Author Guidelines

Sections

1. Submission
2. Aims and Scope
3. Manuscript Categories and Requirements
4. Policy on Data Archiving
5. Preparing the Submission
6. Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations
7. Author Licensing
8. Publication Process After Acceptance
9. Post Publication
10. Editorial Office Contact Details

1. SUBMISSION

Authors should note that submission implies that the content has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium.
Once the submission materials have been prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines, manuscripts should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mec

• The submission system will prompt authors to use an ORCID iD (a unique author identifier) to help distinguish their work from that of other researchers. Click here to find out more.
• Conflict of Interest Statement
  • Upon submission, authors will be asked to affirm a conflict of interest statement.  For guidance, see the ‘Conflict of Interest’ section in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the statement.
• Click here for more details on how to use the ScholarOne submission database.
• For help with submissions, please contact: [email protected]

Presubmission Enquiries: We will consider presubmission enquiries for unsolicited review papers. Authors wishing to submit such manuscripts should contact the Managing Editor in advance: [email protected]. For all other article types, authors are encouraged to submit their manuscript to our submission system (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mec) so that it can be fully considered for review.

N.B. Molecular Ecology employs a plagiarism detection system. By submitting your manuscript you accept that it may be screened for plagiarism against previously published works.

2. AIMS AND SCOPE

Molecular Ecology publishes papers that utilize molecular genetic techniques to address consequential questions in ecology, evolution, behaviour and conservation.

Studies may employ neutral markers for inference about ecological and evolutionary processes or examine ecologically important genes and their products.

Papers that are primarily descriptive and relevant only to the taxon being studied without addressing a question of broader interest to the fields of ecology, evolution, or conservation are not appropriate for Molecular Ecology and should instead be submitted to a more specialized journal or to Ecology & Evolution / MicrobiologyOpen.

If your work addresses technical methods, computer programs and genomic resource development, please submit these to our companion journal, Molecular Ecology Resources.

*各位作者， 请在投稿信中陈述您的科研成果与Molecular Ecology 的办刊宗旨和报道领域的契合之处。
Molecular Ecology 刊载的科研论文致力于运用分子基因技术解决生态，进化，行为和生态保护的相关问题。
研究包括采用中性标记监测生态和进化过程的干扰，以及对生态重要基因和相应产 物的检验。
若投稿论文仅描述并适用于当前正在研究的类群，而不涉及解决更广泛的生态学问 题，此类文章不在Molecular Ecology 的报道领域内，建议向更专业的期刊投稿，或Ecology & Evolution / MicrobiologyOpen.
如果您的研究成果专注于技术方法，电脑程序和基因组资源开发，请向我们的姐妹 刊Molecular Ecology Resources 投稿。
**

Research areas of interest to Molecular Ecology include:

• ecological, evolutionary, and population genomics 
• population structure and phylogeography
• landscape genomics
• community ecology and coevolution
• reproductive strategies
• relatedness and kin selection
• sex allocation
• population genetic theory
• analytical methods development
• conservation genetics
• speciation and hybridization
• microbial biodiversity
• evolutionary dynamics of ecologically important genes or QTLs
• ecological interactions
• molecular adaptation and environmental genomics
• impact of genetically modified organisms

Authors, please include a statement in your Cover Letter describing how your work fits the Aims and Scope of Molecular Ecology.

3. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Original Articles (Primary Research Papers)
Our principal function is to publish primary research papers. Such papers are reports of research projects that are complete to the extent that they yield valuable insights into topics within the Aims and Scope of Molecular Ecology.

• limit of 8000 words per paper. Word limit includes Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion. No other sections are included in the word limit.
• manuscripts generally contain in this order:
  • Title Page
  • Abstract (about 250 words)
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing
  • Author Contributions
  • Tables and Figures (with captions)

'From the Cover' Papers

Primary Research Papers of exceptional interest to a wide audience within the Aims and Scope of Molecular Ecology.

• Accepted articles will be highlighted on the cover and in the table of contents, and will frequently be featured in commentaries and press alerts.
• From the Cover submissions that are judged not to merit this designation may still be considered as regular Original Articles.
• From the Cover submissions can include papers previously reviewed by other high impact journals. In these instances, we can utilize all documents associated with the previous review process. The use of these review materials does not guarantee acceptance or that the manuscript will not receive external review.
  • To increase the probability that further external review will not be necessary, authors in these cases should revise the manuscript according to reviewers' comments and submit a cover letter describing these changes and explaining why their paper would be appropriate for publication as a From the Cover article in Molecular Ecology.
• limit of 8000 words per paper. Word limit includes Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion. No other sections are included in the word limit.
• N.B. We appreciate that authors of From the Cover papers are looking for rapid publication, and hence we will consider initial submissions tha g6t are not in standard Molecular Ecology format.
• e.g., manuscripts in Nature, PNAS or Science format are welcome.
• Please note that articles deemed suitable for publication will need to be changed to Molecular Ecology format prior to final acceptance

Invited Reviews, Mini Reviews and Syntheses
Invited Reviews

• Invited by the Reviews Editor from individuals who have major contributions to make to the field of molecular ecology.  We will consider unsolicited review papers, but authors wishing to submit such manuscripts should contact the Managing Editor in advance: [email protected]
• Specifics:
  • May include boxes to provide additional information separate from the main text (limit 5 boxes of 2000 words each)
  • Color figures in these articles are published in print free of charge

Mini Reviews

Mini Reviews are short review articles that summarize recent and important developments on a topic within the field of molecular ecology. A Mini Review will provide a concise overview of an evolving or emerging subject, or an evaluation of methodologies and progress in a specific area. Mini Reviews will not normally exceed 3,000 words with a maximum of two figures or tables. We will consider unsolicited Mini Reviews, although encourage authors wishing to submit such manuscripts to contact the Executive Editor in advance: [email protected].

Syntheses

• These papers bring together data from many different studies to address an important hypothesis in ecology or evolution. They are not commissioned by an editor and can be directly submitted to the journal.
  •    Specifics:
  • May include boxes to provide additional information separate from the main text (limit 5 boxes of 2000 words each)
  • Colour figures in these articles are published in print free of charge.

Special Issue Contributions

Molecular Ecology has open calls for manuscripts of original articles/primary research for all upcoming Special Issues. Manuscripts submitted for Special Issues are held to the same standards as all other papers submitted to Molecular Ecology. Those manuscripts that are not selected for inclusion in a Special Issue will still be considered for a regular issue of the journal. To indicate their intention to submit for a special issue, authors should do the following during the submission process:

• include their intent to submit for the special issue in their cover letter.
• select “special issue” as manuscript type
• indicate they are submitting to a special issue and select which one in dropdown menu

Opinions

These papers present points of view, that are relevant and potentially controversial, as a means of encouraging debate. Such manuscripts may present speculative and provocative viewpoints, although they must be conditioned by the normal standards of scientific objectivity, and they will be subject to peer review. Opinion Articles should be shorter than 6000 words, excluding references.

Comments

Comments on published papers, principally those published in Molecular Ecology, will be considered by the editors and published after consultation or peer review.  Such manuscripts should be as brief as possible. A rebuttal by the original author(s) may also be solicited and published alongside the Comment.

Meeting Reports

These papers describe the theme, notable presentations and conclusions of a scientific meeting of interest to the molecular ecology community. Meeting Reports are only published after peer review, and should not present new data. They should be shorter than 6000 words, excluding references.

Corrigenda

This article type is for making corrections on papers you have published in Molecular Ecology.

• Specifics:
  • Upload your corrections as you would submit a manuscript.
  • Select “Corrigendum” from article type list.
  • Leave “Suggested Reviewers” field blank.

4. Policy on Data Archiving

Molecular Ecology supports open research, therefore as a condition for publication, requires that the data supporting the results in the paper will be archived in an appropriate public repository. Authors are required to adhere to the guidelines outlined in this viewpoint article when archiving their data.

Upon submission, the journal requires authors to provide all data, metadata and code for review by editors and referees. A data accessibility statement will be required during submission, which clearly outlines where data has been deposited. Authors are encouraged to use Private for Peer Review features, if offered by the repository, for the review process. At acceptance, data must be formally archived and the Data Accessibility Statement completed with permanent links to all data from the manuscript.

If authors choose to use the DRYAD data repository, Molecular Ecology will pay the archiving fee. Further information on archiving your data with DRYAD is available during submission.

Reasons for possible exemptions to our data policy are outlined in https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9961. Should you wish to receive an exemption, please provide reasoning in your cover letter. Molecular Ecology aims to support both FAIR and CARE principles. These principles will be applied when considering requests for exemption based on Indigenous rights and interests.

Software and documentation may be made accessible from a long-term server (e.g., GitHub), however, at least a snapshot of these resources must be posted on Dryad, CRAN, Zenodo or similar academic/publishing archiving sites, with a link to a long-term server where software development and future releases can be found such that continued access to these resources is ensured. 

5. Preparing the Submission

Cover Letters

Your cover letter should contain a clear statement of how your manuscript fits the scope of the journal.

As submission implies that the content has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium, it is not necessary to reiterate this information.

Response to Reviewers

If your paper is a revision or resubmission, please prepare a detailed response to the previous set of editor and reviewer comments.

• The manuscript submission system removes text highlighting, bold type or text colours, so the most robust approach is to copy the decision letter into a Word document and insert your responses beneath each comment, starting your text with “>>>”.
• Uploading a copy of the manuscript with changes tracked also assists with the review process, particularly for papers given a ‘reconsider after revision’ or an ‘accept, minor revisions’ decision.

Formatting

Free Format submission 

Molecular Ecology offers Free Format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process.  

Before you submit, you will need: 

• Your manuscript: this should be an editable file including text, figures, and tables, or separate files—whichever you prefer. All required sections should be contained in your manuscript, including abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions. 
  • Figures and tables should have legends. Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution possible*. If the figures are not of sufficiently high quality your manuscript may be delayed.
  • References may be submitted in any style or format, as long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript.
  • Supporting information should be submitted in separate files.

• If the manuscript, figures or tables are difficult for you to read, they will also be difficult for the editors and reviewers, and the editorial office will send it back to you for revision. Your manuscript may also be sent back to you for revision if the quality of English language is poor. 
• An ORCID ID, freely available at https://orcid.org. (Why is this important? Your article, if accepted and published, will be attached to your ORCID profile. Institutions and funders are increasingly requiring authors to have ORCID IDs.) 
• The title page of the manuscript, including:
  • Your co-author details, including affiliation and email address. (Why is this important? We need to keep all co-authors informed of the outcome of the peer review process.)
  • Statements relating to our ethics and integrity policies, which may include any of the following (Why are these important? We need to uphold rigorous ethical standards for the research we consider for publication):
  • data availability statement
  • funding statement
  • conflict of interest disclosure
  • ethics approval statement
  • patient consent statement
  • permission to reproduce material from other sources
  • clinical trial registration 

• Preparation of Figures*
  • i.e., no axes labels should be too large or too small. Further details are available at http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/illustration.asp.
• Almost all figures submitted to Molecular Ecology should be vector graphics, as these are clear at all magnifications and reproduce well both in print and online.
• Graphs should always be saved directly as .eps or .pdf files from a professional graphics program (e.g., R) and never as .jpg, .tif or any other pixel-based format.
• Maps should be made using vector graphics in e.g., Adobe Illustrator or R.
• John Wiley & Sons Ltd remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps. For reasons of consistency, authors are requested to use accepted standard maps as the basis for map figure drawing. Responsibility for maps rests with the author and it is their responsibility to also provide any copyright or licence information when using maps that are not owned or created by the author (e.g. Google Maps, etc.).
• The output of scientific software programs should also be saved directly as vector graphics whenever possible.
• Photographic images can be in a pixel-based format, but please ensure that these are saved as .tif files with at least 300 dpi, or (failing that) a .jpg with no compression.
• Prepare figures such that, after reduction to fit across one column, two-thirds page width, or two columns (80 mm, 112 mm, or 169 mm, respectively) as required, all lettering and symbols will be clear and easy to read,

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in your paper having blurred, illegible or otherwise low-quality figures. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce material in print and other media from the publisher of the original source, and for supplying Wiley with that permission

Charges for Colour

• Figures published in Molecular Ecology will appear in colour in the online version of the article, at no cost to authors.
• In the ‘Colour Online Only’ option, figures have the colour saturation of the original version reduced to zero for print. As a result, we recommend authors consider paying for colour printing if their figures and captions do not convey the same information in greyscale as they do in colour. 
• It is journal policy that authors pay the full cost for any print reproduction of colour artwork.
• Please contact the production staff for current colour figure charges: [email protected]

To learn about options for help with figure preparation, please see Wiley Editing Services.

Related Manuscripts

Reviewers and Editors often ask to see unpublished manuscripts (i.e. 'in press', 'in review' or 'submitted') that appear to be related to the submitted paper. As obtaining these during the review process adds unnecessary delays, we request that these related manuscripts are uploaded as 'supplemental files for review only' at the submission stage.

Parts of the Manuscript
Main Text File

The text file should be presented in the following order:

Title Page

1. A short, informative title containing the major key words within the first 65 characters.
   1. see Wiley's best practice SEO tips
   2. The title should not contain abbreviations
   3. It’s fun to present your work with a really clever title, but don’t let it compromise the discoverability of the work.  The best way to have some fun and make sure your work will be found on internet searches is to present the title this way: Accurate Scientific Title With Keywords: Fun, Catchy, Clever Title

2. A short running title of less than 45 characters;
3. The full names and affiliation of the authors;
   1. The author's institutional affiliations should be that where the work was conducted
      1. The present address of any author, if different from where the work was carried out, should be supplied in a footnote.
4. Notation of corresponding author to whom proofs will be sent
5. Please refer to the journal’s Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.

Abstract
Please provide an abstract of no more than 250 words containing the major keywords.
Keywords
Please provide four to six keywords.
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results (separate from Discussion)
Discussion
Acknowledgements

• These should briefly give credit to other people who have made a contribution to the study.
• Ensure that all relevant grant numbers are listed.

References

Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing Section

Molecular Ecology requires authors to include a Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section in their manuscript, located beneath the references. The Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section should be divided into two distinct statements: a Data Accessibility Statement and a Benefit-Sharing Statement, each with their own sub-heading. Please see the information below for guidance on what should be included in each statement. A Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section that contains only a Data Accessibility Statement will be permitted in cases where there are no benefits to report.

Example text for Data Accessibility Statement:

Genetic data:

Raw sequence reads are deposited in the SRA (BioProject XXX)

Individual genotype data are available on DataDryad (XXXX)

Unique haplotype data are deposited to NCBI Nucleotide Database (XXXX)

Sample metadata:

Metadata are also stored in the SRA (BioProject XXX) using the XXXX MIxS package XXXX

OR

Metadata can be found in GEOME (DOI XXX; including georeferences in decimal degrees and date/month/year of sampling event)

OR

Related metadata can be found in XXX (including georeferences in decimal degrees and date/month/year of sampling event) and XXX provides unique sample identifier tags that can be matched to both the deposited genetic data and deposited metadata (for haplotypes, individual sample identifiers and their corresponding haplotype)

Benefit-Sharing Statement

Molecular Ecology additionally requires, as a condition for publication, that the research described in the publication complies with relevant national laws implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol agreements. Authors will be required to make an affirmative statement during the submission process as to compliance with national laws, if applicable.

Molecular Ecology also encourages authors to include a Benefit-Sharing Statement within their Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section. The Benefit-Sharing Statement should disclose benefits generated commensurate with the Nagoya Protocol. For further information on the scope of benefits recognized under the Nagoya Protocol, see the link to the Nagoya Protocol Annex at https://www.cbd.int/abs/text/articles/?sec=abs-37.

We recognize in some cases the Nagoya Protocol is not applicable or that there are no benefits to report, which is why the reporting of benefits is not mandatory.

Example Text for Benefit-Sharing Statement:

"Benefits Generated: A research collaboration was developed with scientists from the countries providing genetic samples, all collaborators are included as co-authors, the results of research have been shared with the provider communities and the broader scientific community (see above), and the research addresses a priority concern, in this case the conservation of organisms being studied. More broadly, our group is committed to international scientific partnerships, as well as institutional capacity building.

"Benefits Generated: We consulted with the indigenous community providing the biodiversity resources and hired members of a local Hunters and Trappers Association to help with biodiversity assessments, including collections of canid fecal samples for diet analysis based on DNA metabarcoding, and local knowledge concerning changes in prey communities over time. The contributions of all individuals to the research, including indigenous hunters, are described in the METHODS and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, and a research report has been provided to the relevant indigenous community council, as well as to the territorial government. The research addresses a priority concern regarding an apparent shift in the prey of canids from wild to domesticated animals. Lastly, as described above, all data have been shared with the broader public via appropriate biological databases.”

“Benefits Generated: Benefits from this research accrue from the sharing of our data and results on public databases as described above.”

Manuscripts lacking a Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section will not be passed through to an editor. Please note that reviewers will be asked to comment on the completeness of this section. If you have any questions about the Data Accessibility and Benefit-Sharing section, please email [email protected] to request further information.

 Author Contributions

Authors should include a brief Author Contributions statement at the end of the paper in which they describe their specific contributions to the published work. Contributions could include, but are not limited to:

• designed research
• performed research
• contributed new reagents or analytical tools
• analyzed data
• wrote the paper

Tables and Figures (with captions)

Tables

Tables should be self-contained and complement, not duplicate, information contained in the text. Specifics:

• Must be editable files, not pasted as images
• Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the table, legend, and footnotes must be understandable without reference to the text
• All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes
• Footnote symbols: †, ‡, §, ¶, should be used (in that order)
• *, **, *** should be reserved for P-values
• Statistical measures such as SD or SEM should be identified in the headings.

Figure Legends

Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the figure and its legend must be understandable without reference to the text. Include definitions of any symbols used and define/explain all abbreviations and units of measurement.

Figures

Although authors are encouraged to send the highest-quality figures possible, for peer-review purposes, a wide variety of formats, sizes, and resolutions are accepted. Click here for the basic figure requirements for figures submitted with manuscripts for initial peer review, as well as the more detailed post-acceptance figure requirements.

Figures submitted in colour

• will be reproduced in colour online free of charge
• Please note, however, that it is preferable that line figures (e.g. graphs and charts) are supplied in black and white so that they are legible if printed by a reader in black and white
• to have figures printed in colour in hard copies of the journal, a fee will be charged by the Publisher.

Additional Files

Supporting/Supplemental Information
Supporting information is information that is not essential to the article, but provides greater depth and background. It is hosted online and appears without editing or typesetting. It may include tables, figures, videos, datasets, etc. Click here for Wiley’s FAQs on supporting information.

• If feasible, consider using this branded Molecular Ecology Supporting Information Document.
• Place article title and all author names at the beginning of the Supplemental document
• Consolidate Supplemental information into as few files as possible
• If the document becomes very large, prepare a Table of Contents for the document
• Supporting Information should be uploaded in a separate file and given the file designation ‘Supporting Information for online publication.’
• This material will not appear in the PDF Version of Record

Supporting Information will not be edited or altered from its original format during the production process, and therefore proofs of your Supporting Information will not be available. Supporting Information will appear online when your article is published.

Translated Abstracts

All submissions must be written in English. However, we encourage authors to provide a second abstract in their first language or the language relevant to the country in which the research was conducted. The second abstract will be published with the online version of the article and will not be included in the PDF. Please note that second abstracts will not be copyedited and will be published as provided by the authors, who take responsibility for the accuracy of the translation. Authors who wish to take advantage of this option should upload their second abstract alongside their submission, selecting the file type “Translated Abstract not for Review".

Cover Image

If you wish to submit an image to be considered for the cover of the journal, please upload it at submission using file category “Cover Image.”

• Make sure to fill out and include the Cover Image Permission form.
• Specs for the Cover Image must be:
  • Height - 148.51 mm
  • Width - 156.13 mm
  • Dpi - 300 dpi

Wiley Author Resources

Manuscript Preparation Tips:Wiley has a range of resources for authors preparing manuscripts for submission available here. In particular, authors may benefit from referring to Wiley’s best practice tips on Writing for Search Engine Optimization.

Editing, Translation, and Formatting Support: Wiley Editing Services greatly improve the chances of a manuscript being accepted. Offering expert help in English language editing, translation, manuscript formatting, and figure preparation, Wiley Editing Services ensures that the manuscript is ready for submission.

5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Editorial Review and Acceptance

The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research, its fit to the scope of the journal and significance to journal readership.

Wiley's policy on confidentiality of the review process is available here.

Manuscripts that do not receive reviewer interest following extensive efforts to obtain reviews may be returned to the author. The editors at Molecular Ecology believe that a lack of reviewer engagement can represent subject misalignment, and on these rare occasions, we do not wish to be responsible for delays to publication.

Referrals to Open Access Journals

For rapid publication of quality research that we are unable to accept, select authors of declined manuscripts will be offered the option of having the paper, along with any related reviews, automatically transferred for consideration by Ecology & Evolution or MicrobiologyOpen. Ecology & Evolution and MicrobiologyOpen are Wiley Open Access journals and article publication fees apply.

• Authors will not need to reformat or rewrite their manuscript at this stage, and publication decisions will be made a short time after the transfer takes place.
• Once the referral is made, the manuscript will be held in a secure Wiley FTP site that is not accessed until authors request to transfer their manuscript.
• The Editors ofEcology & Evolution and MicrobiologyOpen will accept submissions reporting well-conducted research that reaches the standard acceptable for publication. Accepted papers can be published rapidly.

Refer and Transfer Program 

Wiley believes that no valuable research should go unshared. This journal participates in Wiley’s Refer & Transfer program. If your manuscript is not accepted, you may receive a recommendation to transfer your manuscript to another suitable Wiley journal, either through a referral from the journal’s editor or through our Transfer Desk Assistant. 

Preprints

Molecular Ecology will consider submissions that have previously been made available online, either on a preprint server like arXiv, bioRxiv, or PeerJ PrePrints, or on the authors’ own website. However, any such submissions must not have been published in a scientific journal, book or other venue that could be considered formal publication. Authors must inform the editorial office at submission if their paper has been made available as a preprint.

• Authors of accepted papers that were made available as preprints must be able to assign copyright to Molecular Ecology, or agree to the terms of the Wiley Open Access agreement and pay the associated fee.
• Given that the measurable impact of the article is diminished when citations are split between the preprint and the published article, authors are required to:
  • update the entry on the preprint server so that it links to and cites the DOI for the published version
  • cite only the published article themselves.

Preprint your manuscript while it’s under review

Beginning in early 2020, Molecular Ecology is participating in a pilot of the under review service, Wiley’s new initiative to streamline the early sharing of research and open up the peer review process. Authors can now opt to preprint their manuscript during the submission process and showcase their work to the global research community as a preprint, before it is accepted or published.

The under review service is powered by Authorea, an open research platform for all your research outputs, including data, figures, and preprints. By opting-in authors can:

• Seamlessly preprint at the same time you submit your research for publication
• Share your work early, while indicating it is being considered at a specific journal
• Track the peer review process openly in real time
• Immediately make their work citable, discoverable, and easily shareable
• Get additional community feedback that can be used to improve your manuscript

Learn more about the benefits of the under review service.

Independent Peer Review Services

Molecular Ecology will consider referrals from independent review services. However such manuscripts may be subject to additional external review by Molecular Ecology. If appropriate, we will invite authors to submit a revision of their manuscript to Molecular Ecology. Note that we cannot guarantee a positive decision for referred manuscripts.

Human Studies and Subjects

For manuscripts reporting medical studies that involve human participants, a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and confirmation that the study conforms to recognized standards is required, for example: Declaration of Helsinki; US Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects; or European Medicines Agency Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice.

Images and information from individual participants will only be published where the authors have obtained the individual's free prior informed consent. Authors do not need to provide a copy of the consent form to the publisher; however, in signing the author license to publish, authors are required to confirm that consent has been obtained. Wiley has a standard patient consent form available for use.

Animal Studies

A statement indicating that the protocol and procedures employed were ethically reviewed and approved, as well as the name of the body giving approval, must be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to adhere to animal research reporting standards, for example the ARRIVE reporting guidelines for reporting study design and statistical analysis; experimental procedures; experimental animals and housing and husbandry. Authors should also state whether experiments were performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals:

• US authors should cite compliance with the US National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the US Public Health Service's Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• UK authors should conform to UK legislation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations (SI 2012/3039).
• European authors outside the UK should conform to Directive 2010/63/EU.

Compliance with International Conventions and Regulations on Biological Diversity and Endangered Species

We strongly recommend that papers submitted to Molecular Ecology comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CBD and CITES). Within the CBD, we ask that authors follow the Access to Benefit Sharing (ABS) guidelines, and give credit and equal access to benefits to countries, academic institutions and scientists that participated in the collection and analysis of data. Under the CITES convention, we request that authors observe the need for permits for the import and export of specimens that fall under CITES guidelines.

Compliance with Laws on Animal Experimentation and Sampling from Natural Populations

We expect that papers submitted to Molecular Ecology comply with the ARRIVE guidelines for the use of animals in research (http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/ARRIVE), as well as any other legal requirements of the countries where the work was conducted. Sampling procedures for natural populations must be properly described and should be designed to minimize their impact on the taxa involved and their habitat. They must also comply with any international and national legal requirements.

Research Reporting Guidelines

Accurate and complete reporting enables readers to fully appraise research, replicate it, and use it. Authors are encouraged to adhere to the following research reporting standards.

• ARRIVE guidelines

Species Names

Upon its first use in the title, abstract, and text, the common name of a species should be followed by the scientific name (genus, species, and authority) in parentheses. For well-known species, however, scientific names may be omitted from article titles. If no common name exists in English, only the scientific name should be used. 

Number of Loci, Populations and Individuals

Sampling strategies and marker choices should be designed to best address the question motivating the study. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, authors of single species phylogeographic studies must base their inferences on multiple loci: our editors and reviewers often question the reliability of inferences based on a single locus and such manuscripts will typically not be sent out for review. We have been reluctant to formulate guidelines regarding the minimum number of independent loci, populations and individuals needed for publication in Molecular Ecology, largely because such guidelines would depend on the question being addressed, the kind of molecular markers and sequencing technologies employed, the geographic range of the focal taxa and the quality and quantity of DNA. Likewise, the guidelines would have to be modified on a yearly basis as standards of the field continue to rise. Please contact the Managing Editor if you would like specific guidance on this policy.

Data Analysis Best Practice

Molecular Ecology expects that statistical and molecular tools used in submitted papers should meet a high standard of rigor. All analytical approaches have inherent limitations, and authors should therefore attempt to identify the limitations of their chosen approach and corroborate their interpretations when possible.

Genetic Nomenclature

Sequence variants should be described in the text and tables using both DNA and protein designations whenever appropriate. Sequence variant nomenclature must follow the current HGVS guidelines; see varnomen.hgvs.org where examples of acceptable nomenclature are provided.

Sequence Data

Nucleotide sequence data can be submitted in electronic form to any of the three major collaborative databases: DDBJ, EMBL, or GenBank. It is only necessary to submit to one database as data are exchanged between DDBJ, EMBL, and GenBank on a daily basis. The suggested wording for referring to accession-number information is: ‘These sequence data have been submitted to the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number U12345’. Addresses are as follows:

• DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ)www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp
• EMBL Nucleotide Archive: ebi.ac.uk/ena
• GenBank www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank
  Proteins sequence data should be submitted to either of the following repositories.
• Protein Information Resource (PIR): pir.georgetown.edu
• SWISS-PROT: expasy.ch/sprot/sprot-top

Structural Data

For papers describing structural data, atomic coordinates and the associated experimental data should be deposited in the appropriate databank (see below). Please note that the data in databanks must be released, at the latest, upon publication of the article. We trust in the cooperation of our authors to ensure that atomic coordinates and experimental data are released on time.

• Organic and organometallic compounds: Crystallographic data should not be sent as Supporting Information, but should be deposited with the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) at ccdc.cam.ac.uk/services/structure_deposit.
•   Inorganic compounds: Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe (FIZ; fiz-karlsruhe.de). Proteins and nucleic acids: Protein Data Bank (rcsb.org/pdb).
•   NMR spectroscopy data: BioMagResBank (bmrb.wisc.edu).

Use of RAPD/ISSR Markers

The appropriateness of RAPD or ISSR markers for population genetic inference is increasingly questioned by our reviewers and editors because of concerns about reproducibility, dominance, and homology. Given these worries, and the ready availability of other kinds of markers that do not suffer from all of these problems, studies based primarily on RAPD/ISSR rarely pass the scrutiny of peer review in Molecular Ecology.

Reporting Stable Isotope Data

For papers using stable isotopes, we recommend that authors follow the guidelines developed by the IUPAC Commission for Isotope Abundances and Atomic Weights; see http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rcm.5129/full for more details.

Software and Programming Code

Software and documentation may be made accessible from a long-term server (e.g., github), however, at least a snapshot of these resources must be posted on Dryad, CRAN (or similar academic/publishing archiving sites) with a link to a long-term server where software development and future releases can be found such that continued access to these resources is ensured. 

Data Sharing and Data Availability 

This journal mandates and peer reviews data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission. 

Conflict of Interest

The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potential sources of conflict of interest include, but are not limited to: patent or stock ownership, membership of a company board of directors, membership of an advisory board or committee for a company, and consultancy for or receipt of speaker's fees from a company. The existence of a conflict of interest does not preclude publication. If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they must also state this at submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to review this policy with all authors and collectively to disclose with the submission ALL pertinent commercial and other relationships.

Funding

Authors should list all funding sources in the Acknowledgments section. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their funder designation. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature: https://www.crossref.org/services/funder-registry/

Authorship

The list of authors should accurately illustrate who contributed to the work and how. All those listed as authors should qualify for authorship according to the following criteria:
1. Have made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2. Been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content; and
4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed, with permission from the contributor, in an Acknowledgments section (for example, to recognize contributions from people who provided technical help, collation of data, writing assistance, acquisition of funding, or a department chairperson who provided general support). Prior to submitting the article all authors should agree on the order in which their names will be listed in the manuscript.
Additional Authorship Options: Joint first or senior authorship: In the case of joint first authorship, a footnote should be added to the author listing, e.g. ‘X and Y should be considered joint first author’ or ‘X and Y should be considered joint senior author.’

ORCID
As part of the journal’s commitment to supporting authors at every step of the publishing process, the journal requires the submitting author (only) to provide an ORCID iD when submitting a manuscript. This takes around 2 minutes to complete. Find more information here.

Publication Ethics
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read the Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found at authorservices.wiley.com/ethics-guidelines/index.html.

Privacy

By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the publisher (Wiley) and partners for production and publication. The publication and the publisher recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of these services and have practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. You can learn more at https://authorservices.wiley.com/statements/data-protection-policy.html.

Appeals and complaints:

Authors may appeal an editorial decision if they feel that the decision to reject was based on either a significant misunderstanding of a core aspect of the manuscript, a failure to understand how the manuscript advances the literature or concerns regarding the manuscript-handling process. Differences in opinion regarding the novelty or significance of the reported findings are not considered as grounds for appeal. To raise an appeal, please contact the journal by email, quoting your manuscript ID number and explaining your rationale for the appeal. The editor’s decision following an appeal consideration is final.

To raise a complaint regarding editorial staff, policy or process please contact the journal in the first instance. If you believe further support outside the journal’s management is necessary, please refer to Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.

6. AUTHOR LICENSING

If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will receive an email prompting them to log in to Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be required to complete a copyright license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper.

Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.

General information regarding licensing and copyright is available here. To review the Creative Commons License options offered under an Open Access Agreement, please click here. (Note that certain funders mandate a particular type of CC license be used; to check this please click here.)
Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies: Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Please click here for more detailed information about self-archiving definitions and policies.
Open Access fees: Authors who choose to publish Open Access will be charged a fee. A list of Article Publication Charges for Wiley journals is available here.
Funder Open Access: Please click here for more information on Wiley’s compliance with specific Funder Open Access Policies.

7. PUBLICATION PROCESS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Accepted Article Received in Production

When an accepted article is received by Wiley’s production team, the corresponding author will receive an email asking them to login or register with Wiley Author Services. The author will be asked to sign a publication license at this point.

Accepted Articles

The journal offers Wiley’s Accepted Articles service for all manuscripts. This service ensures that accepted ‘in press’ manuscripts are published online shortly after acceptance, prior to copy-editing or typesetting. Accepted Articles are published online a few days after final acceptance, appear in PDF format only, and are given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which allows them to be cited and tracked. After publication of the final version article (the article of record), the DOI remains valid and can still be used to cite and access the article.

Proofs

Once the paper is typeset, the author will receive an email notification with the URL to download a PDF typeset page proof, as well as associated forms and full instructions on how to correct and return the file.
Please note that the author is responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during the editorial process – authors should check proofs carefully. Note that proofs should be returned within 48 hours from receipt of first proof.

Publication Charges

Publication in the journal is free. However, there is a cost for publishing colour figures in print. Colour figures may be published online free of charge. If the author supplies colour figures at Early View publication, they will be invited to complete an online colour charge agreement in RightsLink for Author Services. The author will have the option of paying immediately with a credit or debit card, or they can request an invoice. If the author chooses not to purchase colour printing, the figures will be converted to black and white for the print issue of the journal. Please contact the Production Editor if you have any queries regarding this.

Early View

The journal offers rapid publication via Wiley’s Early View service. Early View (Online Version of Record) articles are published on Wiley Online Library before inclusion in an issue. Once the article is published on Early View, no further changes to the article are possible. The Early View article is fully citable and carries an online publication date and DOI for citations.

Author Name Change

In cases where authors wish to change their name following publication, Wiley will update and republish the paper and redeliver the updated metadata to indexing services. Our editorial and production teams will use discretion in recognizing that name changes may be of a sensitive and private nature for various reasons including (but not limited to) alignment with gender identity, or as a result of marriage, divorce, or religious conversion. Accordingly, to protect the author’s privacy, we will not publish a correction notice to the paper, and we will not notify co-authors of the change. Authors should contact the journal’s Editorial Office with their name change request.

8. POST PUBLICATION

Access and Sharing

When the article is published online:

• The author receives an email alert (if requested).
•   The link to the published article can be shared through social media.
• The author will have free access to the paper (after accepting the Terms & Conditions of use, they can view the article).
• The corresponding author and co-authors can nominate up to ten colleagues to receive a publication alert and free online access to the article.

Email [email protected]

To find out how to best promote an article, click here.
Measuring the Impact of an Article
Wiley also helps authors measure the impact of their research through specialist partnerships with Kudos and Altmetric.

9. EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS

Administration: [email protected]

Managing Editor: [email protected]