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KOEDOE

Instructions to Authors (Download .PDF version )

Submission of manuscripts
Papers should be submitted electronically to the Editor: koedoe@sanparks.org
Authors are notified of receipt of the manuscript. Manuscripts that do not conform in most respects to the instructions below may be returned to authors before being considered for publication. Poorly prepared or unnecessarily lengthy manuscripts have less prospect of being accepted.

Layout of manuscripts
Write with precision, clarity and economy. Use the active voice and first person whenever appropriate. The Council of Biology Editors Style Manual is recommended for details of style. Authors are to use the Systeme Internaitionale (SI) for units of measurement. Note in particular that the SI requires (i) the use of the term mass rather than weight; and (ii) when one unit appears in a denominator, use the solidus (example: g/m2); for two or more units in a denominator, use negative exponents (example: kJm-2yr-1).

The following arrangement should be adhered to as close as possible:
a) Title: informative but concise.
Author: name(s)
Address: of all authors (institution where work was carried out).
Abstract: of not more than 250 words, should state concisely the scope of the work and the principal findings. Should be suitable for separate publication and indexing.
Key words: not more that ten words or phrases
(b) Introduction
(c) Methods (and Materials, if applicable)
(d) Results
(e) Discussion
(f) Conclusions
(g) Acknowledgements
(h) References

It is understood however, that this scheme cannot be followed rigidly under all circumstances, and variations of this format are acceptable if they provide clearer expression of the subject. All manuscripts must however, include the elements mentioned in (a), text, (h), figure captions and tables, in that order.

Presentation of manuscript
The manuscript to be submitted electronically on A4 sized paper, should have 3 cm margins all around, and be double-spaced throughout. In case of doubt, authors are encouraged to contact the Editor. First lines and paragraphs should not be indented. Tables and their headings, as well as a list of captions for illustrations should be prepared on separate sheets. Pages and lines should be numbered to facilitate refereeing.

Only generic and specific taxa should be in italics; all other marking should be left to the editor. Numbers one to nine inclusive, should be spelled out and number 10 onwards given in figures. Scientific names and their authorities and dates should appear in full when first referred to in the text.

Illustrations
Illustrations should be reducible, while still legible, to a size not exceeding 13 cm x 18 cm (19 cm including caption); photographs should be final size; a metric scale should appear with illustrations (where applicable), otherwise magnification (or reduction) should be given in the caption.

All illustrations, whether line drawings or photographs, should be termed figures and be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. If Letraset is used, authors are requested to use Helvetica-style lettering, if possible. Typed labelling is unacceptable. The use of photographs should be limited. The cost of colour is prohibitive, and illustrations will not be printed in colour unless the author is prepared to pay for it.

Tables
Tables should be prepared on separate sheets. Each table requires a heading: Table number (centred); headings in italics (centred); no period. Number all tables in order of appearance (with Arabic numerals). Footnotes to tables (indicated by superscript lowercase letter (a, b, c, etc) should be typed at the end of the table. Asterisk is only to be used to indicate statistical differences. Do not rule tables unless essential to avoid ambiguity.

References
References cited in the text should all be included in the list at the end of the paper, according to the Harvard System, with some modifications. Full references at the end of the paper, arranged alphabetically by surname, chronologically within each name, with suffixes a, b, c, etc. to the year for more than one per year by the same author. In the text there will be referred to as follows: e.g. Rautenbach (1983a, 1983b) and not Rautenbach (1983, 1983a) or (1983a; 1983b).

(a) For books, give title (in italics), place of publication, publisher (see Eltringham below).
(b) For journal article, give title of article, title of journal in full (in italics), series (in brackets), volume number, part number (in brackets), pagination (first and last pages of article). See Gertenbach and or Swanepoel et al. below.
(c) For theses, give title, indicate whether it is a masters or doctorate, name of university, locality. See Viljoen below.
(d) For chapter contained in works known by their editors, give author of chapter, date of publication, title of chapter, pagers of chapter, editor(s) of main publication, place of publication, publisher. See Werger below.
(e) For series, see Meester below.

Author’s name and year of publication given in text as, for example:
“Rautenbach (1983) states…”
“As described (Nel 1979; Rautenbach 1983; Werger 1978)…”
“As described (Rautenbach & Nel 1984)…”
“As described (Rautenbach et al. 1976)…”

Note: No comma separating name and year; pagination not included; names of joint authors connected by ampersand (&); where three of more joint authors are cited in the text, et al. is used in all instances, following the senior author, e.g. Swanepoel et al. 1980.

Examples
Books
ELTRINGHAM, S.K. 1979. The ecology and conservation of large African mammals. Londen: Macmillan.
Journal
GERTENBACH, W.P.D. 1980. Rainfall patterns in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 23: 35─43.
SWANEPOEL, P., R.H.N SMITHERS & I.L. RAUTENBACH. 1980. A checklist and numbering system of the extant mammals of the southern African subregion. Annals of the Transvaal museum 32(7): 155─176.
Series
MEESTER, J.A.J. 1976. South African red data book: small mammals. Pretoria: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, National Scientific Programmes Unit. (South African National Scientific Programmes Report; no. 11.)
Thesis
VILJOEN, S. 1975. Aspects of the ecology, reproductive physiology and ethology of the bush squirrel Paraxerus cepapi cepapi (A. Smith, 1936). MSc thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
Chapter in book
WERGER, M.J.A. The Karoo-Namib region. Pp. 231─299. In: WERGER, M.J.A. (ed.). Biogeography and ecology of southern Africa 1. The Hague: Junk.

Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited; the Editor can be expected to refer back any, which appear incorrect or incomplete.

Systematic papers and their nomenclature must be in accordance with the appropriate international code. An author’s name when cited must follow the name of the taxon without intervening punctuation; if the year is added, a comma must be separate author’s name (and date, if cited) must be placed in brackets is a species of a subspecies is (was) transferred from its original genus.

Special house rules
Capitol initial letters
(a) The figures, maps and Tables of the paper, when referred to in the text, for example, “…as depicted in Fig. 10”.
(b) The prefixes or prefixed surnames in all languages, when used in the text, if not preceded by an initial or full names, for example, Du Plessis but P. Du Plessis; Van der Merwe but M. Van der Merwe.

A specific name must not stand alone, but be preceded by the generic name or its abbreviation to initial capitol letter, provided the same generic name is used consistently. The generic name should not be used at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph.

Dates should be in the form “10 January 1959”.

Metric units and their international symbols are used throughout. The 24-hour clock (08h00; 17h45) is used.

Proofs
Check the proofs for misprints. Do not alter the text or revise the paper, unless serious errors are discovered. Authors will be charged with the cost of changes from the original text. Proofs should be corrected immediately on receipt and returned to the editor.

Correspondence
Manuscripts and other editorial corresponded should be addressed to the Editor:
Email: Koedoe@sanparks.org
Postal address: The Editor- Koedoe, Llewellyn C Foxcroft, Private Bag X402, Skukuza, 1350, South Africa.
Fax: +27 (0)13 735 4055
Please ensure that you include all your contact details.

Koedoe is abstracted or indexed in:
Biological abstracts; Forest Production Abstracts; Fishlit; Geographical Abstracts; Helminthological Abstracts; Heritage Abstracts; Index to South African Periodicals; IBZ; IBR; Index Veterinarius; Revue of Applied Entomology; Soils and Fertility Abstracts; The Serials Directory; Veterinary Bulletin; Wildlife Review; Zoological Record.






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