Guidelines for Authors
Note: These have been updated for our all online format.
Scope: Scientific research reports, notes, review papers, bibliographies, and book reviews in agriculture, anthropology, biology, chemistry, geology, and related fields are accepted on the basis of their originality and their pertinence to Micronesia and the adjacent Pacific areas.
General: Micronesica is a multidisciplinary journal with a broad readership. Authors are requested to write the Abstract and opening paragraphs of the Introduction to be intelligible to that broad public, even though the body of the work may be highly specialized.
Following general ethical practices of authorship and publication, Micronesica expects that
- a manuscript submitted to Micronesica has not been and will not submitted elsewhere unless the author withdraws the manuscript from Micronesica;
- the work reported in the manuscript has not been published (or accepted for publication) elsewhere;
- all authors have contributed substantially to the conception, execution, &/or writing of the work described;
- all authors have seen and approved the final manuscript before submission. All authors share responsibility for the contents of the manuscript.
More information on ethical guidelines can be found on several journal websites.
Manuscripts must be written in English, but a summary in another language is acceptable. Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two members of the Editorial Board or by specialists other than board members in whose field the paper lies. Authors are encouraged to suggest reviewer names (and also if there are any conflicts whom we should not use!).
Manuscripts, except for Insects of Micronesia series, should be emailed (or sent via airmail) to the Editor: G. Curt Fiedler, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam 96923, USA; email: gcfiedler (at) triton.uog.edu. Manuscripts for Insects of Micronesia should be sent to Dr. Neal Evenhuis, Department of Natural Sciences, Bernice P. Bishop, 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817- 0916; email: neale (at) bishopmuseum.org.
Authors must follow the guidelines below. Papers that deviate from the required format may be returned for revision before review.
The manuscript must be formatted on 8 1/2 x 11 (quarto) or A4 paper size, with generous margins all around. DOUBLE SPACE EVERYTHING, including abstract, references and tables. Number the pages. The layout of the text should follow a standard scientific format suitable to the material (peruse the full text pdfs of recent issues of Micronesica). Tables and Figures should be collected at the end of the manuscript, with Figure captions on a separate page, not on the artwork.
Email submissions are expected. If possible, we would like authors to submit their manuscripts in both MS Word (.docx or .doc) and Adobe PDF (.pdf) formats. PDF is the most widely readable format and prevents problems with font substitutions, unknown graphics file formats, etc. However, many of our reviewers prefer to work directly on an MS Word file, using the reviewing function to make comments and corrections. Tables can be included in the main manuscript file or as separate MS Word documents (preferred for landscape orientation tables). Figures (i.e., photos, graphs, maps or other images) should be sent as separate .jpg, .png, .tiff or .pdf files. They may be included in the main manuscript submission document after the references. Do not send specialized formats such as those generated by SPSS and SigmaPlot. If you are using such programs, save your file in a standard format. Please do not send figures as MS Word art/drawings. Figure and table legends should be included with the manuscript text or combined in a single separate file. Your final, revised & edited manuscript must be sent in MS Word format (i.e., .doc or .docx), with tables (MS Word) and figures (.tiff, .jpg, etc) as separate documents. A list of changes made should also be included.
Publication of new taxa: We have reviewed the current (2012) rules of botanical and zoological nomenclature (see Editorial). There is no problem with plant taxa, but new animal taxa must be registered with ZooBank because at present we cannot get a blanket registration of the journal. We are willing to assist authors in completing this vital step to ensure publication and we anticipate that in the near future this processed with be smoothed out.
Title page: The first page should give only the title (capitals and lower case, please), authors' names and addresses, a list of index terms, and a suggested running head. Present addresses, if different, are to be given in a footnote on the first page. However, contribution numbers should be given in the Acknowledgements.
Abstract: The second page of the manuscript should provide an informative abstract of not more than 300 words, summarizing the principal findings. Remember that Micronesica is accessible through electronic retrieval, and give a synopsis that is complete without reference to the text. Do not repeat information given in the title.
Text: Main headings are set in capitals and lower case, centered, subheadings are in small capitals, centered. Italicize words that should be italicized (Latin names, foreign terms, emphasis). Avoid footnotes in the text. Indicate with a marginal note where tables and figures should appear.
The introduction should have the following elements in sequence: A "centrality" statement linking the study to an active field of research; background literature showing what has been done of relevance; the "gap analysis" showing what is not known about the topic at hand; and the objective, showing exactly what the paper does to fill the gap.
Cite references by author and date, and follow the punctuation style carefully: "Smith (2000) found ..."; "as shown by various authors (Cheng et al. 1989, Cruz 1996, 1997, Jones & Jones 1998) . . ." ; "As shown by Jones & Jones (1998)..." Please follow the use of ampersand (&) and lack of comma between author and date. Do not use italic or underline for et al.
Well-known, standard acronyms such as DNA may be used without definition, but other acronyms and abbreviations should be defined when first used; use them sparingly.
Acknowledgements are placed at the end of the text, before the References.
References & Citations: Ensure that references are complete and accurate. Please follow style and punctuation closely! Indent second and subsequent lines and do not insert blank paragraphs between references. Do not use carriage returns and spaces to create the hanging indents. List references in alphabetical order by first author. If citing several papers by one author, list single-authored papers in chronological order (Adams 1976, Adams 1990. . .), then co-authored papers in alphabetical order of co-authors (Adams & Brown 1998, Adams & Ng 1975), and finally multiple-author papers in chronological order (Adams et al. 1985, 1993 . . .). Write out all authors' names in each reference--do not use a dash instead--and note that second and subsequent authors' initials are placed before the name. Write out periodical titles in full. Do not italicize journal or book titles. Do not give issue number unless each issue is separately paginated. Put place of publication after name of publisher. The number of pages in a book is not required. Avoid spaces between author initials.
Examples of journal articles and books:
Underwood, J.A. 1989. Population history of Nauru: a cautionary tale. Micronesica 22: 3-22.
Randall, J.E. 1958. A review of the labrid fish genus Labroides, with descriptions of two new species and notes on the ecology. Pacific Science 12: 327-347.
Lobban, C.S. & M. Schefter. 1997. Tropical Pacific Island Environments. University of Guam Press, Mangilao, GU.
Example of article in book:
Tsuda, R.T. 1985. Gracilaria from Micronesica: key, list and distribution of the species. In I. A. Abbott & J.N. Norris (eds), Taxonomy of Economic Seaweeds, pp. 91-92. California Sea Grant Program, La Jolla, CA.
Tables: Tables must be double spaced and collected at the end of the text. Explain any abbreviations in the legend at the top of the table. Use only horizontal rules in the table. Use the table feature of a word processor or spreadsheet to prepare your tables -- do not use tabs to align the columns.
Illustrations: Plan proportions of illustrations to fit the printed page size, 5.0 x 8.0 inches / 125 mm x 180 mm, preferably in "portrait" layout, allowing enough space for the legend. When a scale bar is appropriate, its length should be given in the legend, not on the illustration. Do not give magnifications. If an illustration has been published before (even if it is your own), due credit must be given, and written permission to reprint obtained from the copyright holder, the author, and the illustrator if necessary. It is the author's responsibility to obtain such permission(s).
Photographs and line art figures should be numbered individually (even if grouped) in the sequence in which they are used in the text, and the legends grouped onto pages placed at the end of the manuscript, after any Tables.
Photographs must be clear and have good contrast. Crop photographs to include only essential detail. If several small photographs are used, they should be grouped to fit the page width or made into full page plates; in that case, each photograph should bear its number legibly in one of the lower corners.
Color illustrations can be handled without additional cost, but authors should use color when it serves scientific purposes and not merely to be decorative. Yellow lines and symbols on graphs do not show up well and should generally be avoided.
Figures may be incorporated into the manuscript document but when the final ms is submitted the figures must be supplied as separate jpg or tif image files, at least 300 dpi and at least the size for final printing. Avoid large areas of stippling and small differences in shading as these may deteriorate on printing. When you are generating graphs on your computer, please review layout considerations, including font size, shading styles, and white space in view of the anticipated reduction. Do not use false axes (e.g., 3-D effects in Excel). Be sure that lettering is large enough that when printed the smallest letters will be at least 8 pt. (1 mm high) and that any lines are thick enough and spaced widely enough that they will not fade or run together when reduced. Do not rely on the default settings of your software. The Council of Biology Editors book, Illustrating Science: Standards for Publication, while predating the widespread use of personal computers, gives guidelines that remain essential for publication today.
Voluntary page charges: After a manuscript is accepted for publication we will solicit the authors for page charges. These are entirely voluntary, but if you have grant or departmental funds available we urge you to assist us. We suggest $35 per printed page, but any contribution will be gladly accepted. These contributions help cover the cost of layout.
Proofs: Authors will be sent first-pass page proofs for correction. These will be transmitted electronically as pdf files.
Distribution copies: As an on-line, open access journal, Micronesica can no longer offer offprints (reprints), but authors are free to download, distribute, and re-post their articles provided that they do not alter them, and to link to the Micronesica URL for their article.
