Theoretical, analytical, experimental, empirical, historical, and descriptive approaches are all appropriate, though preference is given to research and synthesis that leads to generalizations potentially applicable to other species, populations, communities, or ecosystems. Included within the journal are papers on physiological responses of individual organisms to their biotic and abiotic environments, ecological genetics and evolution, the structure and dynamics of populations, interactions among individuals of the same or different species, the behavior of individuals and groups of organisms, the organization of biological communities, landscape ecology, and ecosystems processes.
Papers reporting ecological research on all kinds of organisms and ecosystems are welcome.
New methodologies with a potential for broad use in ecology are also of interest. Papers that are well grounded in ecological theory and have broad implications for environmental policy or resource management may be well suited for publication in Ecological Applications , but are also welcome in Ecology if they meet the general criteria described above. Ecology aims to publish more concise papers than has been the tradition for this journal. Concise publications yield increased interest, allow a greater number of papers and topics to appear in the journal, and provides greater content per page printed. The number and average length of Articles published in Ecology will decrease in the future, and the number of Reports will increase.