prices; for details write to the publisher.