Author Instructions

Journal of Aquatic Biology and Ecology (JABE)

The Journal of Aquatic Biology and Ecology (JABE) is an international, peer-reviewed, fully open access journal dedicated to advancing knowledge across all areas of aquatic science. These Author Instructions provide detailed guidance regarding manuscript preparation, ethical standards, editorial procedures, and submission requirements. Authors are strongly encouraged to read this document carefully before submitting their work, as adherence to these guidelines ensures efficient editorial handling and timely peer review.

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Aquatic Biology and Ecology publishes high-quality, original research that enhances scientific understanding of aquatic organisms, ecosystems, and environmental processes in marine, freshwater, estuarine, and coastal environments. Aquatic systems are central to global biodiversity, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, food security, and ecosystem services. However, they face unprecedented pressures from climate change, pollution, habitat degradation, overexploitation, invasive species, and anthropogenic disturbance. JABE provides a scholarly platform for research that addresses these challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

The journal welcomes fundamental and applied studies that explore the biology, ecology, physiology, genetics, conservation, and management of aquatic systems. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, marine biology, limnology, estuarine ecology, fisheries science, aquaculture, aquatic toxicology, plankton ecology, microbial dynamics, molecular ecology, environmental DNA applications, aquatic biogeochemistry, blue carbon research, habitat restoration, ecosystem modeling, and environmental monitoring. Studies integrating field investigations, laboratory experiments, remote sensing, modeling techniques, and molecular tools are particularly encouraged. Contributions that inform conservation policy, ecosystem-based management, and sustainable resource use are also highly valued.

Open Access and Copyright

JABE operates under a fully open access publishing model. All articles are made immediately and permanently accessible online upon publication without subscription barriers. This ensures broad dissemination of scientific findings and compliance with open access mandates from funding agencies and institutions.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License. Authors retain full copyright of their work while granting the publisher the right to publish and distribute the article. The CC BY license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission for any copyrighted material reproduced in their manuscript.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

JABE follows a single-blind peer review system in which reviewer identities remain confidential while author identities are visible to reviewers. Upon submission, each manuscript undergoes an initial editorial assessment by the Editor-in-Chief to determine its suitability in terms of scope, originality, scientific rigor, and ethical compliance. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s basic standards may be declined at this stage.

Manuscripts deemed suitable are assigned to an Academic Editor with relevant subject expertise and sent to at least two independent reviewers. Reviewers evaluate the scientific validity, methodological soundness, originality, clarity of presentation, and significance of the research. Authors may be asked to revise their manuscript in response to reviewer comments. Final decisions—acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection—are made by the Editor-in-Chief based on reviewer reports and editorial evaluation. The journal is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, and high academic standards throughout the review process.

Article Processing Charges

There are no submission fees. The journal e Article Processing Charges (APCs) 100$ per accepted article (excluding applicable taxes) will apply. Waivers or discounts may be granted under specific circumstances, particularly for authors from low- and middle-income countries or in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

JABE adheres strictly to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scientific integrity, transparency, and ethical responsibility.

Research involving animals must comply with institutional and national regulations governing animal welfare. Authors must provide the name of the approving ethics committee and the approval reference number where applicable. Field studies involving specimen collection or environmental sampling must confirm that appropriate permits and permissions were obtained.

All authors are required to disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of their work. If no conflicts exist, the following statement should be included: “The authors declare no competing interests.”

Authorship must be based on substantial intellectual contribution. Each author must have contributed meaningfully to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition or analysis, manuscript drafting or critical revision, and approval of the final version. All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work. A detailed Author Contributions statement following the CRediT taxonomy is required.

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software. Plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate publication, and simultaneous submission to multiple journals are strictly prohibited. Suspected misconduct will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Artificial intelligence tools may be used for language editing or technical support; however, AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Any use of AI-assisted technologies must be disclosed in the manuscript, and authors remain fully responsible for the content.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must be prepared in clear, professional English and submitted in DOC or DOCX format. Authors should use standard scientific formatting, double-spacing the text and numbering pages and lines to facilitate peer review. International System of Units (SI) should be used throughout. Scientific names of species must be italicized and follow accepted taxonomic conventions.

The title page should include a concise and informative title (preferably no more than 20 words), full names of all authors, complete institutional affiliations, the corresponding author’s contact information, and ORCID identifiers where available. Changes in authorship after submission or acceptance are permitted only under exceptional circumstances and require written approval from all authors and the Editor-in-Chief.

The abstract should clearly summarize the objectives, methods, principal findings, and conclusions of the study. It should not contain references or undefined abbreviations. Authors should provide three to eight relevant keywords that complement the title and enhance discoverability.

Original research articles should generally be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and optionally Conclusions. Review articles may adopt a flexible structure appropriate to the topic.

Figures must be of high resolution (minimum 300 dpi) and submitted in accepted formats such as JPG, PNG, TIFF, EPS, or PDF. Multi-panel figures should be clearly labeled. Tables must be editable and include descriptive titles and explanatory footnotes where necessary. Statistical methods must be clearly described.

A Declarations section must be included at the end of the manuscript, incorporating statements on acknowledgments, funding, author contributions, conflicts of interest, ethical approval, and data availability, as applicable.

References should be numbered consecutively in the order of citation and formatted according to National Library of Medicine style. References are not permitted in the abstract.

Data Availability and Transparency

JABE encourages transparency and reproducibility. Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit datasets, genetic sequences, and other relevant materials in recognized public repositories and provide accession numbers or DOIs. The manuscript must include a Data Availability Statement specifying where and how the data can be accessed or explaining any restrictions.

Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors approve the submission, that the manuscript is original and not under consideration elsewhere, and that all ethical requirements have been met.

For editorial inquiries, authors may contact the Editorial Office at:
editor@researchfloor.org