Guide for Authors

Welcome to the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management’s guidelines for authors

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Subject Matter & Policy

The Journal has been established to publish papers on those matters of most importance to the conservation and management of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and in particular papers that are relevant to the tasks of the IWC Scientific Committee. These will include papers on:

• population assessment and trends;
• population dynamics;
• population biology;
• taxonomy;
• risk averse management strategies;
• direct and indirect exploitation;
• environmental changes and threats in the context of cetaceans;
• scientific aspects of whalewatching and sanctuaries.

The language of the Journal is English. The aim of the Journal is to publish high quality original papers that advance scientific knowledge significantly and that can contribute to the wise conservation and management of cetacean species. Papers that do not contain new information will be considered only if they reinterpret or review previous work in such a way that it represents an advance in knowledge. Papers that present results that can be regarded as routine or trivial are not acceptable in the absence of other desirable features.

The Journal will only contain refereed scientific papers. It will not contain a separate ‘Notes’ section, but some papers, at the discretion of the Editor and Editorial Board, will have the title prefaced by the words ‘A Note on….’.

Policy on papers from developing countries and from scientists for whom English is not the first language

The Editor encourages contributions from scientists for whom English is not their first language and scientists from developing countries; where appropriate, extensive advice on both language and scientific analysis will be provided. Poor English alone in original submissions will not be considered a suitable criterion for rejection – the Editor and staff will work with the authors to ensure that the published paper is written in good English. Similarly, where there are valuable data in a submission but the referees believe that the analysis is poor, every effort will be made to assist the authors to revise their paper such that it is of sufficiently high scientific quality to warrant publication.

NOTE: Consideration at IWC Scientific Committee meetings

Where timing is suitable and subject matter pertinent, authors may be requested to submit relevant papers, at whatever stage of the editorial process, to relevant meetings of the IWC Scientific Committee.

Reprint policy

Authors will receive a publication-quality copy of their article as a 'pdf' file created in  Adobe Reader. If you do not have this program, it can be downloaded quite easily from the internet (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.htm).

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Initial submission of papers

Before submitting full versions of papers, authors are encouraged to submit an abstract of the paper to the Editor, preferably by e-mail or fax, for confirmation that the subject matter is suitable;

(a) Ensure that your submission includes:

• a completed Author Submission Form;
• three copies of the manuscript - double line spaced with illustrations of sufficient quality for review purposes.

(b) The manuscript must:

• follow the approved Style Guide - if not, the manuscript will be returned;
• include on the title page the affiliations of each author, and a contact e-mail address for the contact author;
• include an Abstract of no more than 400 words, which should give information on the objectives, the principal results and the conclusions of the study;
• include Keywords selected from the approved list;
• include line numbers to allow reviewers to refer to the text. [Line numbering in Microsoft Word can be incorporated by selecting File> Page Setup> Layout> Line Numbers> Add line numbering].

Welfare and legal policy

When submitting a manuscript for publication, the author(s) must state that all work conforms to the legal requirements of the country in which it was carried out, including those relating to conservation and animal welfare.

Sequence data

Authors submitting papers containing nucleic acid data must provide full primary sequences as Appendices for reviewing purposes. In addition it is expected that new DNA sequences are submitted to GenBank, and accession numbers cross-referenced throughout the text.

Ship strikes data

Authors submitting papers containing data on ship strike incidents are encouraged to submit these data to the IWC ship strikes online database. Background information on this database can be found here

Review procedure

While not compulsory, authors are strongly requested to obtain reviews on manuscripts from two professional colleagues and incorporate their comments before submitting the manuscript to the Journal. The names and affiliations of those reviewers should be included in the Acknowledgements. The submitted manuscript will be sent by the Editor to two reviewers (chosen by the Editor) who are given the option of remaining anonymous. Their comments will then sent to the author with an invitation to submit a revised version which incorporates the comments or a written explanation of why they consider them to be invalid. On the basis of this, the paper will be either accepted or rejected for publication. In the event that two reviewers disagree, a third reviewer may be consulted. The decision of the Editor (where necessary, in consultation with the Editorial Board), is final.

Final submission of papers

Accepted papers must be submitted in electronic format. We can accept papers produced using almost all word processing packages, provided that they are supplied on IBM-compatible media. Our preferred format is the latest version of Microsoft Word. If in any doubt as to whether your format is acceptable, or if you are unable to submit the paper in an electronic format, please contact the Editorial Office.

DO NOT incorporate text, tables and/or artwork into a single file. Please use separate files for each.

A single spaced hard copy must also be supplied.

Equations

Authors are requested to submit equations created in MathType. Information on this package can be found at http://www.mathtype.com

DO NOT use the latest version of MS Equation Editor (integral in Word 2007) as our printers are unable to accept equations in this format.

Artwork

Where possible, please submit artwork in an electronic format (e.g. bmp, tif, jpeg, pdf) and with a minimum resolution of 300dpi. Tabulated x,y data files should also be provided for graphs. This will allow, where necessary, graphs to be plotted in our standard style using Microsoft Excel. Artwork is expensive. Where possible, single column artwork (width 8.5cm) is preferred. The maximum allowable width is 17.5cm. Lettering should be in Arial, Helvetica or a similar font (8pt). Please remember that the Journal is printed in black and white.

Photographs should be supplied as glossy black and white prints, trimmed to show essential points, or in an electronic format (at least 300dpi).

If in doubt, contact the Editorial Office for advice

Tables

It is very expensive to print tables which are more than a single column width when published. Authors should therefore try to ensure that as many tables as possible do not exceed 8.5cm in width, when printed in Times New Roman 8pt (or similar font). The maximum permitted width of any table is 17.5cm.

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STYLE GUIDE

The Style Guide must be followed or the paper will be returned to the author.

Papers should normally be in the passive voice unless an opinion needs to be clearly attributed to the authors.

Communications should be addressed to:

The Editor,
Journal of Cetacean Research and Management,
The International Whaling Commission,
The Red House,
135 Station Road,
Impington,
Cambridge CB4 9NP,
UK.
Telephone: +44-1223-233971;
Fax: +44-1223-232876;
E-mail: IWCJournal@iwcoffice.org