The Journal of Biogeography aims to support early career researchers by highlighting their recently published journal articles and providing a space where the community can get to know the authors behind the works and learn from their publication experiences. In our featured posts, researchers dive into the motivations, challenges, and highlights behind their recent papers, and give us a sense of the broader scientific interests that drive their biogeographic research. This is where we also get a sneak peek into novel and interesting research that is yet to come!
Based on the information provided when manuscripts are submitted, the editorial team will routinely contact authors each month to invite a contribution from those who are both (1) early career researchers, i.e. up to and including postdocs, and (2) corresponding author on their upcoming publication in Journal of Biogeography. However, we also welcome contributions from other early career researchers who may be first or middle authors on these papers; if the study has multiple authors, we very much welcome a single submission from the cadre of early career co-authors involved.
To keep the process simple for all involved, we invite contributions to follow a standard format (see below). Responses need not be given to all prompts, but there should be a critical mass of responses to be informative; responses to prompts that are answered should be concise; thus the experience is streamlined, personalized, and easy.
We encourage a tone and standard suitable for social media and that conveys the excitement and intrigue of being a biogeographer. Previous submissions can provide a guide for your own individualized entries. The social media editors are happy to provide feedback and assistance in revising content before posting. The senior editorial team approves all posts.
If you have any questions or would like to submit your own contribution, please contact one of our social media editors: Dr. Leanne Phelps and Dr. Joshua Thia using the journal’s gmail address, jbiogeography@gmail.com. To help you get started, the questionnaire is provided below. Check out recent contributions for examples and ideas!
——————————–
Questionnaire format:
Name
Links to social media and/or personal website(s)
Institute
Current academic life stage (Honours, Masters, PhD, Postdoc?)
Major research themes and interests
Current study species/system? What makes it interesting (/cool!)? (100 words)
Recent paper in Journal of Biogeography (citation)
Describe the motivation behind this recent paper (100–150 words)
Describe the key methodologies in this recent paper, highlighting anything particularly novel or ingenious and how this provides new insights (100–150 words)
Describe any unexpected outcomes of this research, or any challenges you and your coauthors experienced and overcame along the way (100–150 words)
Describe the major result of this recent paper and its contribution toward the field (100–150 words)
What is the next step in this research? (100 words)
If you could study any organism on Earth, what would it be and why?
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself or your featured research? (Any hidden gems the above questions might have missed?)
If available, please provide three or more visually appealing photos (with captions) that relate to your work, so we can feature you on our social media platforms.