Focus and scope

Ecotrópicos is the scientific publication of the Venezuelan Society of Ecology dedicated to disseminating research on the ecology of tropical systems. Its scope is broad and includes studies on biodiversity, conservation, population and community ecology, natural resource management, ecotechnologies, and methodological advances that contribute to the understanding and management of tropical ecosystems. The journal is committed to publishing works that provide solid, scientifically relevant information with the potential to generate impact in the academic community, environmental management, and biodiversity conservation.

Editorial process

All manuscripts are initially evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief or an associate editor to verify their thematic suitability and compliance with formal requirements. Those that pass this stage will be sent for peer review, either single-blind or double-blind, according to the preference indicated by the author at the time of submission. The editorial process may result in acceptance, acceptance with modifications, a request for major revision, or rejection.

Publication Ethics

Ecotrópicos does not accept manuscripts that are simultaneously under review by other journals. Falsification or manipulation of data, plagiarism, and omission of conflicts of interest are unacceptable practices. The use of generative artificial intelligence tools is permitted only for linguistic assistance, provided that it is explicitly stated and does not replace the authors' original intellectual work.

If errors are detected in a publication, Ecotrópicos will record post-publication updates. In the specific case that an article is found to have engaged in unethical practices after publication, Ecotrópicos may retract the article and issue a Retraction Notice, in accordance with COPE recommendations (COPE Guidelines: Retraction Guidelines, 2019).

Open access policy

Ecotrópicos adopts a diamond open access model: all articles are freely and immediately accessible, with no article processing charges (APCs) or subscription fees for readers. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. Content is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows the material to be shared and adapted with appropriate acknowledgement of the original authorship.

Language and editorial quality

The journal accepts manuscripts in Spanish or English. The text must be written clearly, accurately, and coherently, avoiding ambiguities, redundancies, or grammatical errors. To ensure consistency and accuracy in citations and references, the use of bibliographic management software, such as Zotero (recommended), is mandatory. These programs allow for consistent formatting, the incorporation of complete metadata, and ensure that all DOIs are active and correctly linked.

Copyright

Ecotropicos allows authors to retain the copyright of their works without restrictions. The authors will grant Ecotropicos the right of first publication.

Digital Archiving

In order to digitally preserve all published scholarly content, Ecotrópicos commits to submit the metadata to the PKP Preservation Network. This is to make sure that the published scholarly content remains available to the community despite any accidental loss of data in its personal archival records. Ecotrópicos has further made sure that the metadata of all its open access journals is compliant to well-known repository services and their digital crawlers may regularly collect it for record and preservation.

Self-archiving

Authors are permitted to deposit all versions of their paper in an institutional or subject repository, including:

• Preprint
• Accepted Manuscript
• Published article (Version of Record)