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Editor-in-Chief GUIDANCE FOR AUTHORS Professor Brian Charlesworth Selection criteria Editors Categories The criteria for selection are scientific excellence, originality and Papers published in Letters will be categorised by subject, Dr Joan Herbers interest across disciplines within biology. Papers are assessed by the which include Editorial Board for suitability before full peer-review. Their Dr Paul Sniegowski • animal behaviour • marine biology recommendations are passed to the Editor. The Editor is responsible Publishing Editor for all editorial decisions and he makes these decisions based on the • biomechanics • molecular Charlotte Wray reports received from the referees and the Editorial Board. • community ecology • neurobiology • conservation biology • palaeontology Editorial Board Publishing format • pathogen biology Biology Letters are published regularly online and in bimonthly print • evolutionary biology Brian Charlesworth, Editor-in-Chief Alex Kacelnik School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh Department of , Oxford University issues. Along with all Royal Society journals, we are committed to • phylogeny Joan Herbers, Editor Laurent Keller • evolutionary developmental Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne archiving and providing perpetual access. Although the printed biology Paul Sniegowski, Editor Nicole King • physiology Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley version of Biology Letters is limited to 2500 words, there is the Tom Little • biology • population ecology Leticia Avilés Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia Martine Maan facility for Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM). Contents of the Paul Barrett Behavioural Biology, University of Groningen • global change biology • population Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London Daniel Mennill ESM might include details of methods, derivations of equations, Thomas Bataillon Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor Bioinformatics Research Center, University of Aarhus Naomi Pierce large tables of data, DNA sequences and computer programs. David Bickford Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Electronic Submission details Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore Chris Ponting However, the printed version must include enough detail to satisfy Barry Brook Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford The Royal Society’s electronic-submission and peer-review service School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide Daven Presgraves most non-specialist readers. Supplementary data up to 10Mb is John Brookfield Department of Biology, University of Rochester provides Biology Letters authors with the facility to submit their School of Biology, University of Nottingham Anna Qvarnström placed on the Society's website free of charge. Larger datasets must Angus Buckling Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University papers online. The service allows you to upload files in a reliable and Department of Zoology, University of Oxford Andrew Rambaut be deposited in recognised public domain databases by the author. Richard Byrne Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh School of Psychology, The University of St Andrews Graeme Ruxton user-friendly way, using a Web-based system. When your paper is Josep Call School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology received, an immediate acknowledgement is sent that details how Michael Ryan Conditions of publication Jérôme Casas Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, Université de Tours David Shuker you can track your contribution online. 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