Author guidelines

General formatting

For initial submission and evaluation, authors need to follow a minimal set of guidelines:

1.  Manuscripts should be accompanied by a brief cover letter summarizing the main points of the article, and stating if the manuscript has been made available on a preprint service. 

2.  Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 12 point font and line numbers that are continuous from the first page to the last. Do not use numbered or bulleted lists; do not use italics, bold or underlining for emphasis.

3.  The first page of the manuscript file is a title page that includes the following information:

   •  the title of the article, authors and affiliations;

   •  contact information (including email address) for the corresponding author;

   •  indication of article type (Report, Alert, etc., see next section);

4.  The overall length of the manuscript as well as the sections and items included will depend on the manuscript type (see next section), but in general will be ordered as follows: title page, abstract, main text, statement on data archiving (see last section on this page), acknowledgements, literature cited, figure legends, tables, figures.

5.  Articles should use scientific names for focal species, as well as common names when useful and appropriate, following conventions for different groups of organisms. Similarly for undescribed taxa, conventions will differ but should be accompanied by enough description to facilitate rediscovery when possible.

6.  Accepted manuscripts will have abstracts in both English and a language relevant to the geography of the species being discussed. For the first submission, an abstract in English is sufficient but we encourage authors to visit our Accessibility page for more details on translation.

7.  For initial submission, references can be formatted in any style as long as in-text citations are written out (not numbered), and final submission for accepted manuscripts will follow APA reference style. 

Article types

In addition to the detailed descriptions below, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, as well as our Decision Tree for help deciding which article type matches your goals.

Reports  are the primary article type for documenting the loss of species that have not been documented in the wild in some number of years. A suggestion from the literature  (Long and Rodríguez) has been that 10 years is an appropriate threshold to declare a species lost; we believe that this is a reasonable bench mark but also encourage authors to use their own judgement and contextualize as they see fit. For example, fewer years than 10 might be sufficient if search effort has been particularly intensive, or for species with multiple generations per year. All papers submitted to JLS are peer-reviewed, and claims will be evaluated by reviewers. 

Reports can cover one or multiple species. Note that here and elsewhere we refer primarily to species, though Reports and other article types might address the loss of higher and lower taxonomic units (e.g., subspecies or varieties). The loss of undescribed biological diversity, such as species without a formal scientific name, is also an appropriate focus for Reports; however, Reports should not describe the loss of populations, although the loss of populations can be motivation for an Alert (see next section).

Reports should be not more than 20 manuscript pages (which includes the title page through to the last figure), and will consist of the elements listed below. For Reports covering multiple species, authors should contact the editorial board to discuss the page limit.

1. Title page with article title, authors and affiliations, and indication of article type.

2.  Abstract, in English and a second language relevant to the geography of the focal species, not more than 300 words (for each version); with 5-8 keywords.

3.  Conservation statement is a short passage, up to 120 words, outlining important messages from the article aimed at conservation practitioners, land managers, and policy makers. 

4.  Overview describes the species that is (or are) lost, including historical range, morphology and ecology, as well as phylogenetic placement and taxonomic history (when the species was originally described, and where the type specimen is located, if known). Figures are encouraged, especially (when possible) illustrations of the species and a map of geographic range.

5.  Status is the presentation of evidence supporting the idea that the species is lost; this is the part of the article that provides details on search effort and the number of years a species has been missing. Quantitative analyses are welcome but will not be necessary in all cases. Standard practice in this emerging field is to draw from all available sources (for occurrence records) including but not limited to GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and community science platforms, and to consult with taxonomic experts regarding collections and unidigitized specimens.

6.  Context includes information on reasons why a species has declined to the point of being lost. This section might include analyses and data, or (when data are lacking) might be more speculative on forces like habitat loss, climate change, etc. 

7.  Conclusion; this section is flexible, and authors should consider discussing the consequences of the loss of the focal species, which could include lost interactions with other species, altered ecosystem function, and other outcomes.

8.  Remaining items as follows: statement on data accessibility, acknowledgements, literature cited, figure legends, tables, and figures.

Alerts  are the shortest article type and are used to bring a potential loss to the attention of a wider audience. The difference between a Report (see above) and an Alert is the amount of documentation: while Reports include convincing evidence that a species has not been in approximately 10 years, Alerts might be motivated by incidental or indirect evidence of loss over fewer years; or, as another example, Alerts might describe loss or extirpation in some but not all of a geographic range.

Alerts should be not more than 10 manuscript pages (which includes the title page through to the last figure), and will consist of the following elements, listed below.  For alerts covering multiple species, authors should contact the editorial board to discuss the page limit.

1.  Title page with title, authors and affiliations, and indication of article type.

2.  Abstract, in English and a second language relevant to the geography of the focal species, not more than 250 words (for each language version); with 5-8 keywords.

3.  Conservation statement is a short statement, up to 120 words, outlining important messages from the article aimed at conservation practitioners, land managers, and policy makers. 

4.  Overview, which briefly describes the species and the available evidence that suggests disappearance.

5.  Conclusion, emphasizing in particular the next steps that should be taken for rediscovery or to confirm absence.

6.  Remaining items as follows: statement on data accessibility, acknowledgements, literature cited, figure legends, tables, and figures (if figures are needed).

Rediscoveries describe recent observations confirming that a species that was formerly lost has been documented in the wild again. For researchers interested in publishing a rediscovery, we ask authors to send us a pre-submission notice so that we can work ahead to select an appropriate handling editor and find reviewers. The review process will be expedited for rediscovery reports.

Similar to Alerts, Rediscovery articles are brief and should be 10 manuscript pages or less, with the following elements: 

7.  Title page with title, authors and affiliations, and indication of article type.

8.  Abstract, in English and a second language relevant to the geography of the focal species, not more than 250 words (for each language version); with 5-8 keywords.

9.  Conservation statement is a short statement, up to 120 words, outlining important messages from the article aimed at conservation practitioners, land managers, and policy makers. 

10.  Overview, which briefly describes the species and the evidence that it has been found in the wild; quantitative data and images are encouraged.

11.  Conclusion, emphasizing in particular the next steps that should be taken for protection, recovery, and management, as well as additional monitoring and discovery.

12.  Remaining items as follows: statement on data accessibility, acknowledgements, literature cited, figure legends, tables, and figures (if figures are included).

If a Rediscovery article refers to a species previously reported as lost in a JLS article, researchers submitting the rediscovery article will have the opportunity to be in touch with the authors of the original Report that described the loss of the focal species (assuming that they are not already the same people, which is of course possible); this creates the opportunity, at the discretion of the rediscovery authors, for collaboration on the publication of the rediscovery. The new article will be linked digitally through JLS online content to the original article. 

Synopses  are longer than Reports, Alerts, and Rediscoveries because Synopses review the status of a lineage of organisms, either globally or within a region, with the goal of summarizing relatively well known, modern (Anthropocene) extinctions.  Synopses differ from Reports mainly in the degree of certainty and the time involved, which will typically be many decades for species encompassed by a Synopsis article as opposed to the last ten years for a Report.  

For example, the Xerces blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces) was last seen in the early 1940s and could be part of a Synopsis summarizing Anthropocene extinction in Lepidoptera, but would not be a candidate for a Report.  The overarching goal of a Synopsis is to gather what we know for a group of organisms, so that we might more efficiently monitor and report on impending and future losses (that will appear as Reports and Alerts).  We encourage potential authors to contact us with questions if in doubt about Synopses versus Reports and Alerts.

Synopses should be not more than 40 manuscript pages (which includes the title page through to the last figure), and are structured more like traditional articles in many scientific journals, with the following elements:

1.  Title page with title, authors and affiliations, and indication of article type.

2.  Abstract, in English and a second language relevant to the geography of the focal species, not more than 300 words (for each version); with 5-8 keywords.

3.  Introduction to the group of organisms being surveyed, which can take the form of a regional focus (e.g., a particular taxonomic family on a particular continent).

4.  Materials and Methods; if a literature search was involved, enough detail should be reported that results are repeatable.

5.  Results, and Discussion, can optionally be combined into a single section.

6.  Remaining items as follows: statement on data accessibility, acknowledgements, literature cited, figure legends, tables, and figures.

Letters  is a flexible category of articles, and can include opinion pieces, articles on methods development, as well as data papers investigating issues relevant to global change, the Anthropocene, declines in biodiversity, and processes of extirpation and extinction. 

For letters on biodiversity decline, for example using data from monitoring programs, we are most interested in studies that cover ten or more years, and which present information within the context of potentially lost or extinct species (e.g., including species-specific occurrence data when possible).

Letters follow the same formatting guidelines as Synopses (see above), with the exception that authors can deviate from the standard elements as appropriate for the subject (e.g., an opinion piece won't need a Materials and Methods or a Results section).

Preprints

The open access philosophy of JLS is consistent with the use of preprint services such as bioRxiv and Authorea, although JLS encourages discretion and care when making articles available for public access before they have been through peer review, especially when articles involve species likely to attract public attention.

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