Instructions to Authors
The Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation solicits contributions on all aspects of the biology and conservation of the herons of the world. This includes natural history, behavior, plumage and coloration, physiology, morphology, distribution, population sizes and trends, genetics, taxonomy, demography, and methodology. The purpose of the Journal is to provide access to advances in biological and conservation knowledge about herons, so that is its sole focus. The geographic scope of the journal is worldwide; contributions to regional and national knowledge of herons and heron populations are encouraged. Experimental, descriptive and monitoring studies are acceptable, including behavioral and distributional observations. Scientifically based essays of consequence to heron biology and conservation are welcome. Manuscripts may be submitted to any member of the editorial team: Chip Weseloh (), Clay Green () or Katsutoshi Matsunaga ().
Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation is an open access journal; in submitting papers for publication in this on-line journal, authors explicitly agree that their intellectual property may be freely distributed and freely used by others accessing the website. The Articles are copyrighted by their authors and published in the Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation under license from the authors. Submission of a paper for publication constitutes an acceptance of these terms of publication.
All submissions must be electronic via Email. Manuscripts should be submitted in English. Articles will be published using American English spelling and conventions, and should be submitted with that in mind. Assistance with written English will be gladly provided when necessary. Tables should be formatted for web viewing and inserted in the text. Figures including photographs also should be submitted as final editions of what is to appear in publication and placed in their desired location in the manuscript. The manuscript should be submitted as a single file. Text should be single spaced except one line should be skipped between paragraphs and labeled sections. Use Times New Roman 12 point font in Word. The title of the paper should be in 16 point font. Give English and scientific names (in parentheses) when first used in the Abstract and again in text; italicize scientific names. Thereafter, use capitalized English (common) names unless scientific names are required for clarity. Do not use footnotes. Use metric (SI) measurements. Latitude and Longitude should be expressed as: 25° 17′ 00″ N, 80° 53′ 00″ W. Dates should be: 02 October 2010. Times should be: 08:30 hr, 16:30 hr. English and scientific names must follow the taxonomic conventions of HeronConservation when first mentioning a species in the Title, Abstract, and Introduction. After the conventional names are introduced, a paper questioning this taxonomy, of course, may then deviate.
All articles submitted must have the following sections, in order: Title, Names of authors and their contact information, note of primary contact with email address if more than one author, Abstract, Key words, Introduction. Where appropriate, the paper should end with Acknowledgements, and Literature Cited. Most papers should also include Methods, Study Area, Results, Discussion, although these may be altered to meet the needs of the paper. Appendices should be used for large tables.
Title
The title should be short and informative of the content. For papers on one or a few species, the English and Scientific Names of the species should be in the title. If appropriate give the geographic location of the report. Use the format:
Changes in the range of the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in North America.
Authors
Full name of authors should be listed along with addresses including email, and affiliation if any. In multi-authored papers, one author must be designated as the primary contact; Designation not necessary for single-author papers. Use the Format:
Joseph T. Smith1*, Sara Smith2 and John Jones3
1University of Miami, Coral Gables Florida, 33132, U.S.A.; JSmith@UMiami.Edu
2University of Miami, Coral Gables Florida, 33132, U.S.A
3159 Main Street, Miami, Florida, 33132, U.S.A
*Primary contact
Abstract
Left justify the word “Abstract” The Abstract should be short, no more than 300 words, and informative of the results and conclusions, not merely indicative of content. Give English and Scientific names of organisms when first mentioned. Write in complete sentences. Use one paragraph.
Key words
Left justify the words: “Key words:” italicized. Provide up to ten key words not already used in the title, separate key words by comma, end with period.
Introduction
Left justify the word: “Introduction.” In the Introduction, provide background that introduces the subject and shows why the report is publishable and how it may advance knowledge citing the most appropriate prior literature. Information on the motivation, goal, or intention of the paper may be included; a clear statement of the objective of the paper must be included.
Methods
Left justify the word: “Methods.” In the Methods, give sufficient information on data collection and analysis for the study to be duplicated, if desired. Cite appropriate references to the methods used. Methods should be pertinent to the paper. If the paper is based on images, supply all photographic information.
Study Area
If appropriate to the study, provide information on its location. Left justify the word: “Study Area.” Give country, region/ province/state, and latitude and longitude of study sites or study areas. Provide a description of the study area, but only to the extent this is needed to understand the paper. Provide maps only when needed for information not readily available, such as on Google Earth. This information may be combined in Methods, if appropriate.
Results
Left justify the word: “Results.” Give the results concisely, concentrating on the pertinent information of the paper. Subdivide the section if desirable for clarity. Do not discuss results in this section. Provide full statistical information for every statistical statement.
Discussion
Left justify the word: “Discussion.” Do not repeat results. Discuss them especially in light of previous knowledge, which should be fully cited. Note where results conflict with previous literature. Conclude with a statement of major findings of the paper. Results and Discussion sections may be combined if appropriate, such as for essays.
Acknowledgements
Left justify the word: “Acknowledgements.” Include mention of individuals and institutions assisting in the study or paper, including all funding sources and permitting authorities.
Literature Cited
Left justify the word: “Literature Cited.” Include all references cited in the text, but only those references, specifically cited. Put in alphabetical order by last name of first author; then by last name of second author, and so forth; cite two authors before three authors. Left justify references. Insert blank line between references. Spell out all journal titles. Use these formats:
Smith, J. T., S. Smith and J. Jones. 2010. Changes in the range of the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in North America. Waterbirds 25: 125-128.
Smith, J. T., S. Smith and J. Jones. 2010. Changes in the range of the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in North America. Pages 125-128 in The Biology of Waterbirds (J. T. Smith and S. Smith, eds.). Academic Press, New York, U.S.A.
Smith, J. T., S. Smith and J. Jones. 2010. The Range of the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in North America. Academic Press, New York, U.S.A.
Smith, J. T., S. Smith and J. Jones. 2010. Changes in the range of the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in North America. Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation 00(00). [online] www.heronconservation.org/JHBC/vol00/art00/.
For online resources with content that may be updated or revised, include the access date after the URL, such as "Accessed 20 December 2011".
For in text citations, references should be listed in chronological order, then alphabetically: (Smith et al. 2010, Smith and Jones 2011, Smith and Smith 2011)
Appendices
Left justify the word: “Appendix.” Include only data that are pertinent to the paper but are too extensive to be included in the body of the paper without distraction. For large data sets, the Appendix should be used to provide information on access to data bases on-line or available in other ways. If more than one Appendix is included, number them Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.