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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Biodiversity.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-01
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Letter
Book Review
Editorial
Clinical Trial
Protocol
Systematic Review
Lectio

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Provide an author-written abstract of no more than 150 words.
  • Use a structured abstract.
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  • Your abstract should focus on what your research is about, what methods have been used, and what you found out.
  • The instructions for authors for each journal will give specific guidelines on what’s required here, including whether it should be a structured abstract or graphical abstract, and any word limits.
  • A non-structured abstract of no more than 150 words.

Keywords

  • Include or confirm the keywords required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references in Chicago style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • A typical article for this journal should be no more than 7,000 words; this limit includes tables, references, figure captions, endnotes.
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  • If the reference is in parentheses, use square brackets for additional parentheses: (see, e.g., Khan [2012, 89] on this important subject).
  • Tables and References cited in tables or figure legends should be Issued 2007; Revised 28 Sept.
  • After a displayed quotation, the source appears in parentheses after the final punctuation: end of displayed quotation. (Smith 2012, 67) Page number or other locator (Smith 2012, 6–10) (Jones 2012, vol. 2) One author Smith (2012) or (Smith 2012) Two authors Smith and Jones (2012) or (Smith and Jones 2012) Three authors Smith, Jones, and Khan (2012) or (Smith, Jones, and Khan 2012) Four or more authors Smith et al. (2012) (Smith et al. 2012) If the reference list contains two publications in the same year that would both shorten to the same form (e.g.
  • Smith et al. 2012), cite the surnames of the first author and as many others as necessary to distinguish the two references, followed by comma and et al. (NB: you cannot use et al.
  • Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text.
  • Any references cited in notes should be included in the reference list.
  • Journal Authors do not need to include DOIs for published journal articles when preparing manuscripts.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.
  • Contents of this guide In the text Tables and figures Reference list Book Journal Conference Thesis Unpublished work Internet Newspaper or magazine Report Personal communication Other reference types In the text Placement Sources are cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by the author's surname, the publication date of the work cited, Taylor & Francis Standard Reference Style: Chicago author-date The author-date system is widely used in the physical, natural and social sciences.
  • If citing more than one work by an author, do not repeat the name: (Smith 2010, 2012; Khan 2012) (Smith 2010, 2012, 84; Khan 2012, 54–60) (Smith 2012a, 2012b, 82; Khan 2012, 9) Repeat mentions in the same paragraph Place the parenthetical citation after the last reference in the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph before the final full stop (period).
  • Place the reference at the appropriate point in the text; normally just before punctuation.
  • unless it stands for two authors or more.).
  • If the city could be confused with another, add the abbreviation of the state, province, or country: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Oxford: Clarendon Press New York: Macmillan Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press When the publisher’s name includes the state name, the abbreviation is not needed: Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press Publisher Omit initial “the”, and “Inc.”, “Ltd”, “Co.”, “Publishing Co.”, etc.

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript. Keep figures embedded; Articlo also extracts numbered source files for the package.
  • Group figures at the end of the manuscript.
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  • Group tables at the end of the manuscript.
  • Figures must be labelled by number and as figures (e.g. photos, graphs and maps must be labelled as "figures"), for example: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, etc.
  • Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for color, at the correct size).
  • Tables and figures Show clearly in your article text where the tables and figures should appear, for example, by writing [Table 1 near here].
  • Figures should be saved separately from the text.
  • Figures should be saved in one of our preferred file formats: PS, JPEG, GIF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX).
  • Ensure that you indicate by figure number within your manuscript roughly where each figure should appear.
  • Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • It’s very important that you have been given permission to use any tables or figures you are reproducing from another source before you submit.
  • Each figure must include a figure caption.
  • Check the instructions for authors to see how you should supply tables and figures, whether at the end of the text or in separate files, and follow any guidance given on the submission system.

Funding statement

  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Data availability statement

  • Include or confirm the data availability statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Ethics statement

  • Include or confirm the ethics statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Blinded manuscript

  • Include or confirm the blinded manuscript required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Cover letter

  • Using third-party material in your paper You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article.
  • Review: The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission.
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  • If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright owner prior to submission.

Author contributions

  • Submitting authors should be prepared to submit CRediT roles for themselves and their co-authors (where applicable) as part of the submission process.

Title page and author information

  • Do not use a 3-em dash to replace author names.
  • Please provide a BRIEF paragraph of no more than 60 words (two to three sentences) for each author, including their title and affiliation and perhaps their research interests.
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  • Within the manuscript (NOT separately) all authors must include their full name and affiliation on the cover page.
  • One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author and their email address must be included in the manuscript.

Article structure and word limits

  • Key policy insights (3 to 5 in total) should have approximately 100 words, which set out main findings of the paper that are of specific relevance to policy makers.
  • Include indication of source type. Issued 2007; Revised 28 Sept.
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  • Margins Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).
  • If the author’s name appears in the text, it is not necessary to repeat it, but the date should follow immediately: Jones and Green (2012) did useful work on this subject.
  • Title … Author with two works in the same year Put a, b, c after the year (Chen 2011a, 2011b) Secondary source When it is not possible to see an original document, cite the source of your information on it; do not cite the original assuming that the secondary source is correct.
  • Review: These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • These key policy insights should be presented as a bulleted list of concise but complete sentences.
  • This must appear in FULL SENTENCES, not bullet points or lists.
  • Queries Should you have any queries, please visit our Author Services website or contact us here.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • Names with particles (e.g. de, von, van den) should be alphabetized by the individual’s personal preference if known, or traditional usage.
  • Place of publication Where two cities are given, include the first one only.
  • Access dates are not required unless no date of publication or revision can be found.
  • Where date of publication is given access dates are not required, but should be retained when supplied by the author, e.g.: Dorling, Danny.
  • Include information about original performance or source, e.g. of a speech or performance.
  • Before you submit your article, make sure you’ve checked the instructions for authors for your chosen journal, so you are aware of everything required.
  • Most journals create image descriptions during the production process, but a minority may require authors to provide image descriptions.
  • Review: Running heads and received dates These aren’t required when submitting a manuscript for review.
  • Please use SI units (non-italicized).
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: European accents (Greek, Hebrew, or Cyrillic letters, or phonetic symbols): choose Times New Roman font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: Asian languages (such as Sanskrit, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese): choose Arial Unicode font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Each article needs to be submitted with 3-5 Key policy insights (of approximately 100 words), which set out main findings of the paper that are of specific relevance to policy makers.
  • If you haven't submitted a paper to this journal before, you will need to create an account in the submission centre.
  • Remove any version type, eg Rapid online or epub, e.g.: Yoon, Ee-Seul.
  • If you are at the early stage of your research, you may also need to read how to start writing a journal manuscript.
  • Please do NOT reverse these.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Preprints and prior publication

  • If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server, please be aware that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Article type and manuscript length

  • Preparing your paper Structure Your paper should be compiled in the following order: title page; abstract (no more than 150 words); key policy insights (if appropriate); keywords; main text; notes on the contributors; acknowledgements; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures (ensure these are numbered); figure captions (as a list; ensure these are numbered to correspond to numbered figures). [In your manuscript, ensure that you specify by figure number roughly where each figure should appear within your text.].

Language and text style

  • Smith 2008 No author Cite first few words of title (in quotation marks or italics depending on journal style for that type of work), plus the year.
  • Please use Canadian spelling style consistently throughout your manuscript.
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  • Please use single quotation marks, except where 'a quotation is "within" a quotation'.
  • Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fourth-level headings should be in bold italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fifth-level headings should be in italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Second-level headings should be in bold italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Third-level headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.

Study reporting guidelines

  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).

Manuscript structure

  • Colleague (personal communication, April 12, 2011) Unknown date (Author, n.d.) (Author, forthcoming) Two dates List the original date first, in square brackets: Author ([1890] 1983) Multivolume works: (Author 1951–71) Notes Endnotes should be kept to a minimum.
  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.
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  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) should be in bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
Save journal and get updates Download complete checklist

What your package checks

Abstract: 150 words
Paper: 7,000 words
References: Chicago
Declarations: Artificial intelligence
Format: Times New Roman

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source