Special Issue Guidelines

The mission of the Waterbird Society is to foster the study, management and conservation of the world’s aquatic birds. The Society’s primary goals are to: (1) promote basic and applied research on waterbirds and their habitats; (2) to foster science-based waterbird conservation globally, and (3) to enhance communication and education at all levels among professionals, policy makers, and citizens by publishing an international peer-reviewed journal, hosting scientific meetings, and facilitating other outreach activities.

In support of its mission, the Society publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journal Waterbirds quadrennially. In addition, the Society occasionally publishes and distributes to its membership special issues of Waterbirds to further its communication and education goals. Special Issues are often more focused in content than are regular issues and sometimes result from symposia presented at the annual scientific meeting of the Waterbird Society. Special Issues can either be a stand-alone issue or a focused section within a regular issue. The Society welcomes for consideration proposals to publish Special Issues.

Editorship of a Special Issue

Parties wishing to have the Waterbird Society publish a Special Issue are required to obtain the permission of the Editor of Waterbirds. A proposal describing rationale, contributors, readership, timeline and financing should be submitted to the Editor for review.

The Editor of Waterbirds will be the final editorial authority for all Special Issues. All publications shall be of the style and standards in current use in Waterbirds. Scientific papers should be refereed and the final versions approved by the Editor of Waterbirds. The sponsoring group should nominate two or more experienced Guest Editors, who shall be approved by the Editor of Waterbirds on behalf of the Society.

Responsibilities of Guest Editors include 1) tracking submission and acceptance dates, 2) setting deadlines for paper submissions and revisions, and 3) obtaining special cover artwork if desired.

Financing a Special Issue

All costs associated with a Special Issue are the responsibility of the sponsoring group. These costs include, but are not limited to, printing and mailing to all current members of the Waterbird Society and any extra copies wanted by the sponsoring group. Costs to be paid by the sponsoring group also include the costs to convert the document to electronic format and include editorial assistance costs. The sponsoring group will negotiate directly with the Editor to determine whether financial compensation is required with respect to the editing and proofing processes, and obtain an estimate of what those costs might be.

All costs will be collected under the auspices of the sponsoring group. The tax exempt status of the Society does not extend to fund-raising by the sponsoring group. The sponsoring group may sell or provide for free a reasonable number of extra issues they ordered.

The process to produce a Special Issue (whether stand-alone or included with a regular issue) is the same peer reviewed process as producing the Waterbirds journal and can take a year or more. Any group wanting to produce a Special Issue should begin the process of peer review and acquiring the funding early. Any group wishing to sponsor a Special Issue should work closely with the Editor of Waterbirds, contacting the editorial staff early in the process.