The Southwestern Naturalist includes scientific manuscripts that deal with living or fossil organisms, assemblages, or ecosystems that occur in Mexico, Central America, and the region of the United States west of the Mississippi River and south of 40°N latitude. Acceptable topics include anatomy, physiology, genetics, behavior, natural history, dispersal, distribution, evolution, and systematics, but this list is not comprehensive. Both feature articles and notes are published. Feature articles mostly communicate results of field and laboratory studies based on new information or new analysis of existing information. Notes are reserved for short communications, such as behavioral observations, range extensions, and other important findings that do not in themselves constitute a comprehensive study. The format for feature articles and notes must conform to the style guidelines summarized in the Instructions to Authors (this is a printable Adobe Acrobat file = pdf file; you may download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader software).

The language used is English, except for the Spanish abstract (resumen) required for all manuscripts. The English and Spanish abstracts should match as closely as possible. Authors are encouraged to seek assistance from someone in the local community who is fluent in English and Spanish, such as a university or high school language teacher. It is not essential that the person who translates be a biologist; the abstract and resumen will be checked by an Associate Editor. However, computer translation software should not be used; such software yields unintelligible results. Authors who cannot find someone to do a translation of their abstract may contact Mr. Ivan Figueroa, 1323 West Gulfport Street, Broken Arrow, OK 74011 (918-269-4403; figuivan@gmail.com) to arrange translation services for a fee.

Submit 4 paper copies of the manuscript and all associated material to the Managing Editor (address above). The Managing Editor will forward manuscripts to the appropriate Associate Editor, who will send them out for peer review. Because most of our volunteer Associate Editors and volunteer reviewers are employed by universities or conservation agencies for whom they have obligations for teaching, research, and other duties, the review process will take several weeks. When reviews are complete, the Associate Editor will notify authors regarding acceptability of the manuscript for publication in the Southwestern Naturalist.

Manuscripts found acceptable but in need of revision prior to publication will be returned to the author by the Associate Editor. Revisions must be received by the Associate Editor within 4 months. Revisions returned after that time will be treated as new submissions and sent out for review. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, you must submit the final version as a single paper copy to the Associate Editor. You also will be asked to submit an electronic copy (e.g., Word, Word Perfect) attached to an e-mail message to the Editor. Unlike the paper copy used for review, the electronic copy is single-spaced, and it is used by Allen Press to prepare the journal. Figures may be supplied as paper copy or in acceptable electronic formats; however, Allen Press can use only those files in specific formats, such as TIFF and EPS. The Associate Editor will forward the revised manuscript to the Managing Editor. These and other guidelines for preparing computer files are available on the Allen Press website at http://www.allenpress.com, "FAQs & How-To's".

Prior to publication, the Managing Editor will check manuscripts for style and clarity. Then, the manuscript will be returned to the corresponding author as a Microsoft Word file attached to an e-mail for a final check before submitting it to the printer. This "pre-galley" reduces the number of corrections necessary on the actual galley proofs, the cost of which may be charged to the authors. The corresponding author also will receive an actual galley proof as a pdf file attached to an e-mail from the Managing Editor, and this must be returned within 2 weeks. This galley proof shows the manuscript as it will appear in the journal, and it is the last chance the author will have to check the manuscript for essential corrections before publication. Subsequently, the Managing Editor will check a second set of galley proofs to be sure that any changes were made correctly. With all of these checks on the publication to ensure accuracy, the entire process from preparing the pre-galleys through actual mailing of the publication takes 4 to 5 months.

Page charges for publication in the Southwestern Naturalist currently are US$80 per page. The publication of the journal is partially supported by the members of the society through their dues and contributions, but every author should endeavor to obtain support for publication of their manuscripts. However, authors with little or no publication support may request the waiver of any or all page charges for up to 8 pages per publication (up to US$640 per publication) if one author is a member of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists during the period of review and publication (likely to include parts of at least 2 years). Current annual membership dues are US$35 for regular members; an application form is available on-line through the SWAN website (http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/swan/). Institutional memberships do not include the waiver for page charges. The cost of paper or pdf reprints of published manuscripts cannot be waived.
 

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