ETHICS AND DISCLOSURES
Ethics and Disclosure
Thank you for considering Species Diversity for the publication of your research. Please review the guidelines below to ensure compliance with our ethical standards and disclosure requirements.
Contents
1. Ethical Standards and Editorial Integrity
Commitment to integrity
The journal is committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity in the content it publishes.
Ethical framework
The journal supports the code of ethics of the "Declaration of Helsinki". Research must be conducted within this framework.
Plagiarism and duplicate publication screening
Submitted manuscripts will be checked for plagiarism and duplicate publication using the Crossref Similarity Check text-matching software.
Publication ethics guidance for misconduct
We endorse and follow the WAME (World Association of Medical Editors) Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals and are guided by COPE guidance, including relevant flowcharts where applicable.
2. Misconduct, Authorship, and Editorial Conduct
Handling suspected misconduct and corrective actions
In cases of suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism or inappropriate reuse), the Editor-in-Chief, together with the Associate Editors (Subject Editors; hereafter, the Associate Editors), will conduct an objective investigation in compliance with COPE guidance. Species Diversity will take appropriate actions commensurate with the nature and severity of the misconduct, which may include requesting raw data, issuing corrections or retractions, and notifying the authors' affiliated institutions.
Confidentiality and impartial editorial decision-making
Species Diversity requires reviewers and Editors to treat submitted manuscripts—and the authors' ideas, data, and results—as strictly confidential. They must not misuse or appropriate unpublished information, plagiarize manuscripts under review, or allow conflicts of interest to influence editorial decisions, including rejection recommendations.
Appeals process
Authors may submit an appeal to the Editor-in-Chief if they have substantial grounds to believe that misconduct or malpractice has occurred in the handling of their manuscript. All substantiated allegations will be treated seriously, and appropriate actions will be taken.
Authorship
Criteria for authorship
Authorship of a manuscript submitted to Species Diversity must be based on all of the following:
- substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data — including, in taxonomic and systematic work, the collection, examination, or identification of specimens, the execution of morphological, molecular, or phylogenetic analyses, or the proposal of nomenclatural acts;
- drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
- approval of the version to be published; and
- agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors, and all those listed as authors should meet all of these criteria. Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet all of the criteria — for example, by providing specimens or funding, offering general supervision, or giving technical or language assistance — should instead be named in the Acknowledgments, with their permission and with a brief description of their contribution. These criteria apply to all peer-reviewed article types published by Species Diversity (Research Articles, Correspondence [taxonomic/nomenclatural notes], and Review Articles). For Corrections and Errata, authorship normally follows that of the original article.
Contributor roles (CRediT)
Species Diversity has adopted the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT; https://credit.niso.org/). Each manuscript must include an Author Contributions statement describing the specific contribution of every author. The list of contributor roles and the required format are given in the "Notice to Contributors" and the "End-of-Article Sections Format". The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that these contribution statements are accurate and have been agreed upon by all authors.
Order of authors
The order in which authors are listed is a joint decision of the co-authors and should be agreed upon before submission. Species Diversity does not prescribe any particular convention for author order, and the Editors do not arbitrate the sequence of authors.
Corresponding author
Each manuscript must designate one corresponding author, who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal throughout submission, peer review, and publication, and who serves as the principal point of contact after publication. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all named authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript, the author list, and the author order before submission; that the contributions of all authors are accurately described; and that all administrative requirements (e.g., research and collection permits, ABS documentation, and the conflict-of-interest and data-availability statements) are properly completed. Page proofs, confirmation of online publication, and the offprint order form are sent to the corresponding author (see the "Notice to Contributors").
Changes to authorship
Authors are strongly advised to determine the complete author list, the author order, and the corresponding author before submission. Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors, or to change the corresponding author, after submission must be:
- initiated by the corresponding author;
- accompanied by a clear explanation of the reason for the change; and
- confirmed in writing by every author, including any author being added or removed.
The Editor-in-Chief will consider requests made during peer review or revision on a case-by-case basis. Changes to the author list, the author order, or the corresponding author are not normally permitted after a manuscript has been accepted.
Unacceptable authorship practices
Species Diversity does not permit guest, honorary, or gift authorship (naming individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria), nor ghost authorship (omitting individuals who qualify as authors). Every person who meets the authorship criteria must be given the opportunity to be listed as an author.
Authorship disputes
Species Diversity treats authorship concerns seriously, including cases in which deserving contributors have been inappropriately omitted, individuals have been added as authors without their knowledge or consent, or allegations of guest, ghost, or gift authorship have been raised. Guided by COPE guidance, the Editor-in-Chief, together with the Associate Editors, will address such concerns objectively. As it is the collective responsibility of the authors — not the journal — to determine that all listed authors meet the criteria, disputes that cannot be resolved among the authors will be referred to the authors' affiliated institution(s) for investigation.
Citations to predatory or deceptive journals
Citations to articles published in predatory or deceptive journals are strongly discouraged. Authors should consult reputable screening resources and guidance when assessing the credibility of journals and publishers.
Corrective actions for confirmed misconduct
Any suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism or inappropriate reuse) will be investigated objectively and, where warranted, the journal will take appropriate corrective actions and publish a correction or retraction notice, as appropriate.
3. Research Ethics and Legal Compliance
Animal welfare and ethics approval
Where applicable, for studies involving live vertebrates or any invertebrates subject to ethical regulation in the authors' jurisdiction, authors must include a statement confirming that the research protocol was reviewed and approved by the relevant institutional and/or national ethics committee (e.g., an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, IACUC; https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/policy-topics/animal-welfare) and must provide the approval/permit number(s) and date(s) in the Declarations section.
Formatting reference
"End-of-Article Sections Format"
Reporting guidelines for in vivo experiments
When reporting in vivo animal experiments, Species Diversity encourages authors to follow the ARRIVE 2.0 (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines (https://arriveguidelines.org/).
Collection of specimens, permits, and ABS compliance
Legal and policy framework for genetic resources
Based on the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), authors are required to comply with all applicable international agreements and legislation governing access to and use of genetic resources, as well as the laws and regulations of the countries where specimens were collected.
Compliance with national and international regulations
Authors must confirm that all specimens were collected and, as applicable, transferred in accordance with relevant national and international laws and agreements, including the CBD, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Permits and ABS documentation in the manuscript
The manuscript must include clear information on research permits, collection permits, and material transfer permits, as well as, where applicable, ABS compliance, including prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT) documentation, such as permit numbers, issuing authorities, and, where relevant, reference/code numbers of official documents and the names of local institutional contacts.
Deposition of Specimens under ABS Requirements
Where the collection and use of genetic resources fall under the Nagoya Protocol, authors must comply with PIC and MAT and all applicable national requirements. Where deposition and/or return of type material is required by PIC and MAT and other applicable ABS requirements, authors must deposit the relevant specimen(s) (including any required type materials) in a recognized collection in the country from which the genetic resources were collected; where specified, voucher specimens must likewise be deposited in (or returned to) that country.
Related information
Please also refer to "Specimen deposition and identifiers" in Section 4. Publication, Copyright, and Conflict of Interest.
Formatting reference
"End-of-Article Sections Format"
ABS advisory editor support (when necessary)
If necessary, the ABS advisory editor will provide suggestions and recommendations to help authors ensure appropriate compliance with these ethical responsibilities.
4. Publication, Copyright, and Conflict of Interest
Peer review, editorial process, and publication
Originality and exclusivity of submission
Manuscripts are submitted for consideration on the understanding that the content has not concurrently been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere.
Peer review model
All manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two reviewers under single-blind peer review (i.e., reviewers remain anonymous to authors), with reviewers selected by the Managing Editor in close consultation with the Associate Editors. Correction or Erratum manuscripts will be checked by the Editors.
Post-review revision checks and standards
Manuscripts revised after peer review will undergo a final round of copy-editing and will be checked for adherence to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), Fourth Edition (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1999), and other relevant requirements, conducted by the Editorial Consultant and the Editor-in-Chief, and will then be returned to the authors for final confirmation.
Publication criterion
The criterion for publication is the scientific merit of the work.
Final responsibility for acceptance
Final responsibility for acceptance of manuscripts lies with the Editor-in-Chief.
Editorial right
The Editor-in-Chief, in close consultation and cooperation with the Associate Editors, the Managing Editor, the Editorial Board, and the Editorial Consultant, reserves the right to make editorial revisions to manuscripts to eliminate ambiguity, improve communication between authors and readers, and ensure consistency with the journal's aims, scope, and editorial direction.
Specimen deposition and identifiers
Type specimens
For manuscripts establishing new species-group names, authors must explicitly fix the name-bearing type(s) and state that the holotype or syntypes will be (or are) deposited in a collection, indicating the name and location of the collection, in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, Art. 16.4.1–16.4.2). Authors should also provide the relevant catalog/registration number(s), where available.
Voucher specimens
Authors are also encouraged to deposit voucher specimens in recognized public repositories and to provide repository and accession/catalog numbers in the declaration part of the manuscript.
Copyright and Licensing
Copyright ownership
A published article becomes the permanent property of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology.
Copyright transfer prior to publication
Prior to its publication, the author(s) should transfer the exclusive copyright of the article, which includes the rights set forth in Articles 27 and 28 of the Japanese Copyright Act, except for the copyright in any supplementary material associated with the article.
Open access licensing (CC BY 4.0) from Volume 28, Issue 2 in 2023
From Volume 28 Issue No. 2 in 2023, all articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source.
Scope of CC BY 4.0 licensing
The contents of the articles are licensed under the CC BY 4.0, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.
Self-archiving policy
After publication, authors may distribute all versions of their articles [submitted version, accepted version (= Author Accepted Manuscript), and published version (= Version of Record)] via institutional repositories or personal websites without applying for permission to the Society. For submitted and accepted versions, authors must explicitly state the version type and also indicate a link to the Version of Record of the article.
Permissions for third-party material
If material from other sources is included in the article, it is the authors' responsibility to obtain appropriate permissions from the copyright holder.
Reproducing Copyrighted Material
If authors wish to use materials from any source published, online or otherwise, necessary permissions must be sought in writing from the authors or publishers who are the copyright holders. In cases where the original material is published under a Creative Commons license, authors should provide appropriate attribution in accordance with the license terms and notify Species Diversity accordingly.
Conflict of Interest: Authors
Authors must disclose any conflict related to the manuscript while submitting the manuscript for consideration inSpecies Diversity. The conflict of interest will be published along with the article. If the study was funded and there was no conflict of interest, the authors must mention "Funding source had no role in study design, data collection, interpretation of results, and manuscript writing". If there is no conflict of interest, authors should state "None" in the Declarations section.
Formatting reference
"End-of-Article Sections Format"
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers and Associate Editors
Reviewers and Associate Editors are also required to disclose any conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript, authors, biases, or competing interests.
5. Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses provided during the journal's editorial process will be used solely for the purposes of this journal and will not be shared with, or disclosed for, any other purpose or to any third party.
6. Data and Supporting Materials
FAIR Data Principles
Species Diversity encourages authors to make data and supporting materials available to readers in accordance with the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), by depositing them in an appropriate public repository.
Data Availability Statement
All submissions must include a Data Availability Statement in the manuscript. The statement must do at least one of the following:
- Acceptable content of the data availability statement
1) provide persistent links to the repository record(s) where the data are deposited; and/or
2) list the relevant identifiers for deposited data (e.g., accession numbers such as DDBJ/GenBank/ENA, and/or DOIs of "Supplementary Figure/Data"); or
3) explicitly state that no additional data are available beyond what is included in the published article (e.g., "All data are included in the published article" or "No additional data are available").
- Formatting reference
"End-of-Article Sections Format"
Exceptions and access conditions
If data cannot be shared publicly due to legal or ethical restrictions (e.g., sensitive information, third-party rights, or conservation concerns such as precise locality data for rare or threatened species), the Data Availability Statement must clearly explain the reason and describe how qualified readers may access the data, where feasible (e.g., via a controlled-access repository, upon reasonable request, or through an authorized data custodian).
For questions not addressed here, please contact the Editorial Committee
( species_diversity@jssz.sakura.ne.jp ).