The Journal of Wildlife Science (JWLS) follows a double-blind confidential peer-review process. Editors and reviewers are required to retain the manuscripts confidentially and not disclose any details to anyone outside of the review process.
Authors are requested to address any correspondence related to their submission to the Editorial Office (info@jwls.in) or Editor-in-Chief (editorinchief@jwls.in) .
JWLS accepts the following manuscript types
Research Article
Full length original research work that contributes to the existing knowledge in the field of Wildlife Science and Conservation. The authors are suggested to follow a general structure that includes sections such as Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.
Review Article
Comprehensive synthesis and analysis of existing literature in wildlife science, providing an overview of current knowledge, identifying gaps, and suggesting future research directions.
Methods Paper
Detailed description of innovative or refined research methodologies and techniques applied in wildlife science, emphasizing procedural clarity and reproducibility. Notes on new technology or software are also welcome.
Short Communication
A research article shorter in text that could be limited by smaller sample size, focused on a single objective, presenting concise and impactful findings in wildlife science. The article could follow a general structure of the research article without section heads.
Natural History Note
Article offering valuable insights and information on wildlife, presenting natural history observations that may not fit into conventional full length research article or short communication.
Short Note
Brief articles expressing Viewpoints, Opinions, or Working Hypotheses in wildlife science, providing concise contributions to current discussions in the field.
Academic Practices in Wildlife Science
Articles focusing on the profession in wildlife science, conservation, and management, teaching pedagogies, curriculum development, and other academic practices within the field.
Letter to the Editor
Communication expressing critique, comments, or feedback on any content published in the journal, facilitating scholarly discourse.
Reply (Invitation only)
Invited response to critiques or comments on published content, offering authors an opportunity to address feedback and engage in further discussion.
Commentary (Invitation only)
Invited article providing expert insights, reflections, or analyses on specific topics in wildlife science and conservation, contributing to informed discussions within the academic community.
JWLS does not categorise research into taxonomic classes. Authors working on any wildlife taxa, community or ecosystems can submit their work under a theme of JWLS. The authors can select the major theme of their manuscript in the classification section at the submission.
The Journal of Wildlife Science publishes in following themes and subjects:
Animal Behaviour
Bioacoustics
Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment
Biogeography
Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife and Ecosystems
Community Ecology
Conservation Biology and Genetics
Conservation Education and Outreach
Conservation Policy and Governance
Ecosystem Services
Ecotoxicology
Environmental Science
Evolution
Ex Situ and In Situ Conservation Breeding
Habitat Ecology
Human Dimensions
Human Wildlife Conflict
Landscape Ecology
Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Methods
Modern Technology for Wildlife Conservation
Natural Heritage
Natural History
Plant Ecology
Population Ecology
Restoration Ecology
Road Ecology
Spatial and Movement Ecology
Systematics and Classification
Urban Biodiversity
Wildlife Forensics
Wildlife Health and Disease Ecology
Wildlife Management and Conservation Strategies
Wildlife Trade and Illegal Wildlife Trafficking
Policy on Data Sharing, Availability and Archiving
The JWLS requires authors to provide all data, metadata, and codes on submission for review by the editors and reviewers. Upon acceptance, data must be formally archived in data repositories so as these are publicly accessible or clearly state in while submission where they are deposited. Manuscripts cannot be submitted without a clear “Data availability” statement. However, the Editor-in-Chief shall consider the request for exemption of having acceptable reasons that you need to clearly state in your cover letter.
Manuscript Preparation
JWLS does not impose journal specific style and formatting of the manuscript at the submission stage. The authors may follow the structure of article in various sections such as Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion as suitable. We expect the authors submit manuscripts in clear, generic, and readable layouts (fonts, spacing and alignments) having page and line numbers. Once the paper is accepted, the production process of the JWLS will take care of all aspects of formatting and style. The authors should check the text for grammatical correctness before submission. We accept all styles of English language as long as it clearly conveys the intended information. However, adhering to one style (American, British, Indian or any other style) makes is easier for the reader. There is no restriction on the word count on any article type, however authors are required to provide word count for the short article types such as Short Communication and Letter to the Editor for editorial and review purpose.
Authors are required to consider the following during manuscript preparation:
Supplementary Material
Supplementary materials include important, ancillary information which comprises mainly of tables, datasets, photos and figures and is relevant to the submitted article but is not part of the print version of the journal and available online only.
Authors need to provide supporting information in its final format which will be available for review before publication. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and file functionality remains entirely with the authors. A disclaimer to this effect is displayed with any published supporting information. All supporting information must include a legend and label tables as “Table S1; Table S2” and figures as Figure S1; Figure S2.
Authorship
Considering international norms for authorship and contribution, JWLS strongly recommends the authorship credit is based on:
All authors must meet all 3 conditions. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed under acknowledgments. Mention the author’s contribution during the submission of the research paper.
Additional Authorship Options
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.
References
The completeness and content of your reference list are more important while preparing the manuscript than the format chosen. JWLS suggests the use of the “Harvard” format of reference citation or any other format where publication name is not abbreviated and citation contains all the necessary information to locate it. JWLS prefers references with Author and Year (e.g. Singh et al. 2002; Wilson & Hölldobler, 2005) instead of numbered references within the text.
For citation of online resources, research articles should always include a DOI, where available. While referring to Web pages, it is useful to include the date on which the resource was accessed.
File Types
All popular and standard document formats, such as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .xls, or .xlsx. are accepted for submission. Authors can use MS Office, LaTex or Markdown to prepare their manuscript files and supplementary material. If tables and figures are provided with the main manuscript file, each item should be on a separate page after the reference list and not incorporated into the main body of the text. Alternatively, these could be uploaded as separate files designated “Figures”, and “Tables”. Photograph, figure and map files can be submitted in any general file format such as .pdf, .jpeg, .jpg, .tiff, .png. .gif, or .bmp.
For reviewing purposes, you should upload a pdf or word document and designate these files from the dropdown box as “Cover letter”, “Manuscript”, “Table”, “Figure”, “Supplementary material” and “Acknowledgements”.
Tables
All tables must be cited in the text in the order that they should appear.
Figures
All figures must be cited in the text in the order that they should appear. Figures should be clear and readable in print during initial submission. It is quite difficult to improve an image that has been saved or created in an inappropriate format at the production stage. Therefore, high-resolution figures may be asked after the acceptance of the article. JWLS suggests for use of high-end graphics software, to provide the best output of figures. Authors are advised to use colour-blind friendly pellets and patterns.
Maps
JWLS remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims in published maps. Authors are requested to use accepted standard maps as the basis for map figure drawing. Responsibility for maps rests with the author and they are requested to provide any copyright or license information when using maps that are not owned or created by the author (e.g. Google Maps, etc.). Depiction and publication of India’s national boundaries and coast line is governed under the National Map Policy 2005 and subsequent guidelines (2016, 2017and 2021) issued by the Govt. of India.
Cover Images
JWLS encourages authors to submit a picture of their study organism(s) as part of their paper; such images will be considered for our online journal cover and other promotional avenues. Authors are required to provide such images by saving or exporting them as standard formats such as .jpeg, .jpg, .tiff, .png or .pdf. Authors are requested to ensure that all images are of a minimum of 300 dpi.
Metric System
The SI metric system should be used for all measurements, weights, etc. Temperatures should be expressed in degrees Celsius (centigrade).
Plagiarism Check
JWLS strictly adheres to UGC Plagiarism Policy 2017 for publishing an article. We use “iThenticate” software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts and ensure originality of the content.
Proofs
JWLS will provide an e-mail notification with a link and instructions for accessing HTML page proofs online to all the authors. Page proofs should be carefully proofread for any copyediting or typesetting errors. No special software is needed, and all common browsers are supported. Authors should also make sure that any renumbered tables, figures, or references match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt of the email. Return of proofs via e-mail is possible if the online system cannot be used or accessed.
Reprints
As this is a Diamond Open Access journal, you have free, unlimited access to your article online.
Production Queries
Please direct any questions regarding the production of your article to the Production Office at submission@jwls.in
Informend Consent
JWLS expects that all authors have taken appropriate steps in obtaining informed consent of any human subjects participating in the research comprising the manuscript submitted for review and possible publication. Authors are expected to provide a statement to this effect in the Methods section of the manuscript.
Ethical Clearance on Human Subjects and Animals in Research
The corresponding author is required to check and provide a statement indicating that the protocol and procedures employed about human subjects and animals in the study were reviewed and approved by the appropriate institutional ethics review committee and the name of the committee and any reference number must be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. In case there is no such committee available, authors need to add statement on how the research met appropriate ethical standards.
Disclosure Statement
JWLS requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. In case 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 check with all the authors and mention them in the manuscript after the acknowledgment during submission.
Privacy/Data Protection
The publication and the publisher of JWLS recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users and ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. Check the details of privacy policy at JWLS.
Author Name Change Policy
In cases where authors wish to change their name during review or publication process, authors should contact the journal’s Editorial Office with their name change request by email: info@jwls.in
Authors are requested to address any correspondence to the Editorial Office.
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