Journal of Tropical Ecology

Journal of Tropical Ecology
Title	Journal of Tropical Ecology
Discipline	Ecology, Biology
Abbreviation	J. Trop. Ecol.
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Country	United Kingdom
History	1985–present
Frequency	Bimonthly
Issn	0266-4674

Journal of Tropical Ecology The Journal of Tropical Ecology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on tropical ecosystems, tropical biodiversity, tropical conservation and tropical biogeography. It publishes primary research and reviews on tropical forests, tropical savannas, tropical islands and tropical rivers, emphasizing field studies and applied research relevant to policymakers and conservation organizations. The journal is associated with major research institutions and global initiatives focusing on tropical regions and biodiversity hotspots.

History

The journal was founded in 1985 amid growing international attention to tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss involving institutions such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Society. Early editorial leadership included researchers affiliated with the Natural History Museum, London, the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation, and the University of Cambridge, while contributors included field ecologists from the University of Oxford, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Australian National University. During the 1990s the journal expanded coverage reflecting debates at events like the Rio Earth Summit and collaborations with networks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Environment Facility, attracting submissions from the Amazon rainforest, the Congo Basin, and the Sundaland region. Subsequent decades saw editorial ties to centres including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the National University of Singapore, the Centre for Tropical Forest Science, and research programs supported by agencies like the National Science Foundation and the European Commission.

Scope and Aims

The journal aims to advance understanding of tropical ecology by publishing work on species interactions, ecosystem processes, population dynamics and community ecology in tropical settings, drawing on research from the Amazon Basin, the Atlantic Forest, the Congo Basin, the Malay Archipelago, and the Caribbean. It emphasizes studies relevant to conservation initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and regional programs led by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity and the African Union's environmental policies. The scope includes empirical field studies, long-term monitoring from sites like the Long Term Ecological Research Network and the ForestGEO network, experimental manipulations from research stations such as the La Selva Biological Station and the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, and syntheses that inform organizations including the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Editorial and Publication Details

Published by Cambridge University Press, the journal issues bimonthly volumes managed by an editorial board drawn from universities and museums such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the National University of Singapore, the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Pará, the University of Ghana, the University of Queensland and the University of Papua New Guinea. Editors and section editors have included researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Max Planck Society, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Manuscripts undergo peer review coordinated via editorial offices in collaboration with societies and research programmes like the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation and the Tropical Biology Association. The journal accepts original research articles, review papers, methodological notes and short communications, following publication standards aligned with guidelines from bodies such as the Committee on Publication Ethics and indexing criteria used by databases tied to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Institute of Scientific Information.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major databases and abstracting services used by researchers at institutions including the National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust, the European Research Council and university libraries at the University of California, the University of Oxford and the University of Tokyo. Indexing includes databases operated by organizations such as the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science, the Scopus service of Elsevier, and subject-specific indexes utilized by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank for biodiversity assessments. The journal's metadata are accessible through aggregators tied to the Directory of Open Access Journals platforms and library consortia including Jisc and the HathiTrust Digital Library.

Notable Articles and Impact

Notable papers published in the journal have addressed topics central to debates hosted by forums like the World Conservation Congress, the IPBES assessments, and conferences organized by the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Influential studies have reported on species-area relationships in the Atlantic Forest, seed dispersal by frugivores in the Neotropics, carbon storage estimates in the Amazon rainforest, edge effects in the Congo Basin, invasions on Hawaiian Islands and ecological responses to climate variability documented in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation events. These articles have been cited by authors from institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and major universities including the University of British Columbia and the University of Sydney.

Access and Availability

The journal is available in print and online through the publishing platform of Cambridge University Press and is held in university libraries such as the National University of Singapore Library, the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries, the Harvard University libraries and the Smithsonian Institution libraries. Subscription access is provided to institutional subscribers including research consortia funded by bodies like the European Commission and national research councils such as the Australian Research Council and the National Science Foundation. Selected articles and special issues are made available via open access options in line with mandates from funders such as the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Category:Ecology journals Category:Cambridge University Press journals