The Auk

Instructions to Authors

These instructions are also available as a PDF document (324K, 4pp) that may be viewed or printed using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Manuscripts up to 40 pages, including title page, abstract (maximum 250 words), text, tables and figures, will be considered for publication. All submissions to The Auk must be made online using the American Ornithologists' Union author portal in ScholarOne Manuscripts ™ (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ucpress-auk), the online manuscript submission and peer-review system of The Auk.

Authors will be asked to register the first time they enter the site. After receiving a password, authors can proceed to upload their manuscripts through a step-by-step process. Help is always available in the "Get Help Now" link found in the top right corner of the ScholarOne page and the "Resources" menu on the right side of the logon page. Additional help is available from the Review Manager ().

Text files must be submitted as Word or WordPerfect files. Suitable graphic formats include TIFF, EPS, or JPEG. Mixed text and graphics are acceptable in MS Word or WordPerfect with embedded graphics formats. Manuscripts that do not conform to the following guidelines either will be returned or will experience protracted delays in the review process.

I. General Instructions

• Format your manuscripts for 8.5- × 11-inch paper, 12-point font, double-spaced throughout, including tables, figure legends, and literature cited. In general, manuscripts should be formatted similar to papers in a recent issue of The Auk.
• Leave at least a 1-inch (25-mm) margin on all sides. Do not hyphenate words at ends of lines.
• The manuscript should be paginated, and lines within pages should be numbered.

• Use italic type instead of underlining words to be italicized.
• Only the following Latin terms should be italicized: in vivo, in vitro, in utero, in situ, ad libitum, a priori, and a posteriori. All other Latin terms (except scientific names) should be left unitalicized.
• Cite each figure and table in the text. Tables and figures must be sequenced in the order cited.
• Use "Figure" only outside of parentheses; otherwise, use "Fig." if singular, "Figs." if plural (e.g., Fig. 2; Figs. 2 and 3; Figs. 3-6).
• To cite figures or tables from another work, write figure or table in lowercase (e.g., figure 2 in Smith 1980; table 5 in Jones 1987).
• All measurements are to be given in SI units.
• Use continental dating (e.g., 29 September 1992), the 24-hour clock (e.g., 0800 and 2300 hours), and standard time (not daylight savings time). Specify that it is Standard Time (e.g., EST for Eastern Standard Time) at first reference to time of day.
• English names of bird species that occur in North America and Middle America should follow the 7th edition of the AOU Check-list of North American Birds and its supplements. English names of birds should be capitalized. Names for other species should follow an appropriate standard. English names of other organisms should be capitalized.
• Use the following abbreviations: s (second), min (minute), h (hour); designate temperature as 36°C. Do not abbreviate day, week, month, or year.
• For user-defined abbreviations, write out words in full the first time a term is used in the text. Abbreviate thereafter: "Second-year (SY) birds . . . We found SY birds in large numbers."
• Use the following statistical abbreviations: ANOVA, SD, SE, df, CV, NS, n, P, r, F, G, χ 2, t-test, U-test. Other statistical abbreviations, in general, should conform to sixth edition of Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (1994, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom).
• Numbers: Write out one to nine unless a measurement, but use numerals for larger numbers (e.g., three birds, 6 mm, 12 days, 2 min). If number is in a series with at least one number being 10 or more, then use all numerals (e.g., 6 males and 13 females). Use 1,000 not 1000, 0.01 not .01, and 50% instead of 50 percent.
• All gene or amino acid sequences must be deposited in GenBank or an equivalent repository, and the accession number(s) reported in the Methods.
• Five to seven key words, which summarize the major findings of the study, should be placed after the English abstract. They are to be arranged alphabetically.
• Each reference cited in the text must be listed in the Literature Cited section and vice versa. Please use original publications to check references when the manuscript is complete.
• Literature citations in text are to be as follows:
1. One author: Able (1989) or (Able 1989).
2. Two authors: Able and Baker (1989) or (Able and Baker 1989).
3. Three or more authors: Able et al. (1989) or (Able et al. 1989). In Literature Cited section, give names of all authors.
4. Manuscripts that are accepted for publication but not yet published: Able (1996) if date known.
5. Unpublished materials: (K. P. Able unpubl. data); (K. P. Able pers. obs.); or (K. P. Able pers. comm.).
6. Within parentheses: (Charley 1980; Able 1983, 1990; Able and Baker 1984); (Baker 1989, Able 1992, Charley 1996); (Able 1988a, b, c).
• Assemble manuscript in following order: (1) Title Page; (2) Abstract; (3) Key Words; (4) Text; (5) Acknowledgments; (6) Literature Cited; (7) Tables; (8) Figure Legends; (9) Figures; and (10) Appendices, if needed.
• When submitting your manuscript, do not attach or upload your Cover Letter and Rebuttal. The Cover Letter and Rebuttal are to be inserted in the boxes provided on the Submission Form.

II. Title Page

Number Title Page as page 1, and present items in following order, all in 12 point font:

• LRH: Last names of authors (in small capitals). List individual last names for up to three authors; for ≥ 4 use name of first author with et al. (e.g., Jones et al.)
• RRH: Running head (36 characters or less; in small capitals). Running head not needed for Commentaries.
• Title in capital letters.
• Author names.
• Author addresses at time research was carried out. They should be italicized. Current addresses, if different, should be indicated as footnotes at bottom of title page. Footnotes are not used except to indicate current addresses of authors, author's current e-mail address, or death of an author.
• Name, current address, and e-mail address of corresponding author.

III. Text (page 2, etc.)

• Follow the instructions in section I.
• Do not repeat information given on title page.
• The following are typical main headings: Abstract, Key Words, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, and Literature Cited. There is no heading for the Introduction and because there is an Abstract, there is no “Conclusions” or “Summary” section.
• There is a maximum of 250 words for the Abstract.
• Keep headings to a minimum. Most manuscripts have two levels of headings: (1) centered caps and small caps, (2) indented italics with only the first word capitalized followed by a period, a dash, and the text. If three levels of headings are required use: (1) centered caps and small caps, (2) flush left caps and lower case, (3) indented italics with only the first word capitalized followed by a period, a dash, and the text.

IV. Literature Cited (continue page numbering)

• Verify all entries against original sources, especially journal titles, volume and page numbers, accents, diacritical marks, and spelling in languages other than English. Capitalize all nouns in German.
• Cite references in alphabetical order by first author's surname and then his/her initials. References by a single author precede multi-authored works by same first author, regardless of date. Listings with multiple authors are done by first author's name (surname and then initials), second author's name, etc.
• List works by the same author(s) in chronological order, beginning with earliest date of publication. If author has two works in same year, place in order of first citation in text; these works should be lettered consecutively (e.g., 1991a, b).
• "In press" citations must have been accepted for publication, with the name of journal or publisher included with year and volume number.
• Do not write author names in uppercase. Use "normal" case (e.g., Hendricks, D. P.) or the "small caps" command. Insert a period and space after each initial of an author's name, and note that a comma always precedes the "and" in a list of authors' names.
• Journal titles should be written in full and not abbreviated. Book titles should be capitalized.
• Citations should follow formats given below:

Papers

Browne, R. A., C. R. Griffin, P. R. Chang, M. Hubley, and A. E. Martin. 1993. Genetic divergence among populations of the Hawaiian Duck, Laysan Duck, and Mallard. Auk 110:49-56.

Fahrig, L., and G. Merriam. 1994. Conservation of fragmented populations. Conservation Biology 8:50-59.

Roth, R. R., and R. K. Johnson. 1993. Long-term dynamics of a Wood Thrush population breeding in a forest fragment. Auk 110:37-48.

Willis, E. O., and Y. Oniki. 1978. Birds and army ants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 9:243-263.

Dissertations, Books, Chapters

American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds, 7th ed. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Freeman, S. 1990. Molecular systematics and morphological evolution in the blackbirds. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle.

Gaunt, A. S. 1988. Interaction of syringeal structure and airflow in avian phonation. Pages 915-924 in Acta XIX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici (H. Ouellet, Ed.). National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario.

Kear, J. 1970. The adaptive radiation of parental care in waterfowl. Pages 357-392 in Social Behaviour in Birds and Mammals (J. H. Crook, Ed.). Academic Press, London.

Lack, D. 1954. The Natural Regulation of Animal Numbers. Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Lowther, P. E. 1993. Brown-headed Cowbird ( Molothrus ater). In The Birds of North America, no. 47 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Walsberg, G. E. 1983. Avian ecological energetics. Pages 161-220 in Avian Biology, vol. 7 (D. S. Farner, J. R. King, and K. C. Parkes, Eds.). Academic Press, New York.

Electronic Sources

Due to the transitory nature of many websites, avoid using electronic sources wherever possible. If an electronic source is used, it must be accessible and not password protected. Please double-check that the source is still available at the time of submission.

Keitt, T. H., D. L. Urban, and B. T. Milne. 1997. Detecting critical scales in fragmented landscapes. Conservation Ecology 1, article 4. [Online.] Available at www.consecol.org/vol1/iss1/art4.

V. Tables (continue page numbering)

• Tables are to be submitted as editable Word files in Table format or tab-delimited format, not as pictures.
• Each table must start on separate page and be double-spaced throughout (header, table body, footnotes). Table numbers should be Arabic numerals followed by a period.
• Capitalize first word of the table heading; all other words should be lowercase unless a proper noun. Include a period at end of the heading. See recent issues for examples.
• Indicate footnotes by lowercase superscript letters (a, b, c, etc.).
• Do not use vertical lines in tables.
• Include horizontal lines above and below boxhead, and at end of table. Follow details of style used in The Auk for headings in boxhead.

VI. Figure Legends (continue page numbering)

• Start with "Fig.". Indent and double space legends. Type legends in paragraph form.
• Do not include "exotic symbols" (lines, dots, triangles, etc.) in figure legends; either label them in figure or refer to them by name in legend.

VII. Preparation of Illustrations

• Figures intended for final production (not for reviewing purposes) must be uploaded as separate files in ScholarOne. They must have a minimum resolution of 600 dpi. For line art, the preferred resolution is 1200 dpi. Acceptable file formats include EPS, TIF, JPG, and BMP.
• Routine illustrations are black and white halftones (photographs), drawings, or graphs. Figures in The Auk are virtually identical to those submitted (little degradation occurs, but flaws will show). Therefore, illustrations should be prepared to professional standards. Illustrations should be prepared for one- (3.5") or two-column width (7"), keeping in mind the overall dimensions of a page in The Auk.
• Color reproduction in figures is accepted only where necessary and at the expense of the authors ($300 per page). Color images must be saved in CMYK mode.
• Group multiple, related illustrations as panels in a single figure (Fig. 1A, B, etc.) so that they can be placed on the same page.
• Helvetica or a similar sans serif typeface is recommended for figures. Handwritten or typed symbols are unacceptable. Halftone figures and plates must be of good quality for review purposes.
• Contact the Managing Editor () if you have difficulties with your figures.

VIII. What and Where to Submit

Initial Submission

• All manuscripts must be submitted electronically online using ScholarOne (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ucpress-auk). Authors will be asked to register the first time they enter the site. After receiving a password, authors can proceed to the Author Center and upload their manuscripts through a step-by-step process. Help with this procedure can be obtained online or by contacting the Review Manager (). NOTE: Only fields with the tag "req" need to be completed.
• A cover letter must accompany all new submissions. This letter can be typed directly into ScholarOne or uploaded as a file. This letter should include any special instructions and any address changes during the next several months, as well as a daytime phone number, fax, and e-mail address for the corresponding author. This letter should include a statement indicating that the manuscript reports on original research not published elsewhere and that it is submitted exclusively to The Auk.

Revisions

• Revisions must be submitted online through the author's ScholarOne account.
• The cover letter and rebuttal should be entered directly into the ScholarOne online submission form and should address all comments from reviewers, Associate Editor, and Editor. If the rebuttal file is too large for the box on the submission form, it may be submitted as a Supplemental File.

IX. Proofs, Reprints, and Charges

• Authors will receive copyedited and page proofs for approval, which must be returned by e-mail within 48 hours to avoid publication delays. Because changes in proofs are time-consuming, authors should not expect to make major modifications in their work at this stage. Authors should update their ScholarOne accounts and keep the Managing Editor () informed of e-mail address changes, so proofs will not be delayed.
• Authors will receive a gratis final PDF and information on ordering reprints of their article with the page proofs.
• Color reproduction in figures is accepted only where necessary and at the expense of the authors ($300 per page). This fee cannot be waived.
• The AOU requests that authors bear all or part of the cost of publishing their papers when grant, institutional, or personal funds are available for this purpose. Current costs per printed page are US $100. Authors who do not have access to publication funds may request a waiver of a portion of this payment from Scott Gillihan, the AOU Executive Director ().

Example

An example of a correctly formatted paper can be found at the end of the Instructions for Authors document:

• PDF (Adobe Acrobat) version
• DOC (Microsoft Word) version

If you have questions, contact the Editor by e-mail (), telephone (503-725-8734), or fax (503-725-3888) or contact the Review Manager ().

[Revised: July 2012]