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Aims and Scope

Functional Ecology publishes high impact papers on organismal ecology, including physiological, behavioural and evolutionary ecology. At the same time, we are also interested in organism-level studies that have clear and important implications for community and ecosystem processes. Our scope is fairly broad, although more defined than that of some ecological journals. Our focus is squarely on experimental ecology, rather than on work that is largely descriptive. We also tend not to publish papers that investigate population dynamics, unless a study explicitly examines the consequences of individual behaviour or physiology for population dynamics. As behavioural, physiological, or life-history traits become more thoroughly understood at the genomic level, we anticipate that Functional Ecology will publish more articles placing the processes in these areas in an ecological context, bringing to the ecological community the latest research in ‘adaptational issues’.

Read the journal Author Guidelines for more details.

Why publish in Functional Ecology?

Functional Ecology is a leading journal in organismal ecology. It has a dynamic international editorial board led by Editors Duncan Irschick, Chuck Fox, Alan Knapp and Ken Thompson. The journal is aimed at a broad readership of ecologists interested in work that explores in depth the links between the development of organisms and their relationship with nature. If your work is focused on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur then Functional Ecology is a good journal for your work. Our time to first decision is fast at 39 days and we provide our authors with thoughtful consideration of their work. Physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of species are emphasized in standard papers, reviews and forum articles.

The 2010 Functional Ecology ISI® Impact Factor is 4.65 placing the journal 18^th in the ranking of 129 ecology journals.

We have an efficient and author-friendly web-based system for submission and review on ScholarOne Manuscripts. To access the journal on this site please visit: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fe-besjournals