Changes coming at Pacific Conservation Biology

Depending on which online source you consult, Pacific Conservation Biology published its first paper in either 1993 or 1994. I am going to go by the fine print at the bottom of the earliest PDF files of the papers in the first issue and support a date of 1993, which means that PCB celebrates its milestone 30th birthday this year. In line with that milestone, I would like to give a short history of the journal, an overview of the services now available for authors and readers, a profile of the characteristics of authors, present data on the uptake of work by other scholars, and outline some significant changes coming in 2022.

PCB began as an initiative of a small group of Australian conservationists and Ivor Beatty, principal of the family printing and publishing business Surrey Beatty and Sons based in Sydney. As noted by foundation editor Craig Moritz, PCB’s initial aims were to increase outlets for information on conservation in the Pacific Region, provide a forum for leading conservation researchers and managers to address the region’s pressing conservation problems, and encourage communication among all interested in conservation management. Ivor Beatty’s contribution was critical, because PCB began without the financial support of a scientific society or interest from a large publisher. The journal matured under the excellent guidance of editors Craig Moritz (Volumes 1–2) and Harry Recher (Volumes 3–11), setting a framework followed by Ian McLean (Volumes 12–13), Harry Recher again (Volumes 14–15) and Mike Calver (Volume 16 on). Ivor Beatty continued his essential and valuable work as publisher until his passing in 2013, after which his family decided that the journal’s best interests would be served by transfer to a larger, experienced journal publisher that could provide the increasing range of services expected by authors and readers. CSIRO Publishing has taken on that role, with Ivor’s exceptional groundwork honoured in the annual Ivor Beatty award for the best paper published in PCB each year, following assessment by the Editor-in-Chief and the Managing Editors.

The change in publisher enabled new services to authors and readers, while the editorial focus remained on the Pacific region, which is defined broadly as the western Pacific (East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania) the north Pacific (including Russia), and the islands of the central Pacific across to countries on the North American and South American continents bordering on the eastern Pacific. In addition to research papers and research notes, features such as Forum Essays (now retitled Perspectives), News and Views, and Book Reviews have continued, with able support from specialist editors (Graham Fulton for Perspectives and Kate Bryant for Book Reviews). Field Notes, championed by specialist editor Andrew Chin, are a more recent initiative, allowing authors to publish a key photograph with short, supportive text to make a vital conservation point. PCB has developed strong relationships with the Society for Conservation Biology, which lists PCB as an affiliate journal. Richard Kingsford has served several years as liaison editor between the editorial board and SCB Oceania, the society’s regional section, facilitating PCB special issues based on SCB Oceania’s biannual conferences. PCB’s growing strength was reflected in 2020 by a listing in Clarivate’s Emerging Sources Citation Index, which means inclusion in the Web of Science Core Collection database and future evaluation for receiving a Journal Impact Factor.

The list of services and features available for PCB authors and readers continues to expand. I have mentioned several of these in earlier editorials, but it is worth repeating key ones and mentioning recent additions:

1. DOI numbers are now standard for all papers

2. the journal website facilitates online access to papers and subscriber services, as well as providing additional information such as ‘most read articles,’ altmetric information on published papers, access to papers published ‘Online Early’ in advance of the official publication date of an issue, and a full listing of publishing policies

3. PCB now has a gender-neutral option for author ID (Mx, Ind) when submitting papers

4. PCB is now available online only, which saves shelf space for subscribers and also means that there is no longer a charge to include colour in papers

5. several Open Access options are available (check the journal website). Green Open Access, which carries no charge, allows authors to place the accepted MS Word version of their paper online as part of an institutional repository or on a personal website. Gold Open Access, which does attract a fee, allows free access to the publisher-formatted PDF of the paper

6. there are no page charges unless an author opts for Gold Open Access

7. CSIRO Publishing has negotiated Read and Publish agreements, permitting authors from participating institutions to access PCB content freely and to publish Gold Open Access freely

8. the Ivor Beatty Award, given annually for the best paper in PCB, commemorates Ivor’s outstanding contributions to conservation

9. authors may change their names post-publication for personal reasons

10. the publishing policies now include sensitivities statements. These facilitate authors integrating a wide range of personal and cultural histories, knowledge and perspectives in PCB papers, including the traditional practices and perspective of indigenous peoples

11. flexible word limits can be negotiated for longer papers if needed (please discuss with the Editor in Chief before submission)

12. across all CSIRO journals there is now advice for authors seeking to create impact for their work (https://www.publish.csiro.au/journals/forauthors/CreatingImpactForYourWork).

In 2020 PCB published 96 papers from six geographical areas. Authors were predominantly Australian (58.3%), which has been the pattern for several years. However, this is declining, driven mainly by a growth in submissions from the Pacific coast of North America (Table 1). An important part of boosting international contributions is the work of excellent new editors from the Pacific, supported by efficient, innovative guest editorial work from Pacific editors for special issues.

Table 1.  Geographical origin of papers submitted to PCB

Article downloads, page visits and citations are useful measures of interest in PCB publications. Downloads and page visits are both increasing (Table 2). Detailed citation data for PCB are available freely from Scimago at https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=19795&tip=sid&clean=0, based on Scopus data. These show that mean citations per document calculated on either a 2-, 3- or 4-year timeframe have generally been increasing since 2012 (Table 3). The figure for a given year is the mean citations to documents published in PCB in the 2, 3 and 4 years before the given year. For those who value the Journal Impact Factor, the 2-year data are equivalent to it, although of course calculated using Scopus data and not Web of Science data.

Table 2.  Page visits and article downloads for PCB

Table 3.  Cites/document for PCB papers since 2012, determined at 2-year, 3-year and 4-year scales
Figures are from Scimago https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=19795&tip=sid&clean=0 and are based on Scopus data. The 2-year figures are calculated with the same formula as the Journal Impact Factor, although they are based on Scopus data, not Web of Science data.

PCB is in line for a refresh in presentation in 2022, with a new PDF article layout with improved accessibility and modernised design better suited to optimal screen reading. You can check the new layout by looking at any of the papers in ‘Online Early’ on the website.

In response to a growth in submissions, PCB will also move from four to six issues a year in 2022. Initially, spreading current contributions across six issues will lead to slightly shorter issues, but there will be capacity to expand issue sizes if submissions continue to grow.

Everyone on the editorial board looks forward to further submissions. The board is supported strongly by reviewers and CSIRO Publishing staff. All these people, and many more, are thanked for their contributions to the journal.