Author Guidelines
GENERAL PUBLISHING INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AUTHORS
Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research - LAJAR is an “Open Access” journal that publishes in English language, original research articles, reviews, and short communications on aquatic science, which contain results of research conducted in aquaculture or in oceanic and coastal marine waters of Latin America.
Types of manuscripts
LAJAR publishes research articles, review articles and scientific short communications.
Research Article. An article should contain an abstract (250 words maximum) and keywords, followed by a text with a defined structure, details of which are given below. Preferably, the manuscript should not exceed 30 pages, including figures and tables.
Review Article. Reviews should contain an abstract (250 words maximum) on the state of knowledge of a specific topic of research and keywords, followed by a continuous freestyle text. This manuscript should not exceed 30 pages, including figures and tables.
Short Communication. These are short papers on a specific topic that describe preliminary results, new findings, or new methodologies. Communications must include an abstract (200 words maximum) and keywords. Different segments of the paper (introduction, methodology, results, and discussion) should be written continuously in a single section. The length of the manuscript should be under 10 pages, including figures and tables.
Article structure
The structure of the manuscript should follow the following order:
Title: Brief and descriptive. A running head of no more than 50 characters should be provided.
Author names and affiliation: Indicate name, last name (paternal only, when applicable), affiliation, city, country, ORCID code and e-mail address of the authors.
Abstract: Must contain a maximum of 250 words, indicating purpose, main results or findings and conclusions presented in the manuscript.
Keywords: Maximum of six, arranged in order of importance.
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions (optional)
Acknowledgements
Citations: Consider only published works or in press. References must be ordered chronologically indicating the first author's last name and year of publication (e.g. Muñoz et al. 2009, Alvarez 2010, Johnson & Smith 2013, Palmer 2015a,b).
References: Include only documents mentioned in the text, references must be organized alphabetically based on the first author's last name. In the case of two or more authors, initials must be indicated after their last names; use a comma to separate each author.
Examples of different formats for different types of frequently used references:
a) References of articles cited in the text must indicate: author(s), year of publication, article title, complete name of the journal, volume, and page numbers. Add doi number if pertinent, to facilitate internet search.
Huang, D. & Roy, K. 2013. Anthropogenic extinction threats and future loss of evolutionary history in reef corals. Ecology and Evolution, 3: 1-10. doi: 10.1002/ece3.527
Andrade,I., Sangrá, P., Hormazábal, S.E. & Correa-Ramírez, M.A. 2014. Island mass effect in the Juan Fernández Archipelago (33°S), Southeastern Pacific. Deep-Sea Research I, 84: 86-99. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2013.10.009
b) Book references must indicate: Author(s), year of publication, book title, editorial, city.
Randall, J.E. & Cea, A. 2011. Shore fishes of Easter Island. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
c) Articles published in books must indicate: author(s), year of publication, article title, book title, editor(s), editorial, city, number of pages.
Andersen, R.A. & Kawachi, M. 2005. Traditional microalgae isolation techniques. In: Andersen, R.A. (Ed.). Algal culturing techniques. Academic Press,New York, pp. 83-89.
d) Articles published on the Internet must indicate: author(s), year of publication, article title, full URL, date of last review.
R Core Team. 2016. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. [http://www.R-project.org]. Reviewed: June 12, 2018.
e) Thesis references must indicate: author(s), year of publication, thesis title, thesis academic degree, university/institute, city.
Hall, A.E. 2015. Top-down control, trophic interactions, and the importance of predatory fishes on coral reefs. Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Queensland.
Figures and tables
Graphics, maps, schemes, drawings, or photographs must be referred to as Figure, abbreviated in the text as Fig.
Figures should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals; captions should be self-explanatory. Texts and symbols inside a figure must be written in Arial characters and have a size that guarantees legibility in case of downsizing. If the figure includes more than one image, these must be characterized with lowercase letters (e.g. a, b, c, etc.). Figures should be preferably sized as close to the final version as possible. Figures can be a maximum of 15 cm wide by 21 cm high (including caption).
Images (photographs) must be in JPG or PNG format (black and white or color) and be in high resolution (keep to a minimum of 300 dpi) considering an adequate range of tones and contrasts.
Tables in Excel or Word must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Captions should be self-explanatory. The heading of each column must express clearly its content and measurement units.
Submission
- Manuscripts are to be submitted exclusively online on the Journal’s website (lajar.cl) (Online Submissions). The manuscript must be written in English, in Microsoft Word format, in Times New Roman size 12, with 1.5 spacing, on letter size paper.
- Tables and figures should be included at the end of the text.
- Authors should suggest a minimum of six potential reviewers of recognized competence in the area of knowledge of the proposed, indicating name, e-mail address, name of the institution, and country. The reviewers should not be from the same institution where the authors of the article are from.
- Authors must ensure that any submitted article has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Research data
Please submit an excel file with the data that supports your article or the link to the dataset.
Review Process
Manuscripts are to be submitted exclusively online on the Journal’s website (lajar.cl). Reception of articles will be acknowledged by e-mail to the corresponding author.
Before its acceptance, all submitted manuscripts will be assessed by the editor and co-editor in order to determine if they are suitable for the Journal. Documents considered as adequate will enter an evaluation process led by associate editors with recognized competence in the proposed area of knowledge, considering the opinion of at least two or three international researchers, considered experts in the proposed subject of the manuscript.
Manuscripts will be evaluated as excellent, good, regular, or poor, according to the following aspects:
- Originality.
- Relevance to scientific knowledge in aquatic research.
- Formal Aspects: Correct and understandable language.
- The title and abstract should be sufficiently informative.
- References must be properly cited.
- Background: Theoretical background is adequate, with clear hypothesis and objectives.
- Methodology: Materials and methods are appropriate and adequately described.
- Results: Data is concise and sufficient. The use of statistics analysis is appropriate.
- Figures: Figures and/or photographs are clear and of good quality, and include only data essential for its comprehension.
- Discussion: This is clear and correctly interpreted.
- References: 70% or more of the references are up to date.
The reviewed article may be: accepted; acceptable with minor changes; acceptable with major changes; or rejected (doesn’t meet journal’s editorial standards, preliminary results, plagiarism).
If the paper is accepted with minor or major changes, authors will be informed and will have a maximum of 60 days to reply to all observations and return a new, corrected version of the manuscript to the corresponding associate editor for a final review.
MANUSCRIPTS ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION
Once accepted for publication, authors must forward the final text with all corrections made and accepted by the assigned associate editor.
GALLEY PROOFS
Proofs will be sent by the editor to the corresponding author for a final review. Final correction of the manuscript is the exclusive responsibility of the corresponding author and any modification must be informed to the editor of the journal.
PUBLICATION FEE
Papers accepted are subjected to a publication charge of US$450,00.
ORIGINALITY
Research, review, and scientific communication articles must be original and unpublished. Authors must ensure that the submitted works meet these criteria. If using works and/or comments from other authors, they must be appropriately cited, with necessary permissions obtained when applicable. To verify originality, all received articles will be pre-screened using the Crossref Similarity Check Programme for plagiarism detection.
CREDIT AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION
All individuals who have made significant contributions to the study (e.g. concept, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation) should be listed as co-authors. Those who contributed but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g. writing, language editing, sample collection) should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.
To define each author's contribution to the proposed article, a list detailing their respective contributions should be prepared.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Authors must declare to the Editor-in-Chief any potential conflict of interest that could unduly influence the document. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the author(s) to disclose any personal, financial, or other relationships with individuals or organizations that may affect the objectivity and integrity of the proposed article.
