Ethical Guidelines

This journal, in addition to the guidelines stated specifically below, is using also the instructions of the Council of Science Editors.

Authors should take care in preparation of the manuscript before submission. It is particularly important that authors have performed research in accordance with existing legislation and international conventions, such as securing all permits for collecting, handling and transporting specimens. It is the responsibility of authors that the research is original and has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere, nor is intendedfor submission for publication elsewhere. One author should be named as the corresponding author who is responsible for all communication with the editorial office. The corresponding author need not be the first author.It is the responsibility of the corresponding author that all co-authors have seen and accepted the manuscript prior to submission.Plagiarism and fraudulent results are strictly unacceptable. All sources of information should be properly referenced and acknowledged. All authors should have contributed significantly to the research. Authors should include acknowledge-ment of the sources of funding for their research. When the corresponding author receives comments from peer review and editor(s), he/she must take the necessary measures to address these comments, including co-authors’ responses, and, when resubmitting the manuscript, must include a letter, informing the editor of how each issue raised by reviewers has been addressed.

Peer Reviewers have a great responsibility in maintaining a high scientific standard of the journal, and should take care that sufficient information is included for others to replicate any experimental work. Also, reviewers should make sure conclusions are sufficiently corroborated by results, that hypotheses are clearly stated, and that the results are not duplication of previous work. Particular care should be taken to identify plagiarism, including “self-plagiarism”. Reviewers should complete their review before the set deadline, and should contact the editor(s) in case this is not possible. If a reviewer feels unqualified to review a manuscript, or for any other reason is unable to carry out the review, he/she should promptly notify the editor. Not replying to a request for review of a manuscript is unacceptable. Reviewers should declare to the editor(s) that they have no conflicts of interest and are not closely associated with authors. Reviewers should be aware that a manuscript submitted to them should be kept confidential. Under no circumstances is it acceptable for a reviewer to copy, use, or let others use information from a manuscript in their own research. Reviewers may submit comments solely intended for the editor, not to be transmitted to the author(s). However, there should be sufficient information relayed to the authors to justify the editorial decision and for the authors to revise the manuscript accordingly. Reviewers may choose to disclose their identity to authors, but as a rule will remain anonymous.

The Editor should promptly acknowledge the receipt of a manuscript and look for appropriate scientists for peer review. The editor should check that the content is within the scope of the journal and that the authors have used the correct journal format. The editor may return a manuscript that does not comply with the journal scope, format, and/or these ethical guidelines. After sending the manuscript to reviewers, the editor should send a reminder when the deadline is approaching and another if the deadline has been exceeded. If reviewers fail to respond to these reminders, the editor may choose to send the manuscript to other reviewers. Also, if reviewers are widely disagreeing on the quality of the manuscript, the editor may choose to send it to an additional reviewer. It is the responsibility of the editor(s) to make the final decision about acceptance/ rejection of a manuscript. The editor should inform authors as well as reviewers about this decision. If the editor has any conflict of interest with the author(s), responsibility should be transferred to another member of the editorial team.The editor is under the same obligation of confidentiality as the reviewers (see above). It is also the responsibility of the editor to ensure that the journal volumes and issues appear at the appropriate intervals and dates, as stated on the web-site. Time differences between online and printed editions should be reduced to a minimum.