Authorship and Contributorship

1. Authorship Criteria

Authorship is limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual or scientific contributions to biological research and the preparation of the manuscript. All authors must fulfil the following criteria:

Substantial Contribution: Significant involvement in the conception, design, or methodology of the biological research, including the study of organisms, biodiversity, ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology, taxonomy, or other relevant biological disciplines, as well as the collection, analysis, or interpretation of biological data.
Manuscript Preparation: Participation in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important scientific content, including biological concepts, experimental approaches, ecological or physiological interpretations, and the discussion of research findings in the context of existing biological knowledge.
Final Approval: Review and approval of the final version of the manuscript, ensuring the accuracy of biological terminology, the validity of scientific interpretations, and the appropriate presentation of biological methods, data, and findings before submission.
Accountability: Agreement to take responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of their contributions and to assist in investigating and resolving any questions concerning the reliability of biological data, experimental procedures, specimen identification, analytical methods, or the interpretation and reporting of research findings.

All individuals listed as authors must satisfy these criteria. Contributions that do not meet the authorship requirements should be appropriately recognised in the Acknowledgements section.

2. Contributor Roles

To ensure transparency and appropriate recognition of individual contributions, authors are required to specify their respective roles in the research and manuscript preparation. The following contributor roles may be declared, as applicable to the study.

Conceptualisation: Development of the research idea, objectives, and overall scientific framework.
Methodology: Development or design of the research methods, procedures, and analytical approaches.
Fieldwork: Conducting field activities, including field observations, sampling, surveys, interviews, environmental measurements, and primary data collection.
Laboratory Work: Conducting laboratory experiments, sample preparation, specimen identification, measurements, laboratory testing, and experimental data collection.
Modelling Work: Developing, implementing, or applying mathematical, statistical, computational, ecological, or other analytical models; conducting simulations; and interpreting modelling results.
Data Curation: Organising, documenting, managing, and maintaining research data to support analysis, reproducibility, and future use.
Formal Analysis: Applying statistical, mathematical, computational, or other analytical techniques to interpret research data.
Software: Developing, programming, or implementing software, scripts, or computational tools used in the research.
Validation: Verifying the accuracy, consistency, reliability, and reproducibility of methods, data, and results.
Investigation: Conducting research activities to collect evidence and generate research findings.
Visualisation: Preparing figures, tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, and other visual representations of the research findings.
Writing – Original Draft Preparation: Preparing the initial draft of the manuscript, including the presentation of research methods, results, and interpretations.
Writing – Review and Editing: Critically reviewing, revising, and editing the manuscript to improve its scientific content, clarity, and accuracy.
Supervision: Providing academic, scientific, or methodological guidance throughout the research process.
Project Administration: Coordinating research activities, schedules, resources, and collaboration among research team members.
Funding Acquisition: Obtaining financial support for the research and publication.

The applicable roles should be selected according to the actual contributions made by each individual. Not all roles are required for every manuscript.

3. Contributorship and Acknowledgements

Individuals who have contributed to the research but do not fulfil all authorship criteria should not be listed as authors solely on the basis of their involvement. Their contributions may instead be recognised in the Acknowledgements section, subject to their consent.

Such contributions may include technical assistance, routine data collection, laboratory support, field assistance, administrative support, funding provision, or editorial assistance. Fieldwork, laboratory work, or modelling work alone does not automatically establish authorship; the nature and intellectual significance of the contribution, together with fulfilment of the authorship criteria, must be considered.

4. Authorship Declaration and Responsibilities

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:

All listed authors meet the stated authorship criteria.
Every author’s contribution is accurately and transparently reported.
All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.
All authors accept accountability for their respective contributions and cooperate in addressing any concerns regarding the accuracy or integrity of the research.
Individuals who have made substantial contributions deserving of authorship are not omitted.
The order of authorship and the contribution statement have been agreed upon by all authors before submission.

Any changes to the author list or order of authorship must be justified and agreed upon by all relevant authors, in accordance with the journal’s requirements.

5. Prevention of Authorship Misconduct

The journal does not accept unethical authorship practices, including:

Gift or honorary authorship: Including individuals who have not made qualifying contributions to the research.
Ghost authorship: Omitting individuals who have made substantial contributions and meet the authorship criteria.
Misrepresentation of contributions: Providing inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information about an individual's role in the research.
Unjustified authorship changes: Adding, removing, or changing the order of authors without appropriate justification and the required consent.

All authors and contributors are expected to uphold research integrity, transparency, fairness, and accountability throughout the research and publication process.

6. Contributor Statement Format

The contribution statement should be included in the manuscript using the following format:

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation, [initials]; Methodology, [initials]; Fieldwork, [initials]; Laboratory Work, [initials]; Modelling Work, [initials]; Data Curation, [initials]; Formal Analysis, [initials]; Writing – Original Draft Preparation, [initials]; Writing – Review and Editing, [initials]; Supervision, [initials]; Project Administration, [initials]; Funding Acquisition, [initials]. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for their respective contributions.

Only the roles actually performed should be retained, and the initials should be replaced with those of the relevant authors. To incorporate the authorship and contributorship statement into your manuscript, please refer to the journal’s manuscript template and follow the prescribed format and submission guidelines.