Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Fauna Biodiversity (JFB) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal follows the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies appropriate ethical standards throughout the submission, peer-review, editorial, and publication processes.

Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to act with honesty, transparency, objectivity, confidentiality, and respect for the integrity of the scholarly record.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; and/or preparation or critical revision of the manuscript.

All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission and publication. Authors share responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and ethical conduct of the work.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately.

Any proposed change in authorship after submission must be explained to the journal and approved by all affected authors.

Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts submitted to JFB must represent original work and must appropriately acknowledge the ideas, data, text, figures, and other materials derived from previous publications or other sources.

Plagiarism, including the unattributed use of another person's words, ideas, data, or other intellectual contributions, is unacceptable. The journal may use plagiarism-detection software as part of its editorial assessment.

When potential plagiarism is identified, the journal will investigate the matter and take appropriate action in accordance with established publication-ethics principles. Depending on the circumstances, this may include rejection of the manuscript, correction or retraction of a published article, and communication with the authors or their institutions where appropriate.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts submitted to JFB must not have been published previously and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Substantial duplication of previously published work without appropriate citation and disclosure is prohibited. Authors must disclose related manuscripts, previous publications, or overlapping datasets that could reasonably be considered relevant to the submitted work.

Fragmentation of a single study into multiple publications without sufficient scientific justification should be avoided.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation, or inappropriate alteration of research data, images, observations, or results constitutes serious research misconduct and is prohibited.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data presented in their manuscripts and should retain the underlying research records where appropriate.

Citation Practices and Citation Manipulation

References should be selected on the basis of their relevance and scholarly value.

Authors must not include irrelevant citations for the purpose of artificially increasing citation counts of particular authors, journals, institutions, or publications. Editors and reviewers must not require authors to add citations that are unrelated to the scientific content of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or judgment.

Reviewers and editors should decline involvement in manuscripts where a conflict of interest could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial and institutional support relevant to the research.

Where no external funding was received, authors may state this explicitly. Funding organizations should be identified accurately, including grant numbers where applicable.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are original, scientifically sound, accurately reported, ethically conducted, and appropriately referenced.

Authors must provide accurate information concerning authorship, affiliations, funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approvals, permits, and other matters relevant to the research.

Authors should cooperate with the editorial and peer-review processes and respond appropriately to requests for clarification, supporting information, or corrections.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers should evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, constructively, and confidentially.

Reviewers should accept assignments only when they have appropriate expertise and sufficient time to provide a meaningful assessment. They should decline or withdraw from a review when a relevant conflict of interest exists.

Manuscripts and information obtained through peer review must be treated as confidential and must not be used for personal or professional advantage.

Reviewers should identify significant scientific or ethical concerns and, where appropriate, draw the editor's attention to relevant published work that has not been adequately acknowledged.

Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewer comments should focus on the scientific content of the manuscript.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the integrity, fairness, independence, and confidentiality of the editorial process.

Editorial decisions should be based on the scientific quality, originality, methodological soundness, relevance, and ethical acceptability of manuscripts, without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, political beliefs, or other personal characteristics unrelated to scholarly merit.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should not participate in the evaluation of manuscripts where such conflicts could compromise their impartiality.

The journal does not permit commercial considerations or personal relationships to determine editorial decisions.

Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and associated correspondence as confidential material.

Information obtained during manuscript evaluation must not be disclosed or used for personal advantage before publication, except where disclosure is necessary for investigating potential ethical or research-integrity concerns.

Animal Welfare and Ethical Approval

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare and ethical research.

Where ethical approval is required, authors must obtain approval from the appropriate institutional or regulatory body before conducting the research and provide relevant approval information in the manuscript.

Authors should describe methods involving animals with sufficient detail to demonstrate that appropriate measures were taken to minimize unnecessary harm, distress, or suffering.

Field Studies, Specimen Collection and Permits

Authors are responsible for ensuring that field studies, specimen collection, handling, transport, and export or import of biological material comply with applicable national and international laws and regulations.

Where permits, licenses, institutional approvals, or other authorizations are required, authors must obtain them before conducting the research and provide relevant permit or approval information in the manuscript.

Research involving protected, threatened, or regulated species must comply with applicable conservation legislation and ethical standards.

Human Participants

Where research submitted to JFB involves human participants or identifiable personal information, the research must comply with applicable ethical requirements and institutional or national regulations.

Appropriate ethical approval and informed consent must be obtained where required, and identifying information should not be published without appropriate authorization.

Intellectual Property and Copyright

Authors are responsible for ensuring that material included in their manuscripts does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

Permission must be obtained where required for the reproduction or adaptation of copyrighted material, including figures, photographs, maps, tables, and other content.

Research Misconduct

JFB takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Concerns involving plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, citation manipulation, unethical research practices, or other forms of misconduct will be evaluated objectively.

Where necessary, the journal may request explanations or supporting information from the authors and may communicate with relevant institutions or other appropriate bodies. Actions will be determined according to the nature and severity of the concern and applicable publication-ethics guidance.

Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

JFB is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate action. Depending on the circumstances, this may include publication of a correction, retraction, or expression of concern in accordance with applicable COPE guidance.

Corrections and retraction notices will be clearly linked to the affected article and will explain the reason for the action while preserving the integrity and transparency of the published record.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other interested parties may submit complaints concerning editorial procedures, publication ethics, or published content to the JFB editorial office.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a reasoned explanation of the grounds for the appeal. Appeals should address substantive scientific or procedural issues rather than simply expressing disagreement with the decision.

Complaints and appeals will be considered objectively and, where appropriate, by an editor who was not directly involved in the original decision.

Submissions from Editors and Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by editors or members of the JFB Editorial Board are subject to the same editorial and peer-review standards as other submissions.

The submitting editor or Editorial Board member will have no involvement in reviewer selection, manuscript evaluation, or the final editorial decision. Such submissions will be handled independently by another qualified editor.

Peer Review

Scholarly manuscripts submitted to JFB are evaluated in accordance with the journal's Peer Review Policy. Manuscripts considered suitable following initial editorial assessment are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

JFB operates a double-blind peer-review process in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

JFB is committed to investigating ethical concerns fairly and consistently and to correcting the scholarly record when necessary. The journal seeks to apply recognized principles of publication ethics and research integrity throughout its editorial and publishing activities.