About the Journal of Zoological Research
Peer-reviewed, open-access scholarship advancing the understanding of animal diversity, ecology, evolution, and conservation across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide.
Zoological research demands precision, reproducibility, and contextual depth. JZR provides a responsive publishing platform for studies that advance animal biology through experimental rigor, field observations, comparative analyses, and conservation applications. Our editorial board — comprising systematists, behavioral ecologists, population geneticists, conservation biologists, and wildlife ecologists — evaluates submissions for methodological soundness, novelty, and translational significance.
- Rigorous Peer Review: Each manuscript undergoes expert evaluation focusing on study design, statistical robustness, ecological validity, and contribution to zoological theory and practice.
- Rapid Publication: Streamlined editorial workflows deliver first decisions within 12 days and move accepted manuscripts online within 48 hours of final approval.
- Global Open Access: All articles are freely accessible worldwide under CC BY 4.0, enabling unrestricted use in conservation planning, education, and policy development.
- Author Copyright Retention: Authors maintain full copyright, facilitating reuse in teaching, grant reports, institutional repositories, and derivative scholarship.
- Broad Discoverability: Published articles are indexed across academic databases, conservation networks, and institutional libraries to maximize citation potential and practical uptake.
- Ethical Transparency: JZR adheres to COPE guidelines and requires documented ethics approvals, data sharing statements, and conflict of interest disclosures for all submissions.
JZR publishes original research, reviews, and methodological advances across the full spectrum of zoological disciplines. We encourage submissions that integrate molecular, organismal, and ecological perspectives to address fundamental and applied questions in animal biology and conservation.
Mating systems, foraging strategies, social organization, communication, predator-prey dynamics, and behavioral adaptations to environmental change.
Population structure, demographic modeling, metapopulation dynamics, species distribution, habitat selection, and density-dependent processes.
Threatened species assessments, habitat restoration, human-wildlife conflict, protected area effectiveness, reintroduction programs, and biodiversity monitoring.
Population genetics, phylogeography, molecular systematics, evolutionary diversification, adaptive evolution, and genomic approaches to taxonomy.
Species interactions, food web dynamics, nutrient cycling, pollination biology, seed dispersal, and ecosystem services provided by animal communities.
Functional morphology, anatomical adaptations, physiological ecology, biomechanics, sensory biology, and comparative physiology in ecological contexts.
Species descriptions, taxonomic revisions, morphometric analyses, molecular systematics, biogeography, and integrative taxonomy combining multiple data sources.
Ontogeny, metamorphosis, life history evolution, reproductive strategies, parental care, and developmental plasticity in natural populations.
JZR's editorial workflow is designed for efficiency without compromising quality. Authors benefit from clear communication, structured feedback, and defined timelines at every stage.
Prepare Your Manuscript
Review JZR's Instructions for Authors and format your submission according to structural, ethical, and reporting requirements. Ensure institutional ethics approvals, data availability statements, and author contributions are documented.
Submit Electronically
Use the online submission portal or email manuscripts to [email protected]. Include a cover letter (≤500 words) summarizing the study's significance, novelty, and alignment with JZR's scope.
Editorial Screening & Peer Review
Submissions undergo initial scope and ethics assessment followed by single-blind peer review by specialists in your research area. Reviewers evaluate methodological rigor, statistical approaches, ecological interpretation, and conservation relevance.
Revision & Resubmission
Authors receive detailed feedback with clear revision expectations. Revised manuscripts are typically reassessed within 7–10 days, ensuring minimal delays while maintaining editorial standards.
Acceptance & Online Publication
Accepted manuscripts undergo copyediting and author proof review (48-hour turnaround). Final articles are published online within 2 days and assigned DOIs for immediate citation and indexing.
JZR expects manuscripts to meet high standards of clarity, reproducibility, and ethical compliance. Authors must adhere to established reporting guidelines and provide sufficient methodological detail for replication.
Manuscript Structure
- Abstract: ≤500 words summarizing objectives, methods, key findings, and conservation or ecological implications
- Introduction: Research context, knowledge gaps, and study objectives with clear hypotheses or research questions
- Materials & Methods: Study site descriptions, sampling protocols, data collection methods, statistical analyses, and ethics approvals
- Results: Findings presented logically with supporting figures, tables, and statistical summaries
- Discussion: Interpretation of results, comparison with existing literature, conservation implications, study limitations, and future directions
- Conclusion: Concise summary of key findings and broader significance
- References: Complete citations following journal formatting guidelines
Additional Requirements
- Language: Manuscripts must be in English, professionally edited for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Authors may access JZR's language editing service.
- Figures & Tables: High-resolution images (≥300 dpi), clearly labeled axes, scale bars for micrographs, and concise captions that enable standalone interpretation
- Data Sharing: Authors are encouraged to deposit raw data, code, and supplementary materials in public repositories (Dryad, Figshare, Zenodo) and provide access statements
- Ethics Documentation: Animal research must include institutional ethics committee approvals, sampling permits, and adherence to ARRIVE guidelines or equivalent standards
- Originality: Submissions must be original, not published elsewhere, and not under consideration by other journals
Leadership in Zoological Science
JZR's editorial board comprises internationally recognized zoologists spanning systematics, ecology, behavior, genetics, conservation, and physiology. Board members provide content expertise, maintain editorial standards, and ensure balanced geographical and methodological representation in published research.
The board's collective expertise encompasses terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems across invertebrate and vertebrate taxa, enabling comprehensive peer review across zoology's diverse subdisciplines. Associate editors manage topical pipelines to maintain rapid yet rigorous evaluation for all submissions.
All JZR articles are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), granting readers worldwide free access to use, distribute, and build upon published work with proper attribution. Authors retain copyright, facilitating integration into conservation plans, teaching materials, grant applications, and policy documents.
A modest article processing charge (APC) supports editorial operations, peer review coordination, and publication infrastructure. JZR offers APC waivers and discounts for authors from low- and middle-income countries, students, and unfunded research. Contact [email protected] to discuss support options.
Advance Zoological Knowledge with JZR
Whether your research investigates animal behavior, population dynamics, conservation strategies, evolutionary processes, or ecosystem interactions, JZR offers a rigorous and responsive platform for disseminating your findings to the global zoological community.
