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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

From 1st November 2007 all article submissions must be made online through Manuscript Central

From 1st July 2005 all authors have had an Open Access Option


Please follow these instructions carefully. The editors will not accept manuscripts that are not in accordance with these instructions: failure to follow the instructions will therefore slow down the processing of your manuscript.

Scope of the Journal
Categories of papers
Submission of Manuscript
Review
Proofs
Reprints
Copyright
Open Access Option for Authors

Scope of the Journal
Journal of Plankton Research publishes innovative papers that significantly advance the field of plankton research. All kinds of marine, brackish and freshwater plankton are considered: viruses, bacteria, fungi, phytoplankton and zooplankton, including meroplankton and ichthyoplankton. The main topics covered are:

  • plankton ecology and behaviour, including model studies
  • plankton physiology, including experimental results
  • genetics and taxonomy of planktonic organisms
  • biological properties and content of natural waters as they impinge directly on plankton physiology and ecology
  • development and testing of new methods for plankton research

Hypothesis-driven work is particularly welcomed; purely descriptive papers will generally not be considered. Investigations carried out using interdisciplinary methods are encouraged.

Taxonomic papers will be considered if they are within the scope of the Journal. Suitable papers might comprise descriptions of new species or re-classifications of environmentally important organisms (max. 20 printed pages inclusive of text, figs. and tables).

Categories of papers
The Journal of Plankton Research publishes papers in each of the following four categories:

  • Standard papers - traditional research papers or critical reviews; max. 40 pages inclusive of text, figs. and tables.
  • Short communications – these should not exceed 2000 words of text (excl. references and figures). The method, results and discussion should all be presented in a single section. Include a short Abstract (30 words) and present the acknowledgements and references as in a full-length paper. 5 printed pages inclusive of figs, tables and references.
  • Horizons articles - topical and provocative reviews; max. 20 pages inclusive of text, figs. and tables
  • Responses - comments on, or replies to published papers within 6 months of appearance in the Journal of Plankton Reasearch; max. 5 pages.

*The aim of "Horizons" is to be somewhat provocative, to set hypotheses and to suggest methods for testing them. Based on a concise review of the current issues in a particular field of plankton research, the intention is to stimulate new research and to indicate new directions. For example, Xabier Irigoien (2004) Some ideas about the role of lipids in the life cycle of Calanus finmarchicus. J. Plankton Res. 26:259–263.

Journal of Plankton Research also publishes “Clusters” of papers on appropriate topical themes. These may be based on submissions at special sessions at scientific meetings or workshops. For example, “The role of zooplankton predator–prey interactions in structuring plankton communities”, J. Plankton Res., 27: 957. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief with proposals for themed groups of papers.

Submission of manuscripts
Submission of a paper implies that it reports unpublished work and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published tables, illustrations or more than 200 words of text are to be included then the copyright holder's permission must be obtained. For further information regarding the preparation of manuscripts before submission click here. To submit a manuscript click here.

Proofs
Page proofs are sent to authors as a PDF file by e-mail. To avoid delays in publication, proofs should be checked immediately for typographical errors and returned as intructed in the proof e-mail. Essential changes of an extensive nature may be made only by insertion of a Note Added in Proof.

Page charges will not be levied. Authors will, however, be charged for extensive changes made in proof and for special items such as colour that appear in the printed Journal (but see below under 'Illustrations' for inclusion of colour online without charge).

Reprints
The publishers supply free of charge 25 reprints and a unique URL that gives access to both PDF and html versions of the paper. Offprint order forms are sent out with the proofs, and must be returned with the proofs to Oxford University Press in order to claim the 25 free print copies or if extra offprints are required. If the form is not returned before the issue in which an article appears in print has gone to press then free print offprints will not be provided. Late orders submitted after the journal has gone to the press are subject to a 100% surcharge (to cover the additional printing cost).

Copyright
It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors assign an exclusive licence to Oxford University Press. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In assigning a licence, authors may use their own material in other publications provided that the Journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance. (Note that a few employers, usually governmental organizations, prohibit such copyright or license assignment. If this applies to you, please indicate on the license assignment form that will be sent to you with the proofs).

Preparation of Manuscripts for Submission

Author Self-Archiving/Public Access policy

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

Open Access Option for Authors

Starting in July 2005, Journal of Plankton Research authors have had the option, at an additional charge, to make their paper freely available online immediately upon publication, under the Oxford Open initiative. After your manuscript is accepted, as part of the mandatory licence form required of all corresponding authors, you will be asked to indicate whether or not you wish to pay to have your paper made freely available immediately. If you do not select the Open Access option, your paper will be published with standard subscription-based access and you will not be charged.

For those selecting the Open Access option, the charges for Journal of Plankton Research vary depending on the institution at which the Corresponding author is based:

Optional Oxford Open charges:

For a Corresponding author based at an institution with an online subscription to Journal of Plankton Research:
Regular charge per paper – £900 / €1350 / $1800
List B developing country charge* – £450 / €675 / $900
List A developing country charge* – £0 / €0 /$0

For a Corresponding author based at an institution that does not subscribe to the online journal:
Regular charge per paper – £1500 / €2250 / $3000
List B developing country charge* – £750 / €1125 / $1500
List A developing country charge* – £0 / €0 /$0

*Visit http://www.oxfordjournals.org/jnls/devel/for list of qualifying countries

Orders from UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from the rest of the EU, we will assume that the service is provided for business purposes, please provide a VAT number for yourself or your institution and ensure you account for your own local VAT correctly.

The above Open Access charges are in addition to any page charges and colour charges that might apply.

If you choose the Open Access option you will also be asked to complete an Open Access charge form online. You will be automatically directed to the appropriate version of the form depending on whether you are based at an institution with an online subscription to Journal of Plankton Research. Therefore please make sure that you are using an institutional computer when accessing the form. To check whether you are based at a subscribing institution please use the Subscriber Test link for Journal of Plankton Research.