North Queensland Naturalist

North Queensland Naturalist – Scope

 

 

The North Queensland Naturalist (NQN) is a peer-reviewed journal of natural history, ecology and conservation, publishing papers about plants, animals, ecosystems and the management of areas for which conservation is a priority.  Contributions are welcome from field naturalists, conservation practitioners, students, professional researchers, and other interested persons.  The journal particularly encourages submissions from Indigenous people, or people representing Indigenous groups.  Manuscripts may:

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• comprise reports of interesting behaviours or extensions to known range;

• present results of surveys or research;

• present Indigenous Knowledge;

• be reviews, species profiles or identification keys and notes for groups of taxa;

• be historical discourse relevant to natural history; or

• other related material.

 

Correspondence is also encouraged where it fosters the exchange of ideas or provides observations which enhance the value of previous reports.  Authors who have prepared taxonomic revisions are encouraged to submit these to specialised taxonomic journals rather than to NQN.

 

The journal’s geographic scope is tropical Queensland – any part of the state north of the Tropic of Capricorn including far-inland, coastal and adjacent marine areas – and including nearby areas for which there is no alternative journal.

 

Manuscripts must be original, unpublished and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.  They should be placed in the context of published literature and knowledge, and be appropriately referenced. Manuscripts will generally take the form of a Research Article, Short Note, Review or Profile – see the Guide for Authors for more detail.  NQN is not intended to replace or compete with club newsletters:  excursion reports, unreferenced observations and species lists without considerable supporting material will not normally be considered.  If in doubt about the suitability of your material, please discuss this with a member of the panel of editors before preparing your manuscript.  Assistance with the preparation of maps is also available for authors who do not have access to GIS services – please contact the editor about this – see Contact page for details.

 

All manuscripts will be appraised by a scientific editor and subject to review by at least one expert in the field of interest – the reviewer(s).  Acceptance for publication is not guaranteed but NQN is supportive of those with original, relevant material, including the work of amateur naturalists.  NQN encourages collaboration between authors, reviewers and editors, although reviewers retain the right to anonymity if they prefer.  Authors can reasonably be expected to revise manuscripts in the light of comments from editors and reviewers.  For those not familiar with the scientific process, help with the preparation of manuscripts is available – please contact a member of the panel of editors for assistance.

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The papers published in Volume 46 illustrate a range of potential paper types and styles that are welcome.