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Behavioral Ecology Vol. 14 No. 1: 1
© 2003 International Society for Behavioral Ecology
Letter from the Editors
Behavioral Ecology is embarking on some significant changes in how it handles manuscripts and in its editorial structure. The Editors anticipate that these changes will allow us to do a quicker and more effective job in all phases of handling manuscripts. We hope the solid tradition of quality that the journal has achieved to date will improve as a result.
As of 1 January 2003, all submissions to the journal (except in rare cases) must go through an online submission service. We will not accept hard copies after 1 January 2003, and authors will be asked to resubmit via the online system. The system we have chosen is Manuscript Central, provided by Scholar One, Inc. Both Oxford University Press and the Editors are pleased with this service. It is successfully handling submissions to other journals, and our initial trials have gone smoothly. The Manuscript Central Web site for Behavioral Ecology can be accessed at http://beheco.manuscriptcentral.com. Detailed instructions to authors are available at that site, at the journal Web site (www.beheco.oupjournals.org), or in the journal.
The editors expect electronic handling of manuscripts to produce several important benefits. First, submitting electronically should dramatically speed up the handling time for manuscripts. Under the previous system, manuscripts had to be mailed up to three times (author to receiving editor, receiving editor to processing editor, and processing editor to reviewer), in some cases causing delays of weeks as a result. The new system will reduce that wasted time. Second, research in behavioral ecology is a global endeavor, and there are experts of value to editors and authors all over the world. In the past, the journal's editorial structure has attempted to foster this global outlook by having dual editorial offices and a diverse selection of Editors and members of the editorial board. The new system will enhance this interchange; now any Editor and reviewer can handle manuscripts submitted from anywhere. Reviewers will be selected depending solely on their suitability to review, with the time to get the MS to them no longer being a potential constraint. Finally, we foresee that the new system will reduce the busywork of the job and allow us to focus more on the manuscripts we handle. The Editors thus look forward to making more effective decisions and assisting in the publishing of the best papers possible.
Accompanying the switch to online submission, we have instituted a change in editorial structure. There will no longer be two separate editorial paths, with manuscripts in the eastern hemisphere going to one office and those in the western hemisphere to another. Furthermore, because the volume of manuscripts being submitted has increased by 10-15% every year over the past several years (a sign of excellent health for the field and the journal!), we have had to increase the number of Editors every two years to keep up with the load. We now have seven Editors and have reached the point where we need a single person overseeing the editorial process. Starting this year, one Editor will act as Editor-in-Chief. In addition to handling some manuscripts, this person will monitor the online system, assign manuscripts to Editors, and coordinate ways the Editors can further improve the journal. The Editor-in-Chief will not, however, review the decisions the assigned Editor makes on individual manuscripts. We believe quite strongly that the individual authority of the Editors to make decisions fosters a communal sense of ownership in the success of the journal. The move to an Editor-in-Chief structure is thus one of improving coordination and communication among the larger number of Editors.
With these changes, we think Behavioral Ecology will publish more quality papers having strong conceptual relevance to a diverse array of topics and taxa, and the process will be quicker and more efficient. In short, the journal will better represent the vibrancy of our field. We look forward to helping the journal achieve this aim.
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