Submission of manuscripts

Download PDF Manual

Types of contribution

Research Papers should report the results of original research. The material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a preliminary form.

Short Communications are less than four pages of double spaced manuscript. The title page is the same as that of a full paper without the heading ‘Introduction’.

Review articles on specific themes will be published on invitation by the editor.

The Editorial Board reserves the privilege of returning to the author for revision manuscripts and illustrations which are not in the proper form given in this guide.

Peer Review Process

The submitted manuscript will be checked for plagiarism and carefully examine whether it fits into the aims and scope of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India. If it is found satisfactory, the editor will appoint two independent Expert reviewers for scrutinizing the manuscript. The reviewers will help to find the originality of its technical contents, any obvious errors in facts or logical analysis of data, citation and references and report their opinion to the editor. The manuscript not following the journal style will be returned to the author revision.

A decision will be taken by editors based on the report of the referees and their opinion and these will be intimated to the authors. The manuscript will be send back to authors for revision and editorial corrections and they have to submit within one month. Single blind review system is being followed that the reviewers are anonymous. The authors will be informed about the acceptance/rejection of their papers submitted to the journal.

Editorial Policy

Articles submitted for publication are independently reviewed by at least two referees who are experts in the concerned area. However, manuscripts that do not meet the criteria for publication may be rejected by the Editor without being sent for review. Acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is at the sole discretion of the Editor and Associate Editors.
It is mandatory on the part of the corresponding author to furnish the following certificate at the time of submission of the manuscript through the Head of Department/ Institute on official letter head. The certificate should have the names of all the authors and signature of the lead/ corresponding author.

This is to certify that the reported work in the paper entitled “……..” submitted for publication is an original one and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. I/ we further certify that proper citations to previously published work have been given and no data/ tables/ figures have been quoted verbatim from other publications without giving due acknowledgement and without permission of the author(s). The consent of all the authors of this paper has been obtained for submitting the paper to the journal of the Marine Biological Association of India.

Copyright

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all Authors and by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language without the written consent of the Publisher.

Papers for consideration should be submitted via e-mail to the Editor (e-mail: mail@mbai.org.in mbai@rediffmail.com) or through the web portal of MBAI (www.mbai.org.in)

English language

Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors who are unsure of correct English usage should have their manuscript checked by someone proficient in the language. Manuscripts in which the English is difficult to understand may be returned to the author for revision before scientific review.

Ethics

Subjects of Human or Animal Hazard: Compliance statements are required if the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, or if it involves the use of animal or human subjects. Such studies should adhere to the appropriate ethical guidelines obtained from their home institution or government. A statement indicating that the protocol and procedures employed in the study were ethically reviewed and approved, as well as the name of the body giving approval, must be stated separately in the covering letter.

Format requirements for articles

General

1. Manuscripts should be typewritten, with numbered lines, with wide margins and double spacing throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Avoid excessive usage of italics and bold letters to emphasize part of the text.

2. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order:

Title (should be clear, descriptive and concise)
Name(s) of author(s)
Complete postal address (es) of affiliations
Full telephone and fax number and E-mail address of the corresponding author
Present address (es) of author(s) if applicable
Abstract
Keywords (indexing terms), normally 4-6 items.
Introduction
Material and methods
Results
Discussion (Authors are encouraged to combine Results and Discussion)
Acknowledgements and any additional information concerning research grants, etc.
References
Tables
Figure captions
Figures

3. In typing the manuscript, titles and subtitles should not be run within the text. They should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Use bold face, lower-case letter type for titles; use non-bold, italic letter type for sub-titles.

4. Species names and other Latin terms should be typed in italics.

5. SI units should be used.

6. It is important that the file be saved in MS Word, 12 point (Times New Roman). The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.

Abstracts

The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words. It should provide a very brief introduction to the problem and a statement about the methods used in the study. This should generally be followed by a brief summary of results, including numerical data (means and standard errors, for example). The abstract should end with an indication of the significance of the results. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 4-6 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Abbreviations

Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article: in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Tables

1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and lay-out of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table.

2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.

3. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.

4. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be embedded in the text.

5. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.

6. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.

7. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.

8. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.

Formulae

Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line, e.g., X/Y. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text). Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
Preparation of electronic illustrations

General

Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
Provide all illustrations as separate files.
Provide captions to illustrations separately.
Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

Formats

Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.

Please do not:

1. Embed graphics in your word processor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
2. Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
3. Supply files that are too low in resolution;
4. Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Captions

Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Line drawings

The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, so as not to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustrations. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.

Photographs (halftones)

Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure (plate). Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the caption.

Colour illustrations

Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print.

Please note: Should your illustrations be printed in black and white, do not use colour in your drawings.

References

1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of author's names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.

2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed - if necessary - by a short reference to appropriate pages.

3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al.". This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list, names of first author and all co-authors should be mentioned.

4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates - publications of the same author with one co-author - publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1994a, 1994b, etc.

5. Use the following system for arranging your references:

a. For periodicals
Alagaraja, K. 1962. Observations on the length- weight relationship of pearl oyster. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. India, 4: 198- 205.

b. For proceedings of symposia, special issues etc.
Damodaran, N., J. Toll, M. Pendleton, C. Mulligan, D. Deforest, M. Kluck, M.S. Brancato and J. Felmy. 1999. Cost analysis of TBT self-polishing copolymer paints and tin-free alternatives for use on deep-sea vessels. In: A. Champ, T.J. Fox and A. J. Mearns (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Treatment of Regulated Discharges from Shipyards and Drydocks, Vol. 4, Marine Technology Society, Washington D. C. 20036. p. 153 -168.

c. For books
Vivekanandan, E. 2005. Stock Assessment of Tropical Marine Fishes. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 115 pp.

d. For multi-article books
Callow, M. 1999. The status and future of biocides in marine biofouling prevention. In: M. Fingerman, R. Nagabhushanam and M. Thompson (Eds.) Recent Advances in Marine Biotechnology, Vol. 3, New Hampshire. Science Publishers, Inc. p. 109- 126.

6. Titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references should be abbreviated following ISO 4 standard. The ISSN word abbreviations, for example, can be found at http://www.issn.org/Istwa.html.

7. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.

8. Papers accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press".

9. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.

Nomenclature

1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

2. All biota (invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used.

3. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should be likewise identified.

4. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.

After acceptance

Proofs

One set of page proof in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post).

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to the Editor in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by post.

Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that we may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Reprints

The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail.
Journal of Marine Biological Association of India has no page charges. However, photographs if wanted by the author(s), will be printed in colour and charge.