New paper categories: Commentary and Brevia

Dear authors and readers,
 
I am pleased to announce some major changes in Ecography.
 
It has been a while since we felt that we needed to diversify the profile of Ecography. Most papers in Ecography are original research papers, but we have some high profile Reviews & Synthesis, a growing number of Software Notes, and Forum papers. The latter item was loosely defined, including provocative essays on topical issues of ecology and biogeography, short analytical papers, and commentaries on other research papers in Ecography or elsewhere.
 
With the new changes we are clarifying and narrowing the scope of Forum papers, while creating two new sections (Brevia and Commentary).
 
1.     Forum papers will be short empirical, conceptual, or theoretical papers about new and exciting ideas at the forefront of ecology and biogeography. Intellectually challenging papers taking original approaches and pushing or exploring the limits of the field will be favoured. Short papers taking a multidisciplinary approach will be specially encouraged. Contributions in this category will be solicited by one of our dedicated Forum editors (Dominique Gravel and Pablo Marquet). However, unsolicited submissions will also be considered and sent for pre-submission assessment by Forum editors.
 
2.     Brevia will concisely present important new research results of broad significance. They should be written in a clear and accessible manner and the use of jargon and abbreviations should be avoided wherever possible. Brevia articles consist of a continuous main text without any sections or subheadings. They do not have abstracts, but the first paragraph should comprise a short statement of the problem and a brief summary of the most important conclusions. Brevia have up to ~ 1000 words including references, notes and captions, 1 figure or table, and no more than 15 references. Material and methods should be included in supplementary material, which should also include information needed to support the paper's conclusions.
 
3.     Commentaries will highlight recent exciting original research in Ecography, or other journals as long as the scope of the Commentary fits clearly that of Ecography. Most items in these sections will be commissioned by the editors but unsolicited contributions are also welcome. The writing style should be light and constructive, and the Commentary should be written with a minimum of technical language and jargon. Commentaries should not exceed 1500 words including text, author details, figure/table legends, and references, and will have a maximum of 15 references. 1-2 figure/table items are allowed. Contributed commentaries will be subject to streamlined peer review.
 
Finally, a minor change: articles submitted as Review & Synthesis will be first screened by one of our dedicated Review & Synthesis editors (Robert Colwell and Robert Holt) following the procedure adopted for Forum papers.
 
Together with the expansion of our editorial board, these are first major changes we are making in Ecography in 2014. Other fundamental changes are being planned and will be announced soon.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Miguel Araújo
Editor-in-Chief of Ecography
 

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