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  Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
   
     
   

Herpetological Review Information

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      Herpetological Review accepts commercial advertising. For rates and ad submission details, please check here for display advertising information in (pdf).

Availability of Back Issues
      Current and back issues of most numbers of Herpetological Review are available from the SSAR Publications Secretary (e-mail:ssar@herplit.com). Please visit www.herplit.com/SSAR for availability and prices for all SSAR publications.

Information for Contributors to Herpetological Review

      Herpetological Review is a peer-reviewed quarterly that publishes, in English, articles and notes of a semi-technical or non-technical nature, as well as book reviews, institutional features, commentaries, regional and international herpetological society news, and letters from readers directed to the field of herpetology. Articles reporting the results of experimental research, descriptions of new taxa, or taxonomic revisions are not published in HR, but should be submitted to the Journal of Herpetology (http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/JHinstr.php). Please consult SSAR's Ethics Statement prior to submitting manuscripts to Herpetological Review.

Range Extensions & Natural History Notes
      Please send these directly to the appropriate Section Editor. All submissions must be via email, as attached text files in RTF or MS Word format. The following list of Section Editors is current as of February 2010.

Geographic Distribution

Natural History Notes

      For details on preparation of notes for either of these sections, please click on the links below:

Geographic Distribution
Natural History Notes


Amphibian Diseases

   This section offers a timely outlet for streamlined presentation of research exploring the geographic distribution, host range, and impact of emerging amphibian pathogens, especially the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranaviruses. Bd is an emerging pathogen linked to mass mortality and declines of amphibians worldwide, yet Bd has also been detected in amphibians without disease. Ranaviruses also cause mass mortality, but have not yet been linked to large-scale declines. We know relatively little about their global distribution, host range, or impacts on host populations. To improve our understanding of the scope of this issue, we encourage submission of studies that illuminate the geographic distribution, host ranges, and impact of these pathogens on amphibian populations, including research on individual species or groups of species, wild or captive animals, native or non-native species, live animals or museum specimens, environmental samples, and, provided there is sufficient sampling1, reports of non-detections.

We ask authors to: 1) restrict the Introduction of their paper to a maximum of two paragraphs to highlight the context of their study; 2) briefly include both field and laboratory Methods; 3) present Results in a Table, although a map might also be useful, and limited text; and 4) have a short discussion of a maximum of three paragraphs to touch upon key findings. Please include the following information in submissions as appropriate: coordinates and description of sampling areas (or please note if locations are extremely sensitive to reveal, and provide general area instead); species name(s) and life history stages examined, as well as other species present; whether samples were collected randomly or just from dead or moribund animals; date of specimen collection; evidence of unusual mortality; numbers of positive and negative samples; disposition of voucher specimens; name of collaborative laboratory or researcher conducting histological sections or PCR analyses; and names of cooperative land owners or land management agencies. We encourage researchers to conduct post-mortem examinations when possible to identify the cause of death when reporting mortalities. We aim to expedite the review and publication process! Please e-mail submissions directly to Associate Editor, Dr. Dede Olson.
1If a sample of 30 individuals of a particular life history stage of a particular species yields no positive results, and the diagnostic test is highly sensitive, one can conclude that the prevalence of infection is less than 10% with 95% confidence. With a sample of 10 an infection in one of four individuals could go undetected. We encourage researchers to collect sufficient samples that negative results are meaningful.

Standard Manuscripts (including Articles, Techniques, Herpetological Husbandry, Recent Population Changes, Herpetological History, Points of View, Letters to the Editor)
      Please send these directly to the Editor (Robert Hansen; HerpReview@gmail.com). Electronic submission is strongly encouraged to expedite reviews and reduce costs to the society. Manuscript files should be sent as e-mail attachments in RTF, MS Word, or PDF format. If file sizes are large (i.e., greater than 1 MB), please use a standard compression utility (e.g., zip) to reduce file size before sending via email. Questions about any of this should be directed to the Editor.

Style and Formatting

  1. Double-space the entire ms., including the lit cites.
  2. Do NOT include an abstract, as HR does not publish these.
  3. Do pay careful attention to proper lit cite format, as this is typically the biggest problem area and only results in publication delays and aggravated editors.
  4. If English is not your primary language and you think your manuscript could benefit from a pre-review process, please check this link to SSAR's Presubmission Manuscript Review service (http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/presub.html).
  5. Illustrations should be discussed in the text and numbered sequentially with Arabic numbers. References to illustrations should be placed in parentheses at the end of sentences. (Also, please read "Graphics Materials/Art Files" below for details concerning how to send figures).

Editorial Conventions

  1. For legends, use Fig. 1, Table 3 (no bolding, small caps, and Fig. rather than Figure).
  2. 0800 h and 24 h (note spacing).
  3. Temperatures as 24°C (note spacing).
  4. Sample size use upper case N (not italicized), and N = 7 (note spacing).
  5. Literature citation for HR is Herpetol. Rev.
  6. Spacing items: 78 ± 2.6; P = 0.56; 6-20%; mid-April; 0.5 m
  7. Alphabetize references within a series, separated by a semi-colon: (Aaronsen 1955; Burger 1923; Parker 1972).
  8. Spell out all state/province names (e.g., Arizona, not AZ).
  9. Include country in all postal addresses (e.g., Berkeley, California 94720, USA).
  10. Avoid use of personal/professional titles in Acknowledgments (e.g., We thank John W. Jones rather than Dr. John W. Jones).
  11. A period should be followed by a single space.
  12. Regarding proper use of dashes:
    Use a single dash (-) for hyphens. Use a n-dash (–) to indicate a range (such as page numbers, or specimen series; e.g., pp. 21–25) Use a m-dash (—) to show a break in a sentence, or to set off sections of a manuscript. Example: Methods.—
  13. For GPS coordinates, preferred format is decimal degrees (e.g., XX.XXXX°N, XXX.XXXX°W). Note spacing and punctuation.
  14. Examples of proper literature citation formats:

For an article in a journal or serial publication.

    Smith, J. W. 1988. Distributional notes on amphibians of eastern Texas. Texas J. Sci. 42:12-14.

For a book or monograph.

    Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.

For an article or chapter within a book.

    Auffenberg, W. L., and W. W. Milstead. 1965. Reptiles in the Quaternary of North America. In H. E. Wright, Jr., and D. G. Frey (eds.), The Quaternary of the United States, pp. 557-568. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

For further guidelines, authors should consult Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and P ublishers (6th edition, 1994, Council of Biology Editors, Inc., 11 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1400, Chicago, Illinois 60603, USA).

Animal Care and Permits: The Society feels strongly that all animals used in research be treated humanely and ethically. The Society has published a guide (jointly issued by ASIH and HL) for appropriate treatment of amphibians and reptiles used in field research, and all contributors to HR are expected to comply with these guidelines. In addition, HR requires a statement indicating that authors have complied with all applicable institutional Animal Care guidelines, and that all required state and federal permits have been obtained. This statement should be included with your manuscript submission cover letter and should also be referenced in the ms. "Acknowledgments."

Graphics Materials/Art Files: Illustrative material (e.g., tables, photographs, diagrams, etc.) should be sent with initial manuscript submissions as low-resolution digital files (as PDFs or JPEGs) or imbedded as figures within the ms. text file. Please do not send original figures at time of ms. submission. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, you have two options: 1) you can send originals via US Mail or courier (with appropriate precautions taken to ensure delivery without damage) and we will take care of the scanning, or 2) you can submit these materials electronically. Download "Guidelines for Submission of Digital Art Files" in (pdf) or (html) for specific digital file requirements.

Book Reviews
   Review copies of books should be sent directly to the Book Review Editor (Aaron Bauer, Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Ave, Villanova, PA 19085; email: aaron.bauer@villanova.edu).

News Items, Meeting Listings
   Please send meeting announcements, news items, and related materials to the Editor ( Robert Hansen; HerpReview@gmail.com) well in advance of the desired publication date (e.g., by 1 January for the March issue).

Reprints
   Herpetological Review now uses EzReprint, a user-friendly, automated online system for purchasing article reprints. Prior to publication of the issue, authors of articles, natural history notes, and book reviews will receive an e-mail with a unique URL (SmartLink) and information about the reprint order process. Clicking on the SmartLink will take you directly to a web portal where you may place your reprint order. This offer will not automatically be made to authors of Geographic Distribution notes; reprint inquiries for these can be directed to the editor.

Missing or Damaged Issue?
If you determine that your issue of H.R. or J. Herp is missing or if the issue arrived in damaged condition, please notify the SSAR Publications Office at: ssar@herplit.com

Herp Review Staff

Editor:
Robert W. Hansen: HerpReview@gmail.com
Snail-mail to:
Editor, Herpetological Review
16333 Deer Path Lane
Clovis, CA 93619-9735 USA
OR:
tel 559-323-7170

Managing Editor:
- - - - - - -

Associate Editors:

Section Editors: