- Journal of Primates
- Open access · CC BY 4.0
Aims and Scope
The Journal of Primates publishes research across all of primatology, including field and laboratory research, with ecology, conservation and evolution as core areas.
What the journal sets out to do
- To publish rigorous research on the behavior, ecology, physiology, genetics and evolution of non-human primates, in the wild and in captivity.
- To support the conservation of primate species and their habitats with evidence on threats, population status and effective management.
- To advance the field, laboratory and analytical methods on which primatology depends.
- To make this research openly available, so that researchers, conservation practitioners, policymakers and educators can read and reuse it freely.
Research areas
The journal considers research on any aspect of primatology, from field studies of wild populations to laboratory investigations. Ecology, conservation and evolution are core areas of the journal, and the journal welcomes work from the full range of disciplines that contribute to the study of primates. The areas below are illustrative and form part of a wider field, including:
- Behavioral ecology and social organization
- Communication, cognition and learning
- Foraging, diet and nutrition
- Ranging, habitat use and spatial ecology
- Population dynamics and demography
- Community ecology and species interactions
- Conservation biology and threatened species
- Human-primate interactions and conflict
- Habitat loss, fragmentation and climate change
- Evolution and phylogenetics
- Population genetics and genomics
- Taxonomy and systematics
- Morphology and functional anatomy
- Fossil primates and paleoprimatology
- Reproduction, life history and development
- Physiology, health and disease ecology
- Captive management, husbandry and welfare
- Laboratory and experimental research on primates
- Reintroduction, translocation and community-based conservation
- Field methods, monitoring and data analysis for primatology
Contributions from the biological, behavioral, genetic, anatomical, paleontological, cognitive, veterinary, social and computational sciences are welcome when they advance understanding of non-human primates. A topic that is not named above is within scope when it meets that test.
Designs and approaches welcomed
The journal considers quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research. Study designs are reported within the article types listed below; a field survey or a captive experiment, for example, is submitted as Original Research.
- Field observation
- Behavioral and ecological observation of wild or free-ranging primates, including long-term studies.
- Surveys and monitoring
- Censuses, transects, camera trapping, acoustic monitoring and other methods for estimating abundance, distribution and trends.
- Experimental and cognitive studies
- Experiments on cognition, learning, perception and behavior, in the field, in sanctuaries, in zoos or in the laboratory.
- Genetic and genomic studies
- Population genetics, phylogeography, comparative genomics and molecular markers.
- Morphology and fossils
- Anatomical, morphometric and paleontological studies of living and extinct primates.
- Health and physiology
- Studies of nutrition, endocrinology, parasites, pathogens and disease ecology in primate populations.
- Modeling and analysis
- Statistical, spatial and simulation models of populations, distributions and evolutionary processes.
- Evidence synthesis
- Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and scoping reviews.
- Methodological research
- New, adapted or validated methods for data collection, measurement and analysis.
What makes a manuscript a fit
Manuscripts are assessed for their relevance to primatology, the soundness of their methods and whether their conclusions are proportionate to the evidence. Studies of wild, semi-free-ranging and captive primates, of fossil and living species, and of laboratory populations are all considered.
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Field notes
Field Notes are accepted when a brief observation adds to knowledge of a species or population, such as a new behavior, a range extension or a population count, and when the place, date and observer effort are reported.
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Commentaries and letters
Commentaries and Letters are accepted when they make a reasoned argument, supported by evidence and cited sources, on a question in primatology or on work published in the journal.
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Descriptive surveys
Descriptive surveys and other descriptive studies are accepted when they report data on primates with clear methods, an appropriate sampling approach and an account of their limitations.
Unsupported opinion, meaning assertion without evidence or reasoned argument, is outside the journal's scope.
Article types
The journal publishes the article types below. Guidance on the structure, abstract and reporting standard for each type is given in the Instructions for Authors.
- Original ResearchEmpirical studies of primates in the field or the laboratory, using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods.
- ReviewSystematic or narrative syntheses of the literature on a defined question in primatology.
- Short CommunicationConcise reports of a focused or preliminary finding.
- MethodsNew, adapted or validated methods for field, laboratory, genetic or analytical work on primates.
- Data NoteDescriptions of datasets of value to primatology, their collection, quality and access.
- Field NoteBrief reports of field observations, such as behavior, range, population counts or new records, with the place, date and observer effort.
- CommentaryEvidence-based argument on a current question in primatology or on published research.
- LetterBrief responses to articles published in the journal, or short observations of relevance to primatology.
Where a manuscript sits between types, authors choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter, and the editors confirm the classification. A scoping review is classified as a Review, a study protocol as Methods, and a brief observation from the field as a Field Note.
Scope questions
Is my topic within scope?
A manuscript is within scope when it advances understanding of non-human primates, whatever its discipline or setting. If you are unsure, send the title and abstract to the editorial office at info@openaccesspub.org before submitting.
Does the journal consider studies of a single site or species?
Yes. Studies of one site, population or species are considered. Authors explain how their findings relate to other populations or species.
Are laboratory and captive studies within scope?
Yes. Laboratory, sanctuary and zoo studies are considered alongside field studies, provided the work meets the ethical requirements in the Editorial Policies.
Can I submit work that has been posted as a preprint?
Yes. Posting a preprint is compatible with submission to the journal. Cite the preprint and its DOI in the cover letter.
Preparing a submission
Read the Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Policies before submitting.