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Author Guidelines

Before submission of a manuscript to Revista de Biología Tropical it is highly recommended that you read about our scope and check that all format and style details of your document agree with the journal requirements. This will prevent unnecessary delays caused by format and style corrections requested by the journal at the beginning of the evaluation process.

Our journal publishes only in English and Spanish.

To prepare your paper carefully read the following documents:

• Format and style guide
• Figures guide
• Format sample
• Form submission letter

Once you submit your manuscript, consider the following:

❏An automated message will be sent to your email confirming reception of your manuscript

❏To check on the status of your submitted manuscript, please log into our system

For queries or help contact: biologia.tropical@ucr.ac.cr

How much does it cost to publish a paper in RBT?

Our journal has strived since 1953 to publish valuable papers without charge to the authors, a policy that still continues today for manuscripts that once printed do not exceed 10 pages and do not include color plates. Additional pages cost US$50 each. Anything else will be published as digital appendices, free of charge.

However, if you can help cover the printing cost of your publication (for example, through research funds), we kindly encourage to do so. You will not only help to disseminate biological knowledge but also support other colleagues who, especially in less industrialized countries, have in our journal an accessible mean to distribute their findings in the scientific world.

For any queries regarding payments and donations please send a message to biologia.tropical@ucr.ac.cr

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. General instructions:

   ❏Follow the standard structure of a scientific paper (do not merge results with discussion). 

   ❏Apply an automatic spell checker, and provide the total number of words at the foot of the first page.

   ❏Attach sharp photographs at 300 DPI and illustrations at 600 DPI (we accept JPG, TIFF, PNG and Photoshop). Labels: Helvetica 10 points. (Check our Figures Guide)

   ❏Upload your manuscript and attach a scanned letter signed by all coauthors indicating: a- the document is original and all coauthors agree with its publication; b- our ethical requirements are met, c- authors agree to pay for excess pages fee if required, and d- names and e-mail addresses of three possible objective reviewers. The submission system will confirm reception of files after completing the submission process, if no message is received within 24 hours, please contact biologia.tropical@ucr.ac.cr

2. Manuscript characteristics:

   ❏It presents original information on biology and/or conservation of tropical organisms

   ❏Detailed field study (typically conducted over a period of one year or more) or an in depth laboratory study

3. Introductory section:

   ❏In the title, use capital letters to start proper names and proper nouns. The title is short and includes, in parentheses, Order and Family (botanical papers: only Family).

   ❏Taxonomic authority (Author, year) for each taxon only appears the first time each taxon is mentioned in the text (never in the title). Genera in binomial names are written in full only the first time they are used in the Abstract, main text, Resumen and key words.

   ❏The address for correspondence is short but complete; if there are several, they must be numbered. Include valid e-mails for all coauthors. Do not include phone/fax numbers.

   ❏The Abstract (350-450 words) must describe the importance of the problem being addressed, sample size, sampling dates, how the study was performed, the salient results and what the authors concluded. It must be a single paragraph.

   ❏Key words (five to seven) are separated by commas and should be more general than the title or abstract

   ❏The Introduction summarizes recent findings and ends with the objective of the study

4. Material and Methods section:

   ❏Present only the information required to repeat the study. Previously published methods are referenced and briefly described.

   ❏Do not include a map for just one study site; instead, provide its geographic coordinates. A map is appropriate for studies with various sampling locations.

   ❏If specimens were collected, these should be deposited in at least one institution (list their respective catalogue number in the Materials and Methods section).

   ❏When relevant to the results, equipment specifications should include model number and manufacturer. For chemical products only specify manufacturer.

   ❏Mathematical formulas include a description of each component.

   ❏The meaning of acronyms is explained in full the first time (but avoid acronyms if possible).

   ❏Use the International System of Units and their abbreviations, except that decimals are indicated with a period, thousands and millions with a space, eg. 12 523 235.15

   ❏When not followed by units, integers from zero to ten are written in full (one, two etc., not 1, 2 etc.).

5. Results:

   ❏Quantitative data are evaluated with appropriate statistical tests, which are reported after each result and in parentheses. Example: “Height and speed were positively correlated (Spearman, p< 0.05)”.

   Tables and Figures

   ❏Avoid isolated figures by grouping related photographs and illustrations (See Figures Guide in our website). Symbols and scales appear within the figure (never as a footnote). Labels: Helvetica 10 points.

   ❏Avoid very long or very short tables (half a page is a good size), and the use of vertical and horizontal lines in them. All symbols and abbreviations appear only in the footnotes. No bold font, or words fully written in upper case.

6. Discussion:

   ❏This section compares your results with previously published data. No tables or figures are included here.

7. Acknowledgments:

   ❏Only persons who gave very significant assistance are mentioned. “Dr.”, “Prof.”, “Mrs.”, among others, are not used, only names.

8. Resumen and Palabras clave:

   ❏The Resumen starts with the title of the article in Spanish. The Resumen contains the same information and sections as the Abstract in Spanish.

   ❏The Palabras clave correspond to the key words, but written in Spanish.

   Staff at Revista de Biología Tropical will translate the Abstract and key words for authors who do not speak Spanish. Please send a note to the Editor.

9. References

   ❏Present the list of references and citations within the text in APA 6th Edition format. We recommend the use of the following free reference managers: zotero.org or mendeley.com

   Examples of references:

   Journal Article

   Torres, J. R., Infante-Mata, D., Sánchez, A. J., Espinoza-Tenorio, A. & Barba, E. (2017). Atributos estructurales, productividad (hojarasca) y fenología del manglar en la Laguna Mecoacán, Golfo de México. Revista de Biología Tropical, 65(4), 1592-1608.

   Book

   Hanson, P. E. & Nishida, K. (2016). Insects and other arthropods of tropical America. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

   Book chapter

   Pardini, R., da Rocha, P. L. B., El-Hani, C. & Pardini, F. (2013). Challenges and Opportunities for Bridging the Research–Implementation Gap in Ecological Science and Management in Brazil. In P. H. Raven, N. S. Sodhi & L. Gibson (Eds.), Conservation Biology : Voices from the Tropics (pp. 75-85). Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

   ❏Only cited publications appear under References and vice versa. Unpublished papers are mentioned in the text as in this example: (J. Smith, unpublished).

Copyright Notice

Attribution (BY)  •  (BY) You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).