Scope and Content
The Bulletin publishes letters, longer commentaries, and philosophical and methodological items related to the science of ecology. In addition, the Bulletin publishes announcements of meetings; reviews of meetings, of software useful for ecological research and teaching, and of other tools for ecologists; articles about the teaching of ecology; obituaries for deceased members and resolutions of respect for former ESA officers, winners of major awards, and certain other ecologists; announcements; and reports of official actions by the Society. Previously published items from other sources can be republished in the Bulletin if the contributor obtains permission of the author and the copyright holder and clearly identifies the original publication. Bulletin content is not peer reviewed and, therefore, the Bulletin does not accept articles that are too technical or specialized to be evaluated for publication without scientific review.
Types of contributions
Cover photographs and Photo Gallery submissions
We are looking for photographs that represent obvious visual manifestations of ecological processes, ecological research designs, or similar "dynamic" ecological subjects. However, the focus must be on the ecological subject, rather than on equipment or researchers. Within that set of criteria, the photograph must "look great"; that is, it must be so appealing that the reader is forced to stop and stare at it, and perhaps, to open the cover to learn details of its significance. This latter quality is more important than the information content of the photo, which eliminates most graphs, diagrams, split photos (e.g., before and after), and so on. It is particularly important that the colors in the photos are bright and showy, although black and white photos are also sought if they are well composed with good contrast.
If you would like to submit a digital file, submissions can be small jpegs (72 dpi) but if the image is selected for a cover the final image must be 300 dpi and at least 7 inches wide and 5 inches high. Email the file as an attachment to the Editor of the ESA Bulletin at bulletin@esa.org. Or send a single 5 x 7 inch or 8 x 10 inch photo to the Bulletin Editor-in-Chief. On an accompanying photocopy, give the name of the photographer, address, a photo legend up to 100 words, and, if the photo describes research reported in a journal article, the complete literature citation or ESA manuscript number. If you wish the photo to be returned, please include a self-addressed return envelope.
Commentaries. The Bulletin publishes letters, longer commentaries, and philosophical and methodological items related to the science of ecology. There are no page limits, but authors may be asked to edit their submissions for clarity and precision. Previously published items from other sources can be republished in the Bulletin if the contributor obtains permission of the author and the copyright holder and clearly identifies the original publication.
Meeting Announcements. These consist of a brief prose description of the upcoming meeting, including title, a short paragraph on objectives and content, dates, location, registration requirements, and the meeting contact person's name, street address, and phone/FAX/e-mail address. Meeting brochures submitted in hopes the editor will use them to write a Bulletin announcement are not accepted. Publication deadlines of the Bulletin should be compared with the meeting deadlines to make sure the announcement will appear in time.
Meeting Reviews. The Bulletin publishes reviews of symposia and workshops at the annual ESA meeting, as well as important and appropriate meetings that are unrelated to the annual ESA meeting. The reviewer should strive for a synthetic view of the meeting or symposium outcome (i.e., how the various presentations fit or conflict with each other and with current scientific thought on the topic). Review length is open, although about four double-spaced pages should be sufficient to capture the essence of most meetings.
The following advisory items are provided to help focus your review.
a) Meeting title, organizer, location, sponsoring organizations?
b) What were the meeting objectives (i.e., what scientific problem was the meeting organized to solve)? Who cares (i.e., what was the relevance of this scientific problem to related ones under examination)?
c) How well did the meeting meet the objectives? Were there specific papers delivered or roundtables/discussion groups that were exemplary in reaching the objectives? You may concentrate the review on only the outstanding papers to the exclusion of all others, or give a comprehensive view of all presentations/meeting activities, or examine a selection of papers that neither describes all, nor focuses on a very few.
d) What new was discussed? What previously weak hypotheses were strengthened, confirmed or supported? Were any new or innovative hypotheses presented that forced participants to rethink current concepts?
e) Was there anything important that the meeting accomplished that may not have been part of its explicit objectives?
f) What subjects relevant to the meeting objectives were missing or left out? Did the scientific components of the problem that were included produce a strong slant or serious void by virtue of blind spots by the organizers, failure of invitees to appear, or similar difficulties?
g) Are there plans for a proceedings issue, web page, or meeting summary document, and if so who is editing it, who is publishing it, and when and where will it appear (i.e., where can interested folks learn more about the meeting)?
Obituaries and Resolutions of Respect. The death of any deceased member will be acknowledged by the Bulletin in an Obituary upon submission of the information by a colleague to the Historical Records Committee. The Obituary should include a few sentences describing the person's history (date and place of birth, professional address and title) and professional accomplishments. Longer "Resolutions of Respect" (up to three printed pages) will be solicited for all former ESA officers and winners of major awards, and for other ecologists after approval by the President. Solicited Resolutions of Respect will take precedence over unsolicited contributions, and either must be submitted to the Historical Records Committee before publication in the Bulletin (see ESA policy on publication of Obituaries and Resolutions of Respect).
Specialty Columns. The Bulletin includes several subject matter columns, each with its own Editor. The material in each column is either written by its Editor or is provided by contributors at the invitation of the Editor, although potential contributors may contact the Editors directly with ideas and proposals for articles. The columns include:
a. Technological Tools. Articles and reviews primarily focused on computer software and hardware relevant to research and teaching activities in ecology.
b. Ecology 101. Descriptions of approaches to teaching ecology, especially details of lab and field exercises designed to teach specific ecological concepts and principles.
c. Focus on Field Stations. Reviews of remote facilities that facilitate teaching and research experience in the field, and that promote field research as a basis for ecological understanding.
d. Public Affairs Perspective. Discussions of the links between ecology and public policy and how the aims and activities of the Ecological Society of America Public Affairs Office pursue those links.
See Submitting to the Bulletin, for information on where to send contributions.
rev. 9/28/07
