Editorial guidelines

1. Aim and Scope

The journal Bioinvasiones aims to publish scientific, technical, and applied contributions on invasive alien species and biological invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its scope includes scientific articles, reviews, reports of new introductions, recent records, management experiences, risk analyses, prevention, control, and management proposals, as well as contributions aimed at the development of public policies and management strategies relevant to the region.
Bioinvasiones seeks to promote the dissemination of high-quality research, relevant technical information, and practical experiences that contribute to understanding, preventing, and managing biological invasions. The journal also welcomes proposals for special issues derived from symposia, workshops, courses, congresses, working groups, or topics of relevance to the advancement of knowledge and the management of biological invasions.
The journal accepts manuscripts in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and is aimed at a broad community of researchers, managers, professionals, decision-makers, and other stakeholders involved in the study, management, and control of invasive alien species and biological invasions.

2. Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the online editorial system of Bioinvasiones, available on the journal’s website. To begin a submission, the corresponding author must register or log in to the platform, complete the requested metadata, and upload the required files according to the type of contribution.
During the submission process, authors must ensure that the manuscript complies with all editorial guidelines of the journal. Incomplete submissions, manuscripts that do not fall within the aim and scope of Bioinvasiones, or manuscripts that do not follow these instructions may be returned to the authors before the evaluation process begins.
Files must be uploaded separately, including, when applicable:

  1. Main manuscript.

  2. Cover letter.

  3. Figures as separate files.

  4. Tables, if not included in the main manuscript.

  5. Supplementary material.

  6. Ethical statements, permits, or additional documentation, when necessary.
    Supplementary information should preferably be submitted as a single PDF file, clearly identified and cited in the main text.
    By submitting a manuscript, authors agree that it may be checked using text-similarity detection tools to verify originality and identify possible overlap with previously published work.

3. Cover Letter

Every manuscript must be accompanied by a cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. The cover letter must include:

  1. The type of contribution submitted.

  2. A brief justification of the manuscript’s relevance to the aim and scope of Bioinvasiones.

  3. A statement that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration by another journal.

  4. A statement that all authors have approved the submitted version.

  5. A statement regarding the existence or absence of conflicts of interest.

  6. When applicable, information on permits, ethical approvals, data availability, use of previously published material, or use of artificial intelligence tools.

4. Types of Contributions

4.1. Original Articles

Original articles present empirical, theoretical, methodological, or applied research in the field of invasive alien species and biological invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
These manuscripts may address, among other topics:

  • Patterns, causes, and consequences of biological invasions.

  • Traits of alien species that promote their introduction, establishment, spread, or impact.

  • Human activities that favor the arrival, dispersal, or establishment of alien species.

  • Impacts of biological invasions at genetic, individual, population, community, ecosystem, or socioeconomic levels.

  • Distribution patterns of invasive species and predictive models.

  • Ecosystem vulnerability to biological invasions.

  • Risk analyses and prioritization of species or areas.

  • Assessments based on frameworks such as EICAT, for the categorization of ecological impacts of alien taxa, and SEICAT, for the categorization of socioeconomic impacts of alien taxa.

  • Experiences in control, management, restoration, or recovery of areas affected by biological invasions.
    Original articles should not exceed 8,000 words, including references. They should preferably be structured into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements, and References.

4.2. Review Articles

Review articles must provide a critical, updated, and well-supported synthesis of relevant topics on invasive alien species and biological invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean. These contributions should be based on a clear review of the literature and provide perspectives that guide future research, public policies, or management actions.
Reviews may have a narrative, systematic, bibliometric, conceptual, or methodological approach, depending on the objective of the manuscript. In all cases, the general criteria used to select and analyze the reviewed literature must be explicitly stated.
Review articles should not exceed 8,000 words, including references. Their structure may be adapted to the content of the manuscript, using headings appropriate to the topic addressed.

4.3. Record Reports

Record reports document new introductions, new geographic records, recent range expansions, emerging invasions, or regional lists of alien species that contribute to early detection, management prioritization, or the updating of knowledge on biological invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
These manuscripts must include, when applicable:

  • Scientific name of the species.

  • Origin category or invasion status, when available.

  • Locality of the record.

  • Geographic coordinates, unless there is a justification for restricting them.

  • Date of observation, collection, or record.

  • Detection method.

  • Associated evidence, such as photographs, herbarium specimens, databases, reference collections, or other verifiable sources.

  • Relevance of the record for management, control, early detection, or understanding of the invasion process.
    Record reports should have a maximum length of 2,500 words and preferably cite fewer than 25 references.

4.4. Book Reviews

Book reviews are critical analyses of recent or relevant publications related to invasive alien species, biological invasions, conservation, restoration, ecosystem management, environmental policies, or other topics related to the scope of Bioinvasiones.
These contributions should provide a synthesis of the book’s content, assess its relevance to the scientific or management community, and discuss its main contributions, limitations, or implications for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Book reviews should not exceed 3,500 words, including references.

4.5. Short Communications

Short communications present concise results, novel methodologies, relevant preliminary findings, or technical advances that may contribute to the understanding, monitoring, prevention, control, or management of invasive alien species.
These contributions must be clear, direct, and justified by the relevance or novelty of the finding. They may include preliminary results, provided that these are sufficiently significant to justify early publication in this format.
Short communications should not exceed 2,000 words, including main text, figures, tables, and references.

4.6. Proceedings of Meetings, Workshops, and Congresses

These contributions present results, agreements, syntheses, or conclusions derived from scientific meetings, workshops, congresses, symposia, courses, or working groups related to invasive alien species and biological invasions.
Manuscripts must include an abstract summarizing the main outcomes of the activity, an introduction contextualizing its relevance and objectives, a section presenting the results or synthesis of the main topics discussed, and conclusions highlighting the implications for research, management, or control of biological invasions.
These contributions provide a platform for sharing lessons learned, agreements, priorities, and advances achieved in collaborative discussion spaces. They should not exceed 3,500 words, including references.

4.7. Opinion Articles

Opinion articles are brief essay-style contributions intended to propose ideas, develop arguments, present critical perspectives, or encourage debate on topics related to invasive alien species and biological invasions.
These articles may provide conceptual advances, methodological reflections, policy analyses, management proposals, or evidence-based opinions. Although their main focus is argumentative or conceptual, they must be supported by evidence and relevant scientific literature. They may also include data when these help contextualize or strengthen the arguments presented.
Opinion articles should not exceed 3,500 words, including references. Their structure and headings may be adapted to the content of the manuscript.

4.8. Practice Insights

Practice Insights articles are brief contributions aimed at communicating experiences, lessons learned, challenges, or recommendations derived from professional practice in the management, prevention, control, or handling of invasive alien species.
At least one of the authors must be a professional, practitioner, or have direct experience in practical environmental management, conservation, restoration, biosecurity, monitoring, control of alien species, or other related areas.
These articles may include case studies, successful or unsuccessful management experiences, lessons learned, proposals for new approaches to persistent problems, analyses of gaps between science and management, or perspectives on research topics relevant to decision-making.
Practice Insights articles should not exceed 3,500 words, including references. Their format and subheadings may be adapted to the content of the manuscript.

4.9. Special Issues

Bioinvasiones welcomes proposals for special issues derived from symposia, workshops, courses, congresses, working groups, or emerging topics of high relevance to the study, management, or control of biological invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Special issue proposals will be evaluated by the editorial team, considering their thematic relevance, regional importance, academic quality, composition of the invited editorial team, and editorial feasibility. All manuscripts included in special issues must follow the journal’s editorial guidelines and will be subject to the corresponding evaluation process.

5. General Manuscript Presentation

Bioinvasiones seeks to promote a clear and efficient editorial process. Therefore, manuscripts must be concise, complete, and carefully prepared before submission. Figures, tables, and supplementary materials must be understandable, properly presented, and comply with the quality requirements indicated by the journal.
The main manuscript must be prepared in Word or a compatible format, using 12-point Times New Roman, single spacing, and standard margins. All pages must be numbered. Manuscript lines must be numbered continuously to facilitate the review process.
Submission of a manuscript implies that the work has not been previously published, is not under evaluation by another journal, and has been approved by all coauthors.

6. Accepted Languages

Manuscripts may be written in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. Regardless of the main language of the manuscript, the title, abstract, and keywords must also be provided in English. When the manuscript is written in English, authors are encouraged to include the abstract and keywords also in Spanish or Portuguese.
Texts must be written clearly, precisely, and grammatically correctly. Manuscripts with major problems in writing, structure, or comprehension may be returned to the authors before the review process begins.

7. Title Page

The first page of the manuscript must include:

  1. Article title.

  2. Short title, when applicable.

  3. Full names of all authors.

  4. Institutional affiliation of each author.

  5. Email address of each author.

  6. Identification of the corresponding author.

  7. Contact address of the corresponding author.

  8. ORCID of authors, when available.

  9. Type of contribution.

  10. Keywords, between 6 and 8, ordered alphabetically.

  11. Brief conflict of interest statement.

  12. Funding statement, when applicable.

8. Abstract

The abstract must present the main content of the manuscript briefly and clearly, including the general context, objective, main methods, most relevant results, and conclusions or implications.
The abstract should not exceed 300 words. It must not include bibliographic references, undefined abbreviations, footnotes, or information that is not developed in the main text.

9. Keywords

Manuscripts must include between 6 and 8 keywords, ordered alphabetically. Authors are encouraged to avoid repeating words already included in the title, unless they are essential for manuscript indexing.
Keywords should facilitate identification of the topic, geographic area, taxonomic group, methodological approach, or type of management addressed in the manuscript.

10. Structure of the Main Text

The structure of the main text may vary according to the type of contribution. For original articles, the following structure is recommended:

Introduction

The introduction must present the general context of the study, justify its relevance, identify knowledge gaps, define the objectives, and, when applicable, present the hypotheses or research questions.

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods section must describe in sufficient detail the study design, study area, data sources, sampling procedures, analytical methods, software used, and interpretation criteria, so that the study can be evaluated and, when possible, replicated.
All data, code, methods, and materials used must be properly cited. When specific equipment or materials are mentioned, information on the manufacturer must be included, including name, city, and country. If commercial or specialized software is used, the program name, version when applicable, provider or developer, and bibliographic reference, if available, must be indicated.

Results

The Results section must present the main findings clearly and in an organized manner, highlighting in the text the most relevant results shown in tables and figures. Extensive repetition of information contained in tables or figures should be avoided.

Discussion

The Discussion must interpret the results in relation to the objectives or hypotheses of the study, place them in the context of the existing literature, and highlight their scientific, technical, management, or public policy implications. Authors are also encouraged to discuss the limitations of the study and possible future research directions.

Conclusions

The Conclusions section is optional but recommended when it helps synthesize the main contributions of the manuscript. Conclusions should be brief, supported by the results, and avoid statements that have not been addressed in the study.

11. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures must be clear, self-contained, and understandable without extensive consultation of the main text. They must be numbered sequentially according to their order of appearance in the manuscript: Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.
A maximum of eight tables and eight figures per manuscript is allowed, unless the editorial team authorizes a justified exception.
Table and figure captions must be descriptive and include the information necessary to correctly interpret the content. Abbreviations, symbols, and units must be explained in the caption or corresponding note.
Figures must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Font size within figures must not be smaller than 8 points. Authors are encouraged to use clear designs, adequate contrast, and colors that can be interpreted by people with different types of color vision.
When maps are used, they must include scale, orientation, reference system or projection when applicable, and a clear description of the sources of spatial information used.

12. Supplementary Material

Supplementary material must contain additional information that supports the manuscript but is not essential to understanding the main argument of the text. It may include datasets, extended tables, additional figures, complementary methods, analysis code, species lists, or other relevant materials.
All supplementary material must be cited in the main text and uploaded as a separate file during the submission process. Each supplementary item must include a brief description of its content and, when applicable, a descriptive caption.
Supplementary material should preferably be submitted as a single PDF file, except when specific file formats are required, such as spreadsheets, scripts, spatial files, or others.

13. Taxonomic Nomenclature

Scientific names of species must be written in italics. At the first mention of a species, the full scientific name should be included and, when applicable, the taxonomic authority. Thereafter, the genus name may be abbreviated if this does not create ambiguity.
Authors must verify taxonomic nomenclature using recognized and updated databases. When relevant, the species should be identified as native, alien, naturalized, invasive, or cryptogenic in the study area, specifying the source used for this classification.
In manuscripts that include species lists, authors are encouraged to clearly indicate the criterion used to define the origin or invasion status of each taxon.

14. Geographic Information and Record Reports

Manuscripts reporting new records, new introductions, range expansions, or recent invasions must include sufficient geographic information to allow verification of the record.
When possible, the following information must be provided:

  1. Locality.

  2. Administrative unit.

  3. Geographic coordinates.

  4. Date of observation, collection, or record.

  5. Observation or collection method.

  6. Name of the observer or collector, when applicable.

  7. Associated evidence, such as photographs, specimens deposited in collections, database records, or other verifiable documentation.

  8. Source used to determine the alien or invasive status of the species.
    In sensitive cases, such as records in vulnerable protected areas, threatened species, sites at risk of unauthorized intervention, or information that could generate negative impacts, coordinates may be generalized or restricted, provided that this decision is properly justified.

15. Data, Code, and Information Availability

When applicable, authors must include a statement on the availability of data, code, and materials used in the study. Authors are encouraged to deposit data and code in recognized public repositories, provided that there are no ethical, legal, contractual, or conservation restrictions preventing this.
Examples of statements:
The data used in this study are available in [repository] under the identifier [DOI or link].
The data will be available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.
This study did not generate new data.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that shared data do not violate confidentiality restrictions, third-party rights, regulations on access to genetic resources, research permits, or applicable regulations.

16. Author Contributions

Accepted manuscripts must include an author contribution statement. Authors are encouraged to use the CRediT taxonomy, considering categories such as conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing of the original draft, review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.
Example:
Author contributions: EF and AP conceptualized the study. EF performed the analyses. EF wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the final version.

17. Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements must recognize the support of people, institutions, or organizations that contributed to the development of the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship.
Acknowledgements may also include local communities, field teams, collection curators, anonymous reviewers, institutions that facilitated permits, logistical funding, or other relevant support.

18. Funding

Authors must indicate all sources of funding that supported the research, fieldwork, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. When applicable, the full name of the funding agency and the project, contract, or grant number must be included.
If the study did not receive specific funding, this must be explicitly stated.
Example:
Funding: This research was funded by [name of agency or institution], project [number or code].
or:
Funding: This study did not receive specific funding.

19. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare any financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflict of interest that could influence, or be perceived as influencing, the interpretation of the results, the editorial process, or the publication of the manuscript.
If there are no conflicts of interest, the following statement must be included:
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

20. Ethical Considerations and Permits

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the research was conducted in accordance with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional standards.
When applicable, the manuscript must indicate collection permits, research permits, sample transport permits, access to protected areas, use of sensitive information, work with local communities, use of biological collections, experimentation with living organisms, or other regulated procedures.
Studies involving local knowledge, Indigenous communities, private landowners, public institutions, or other stakeholders must comply with the corresponding ethical and regulatory principles, including informed consent when relevant.

21. Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

When generative artificial intelligence tools have been used to support writing, translation, language editing, analysis, code generation, data processing, or content creation, authors must explicitly declare this in the manuscript.
These tools may not be listed as authors. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and validity of the submitted content.
Example statement:
Use of artificial intelligence tools: The authors used generative artificial intelligence tools to support language editing of the manuscript. All content was reviewed and approved by the authors.
If these tools were not used, authors may state:
Use of artificial intelligence tools: The authors declare that they did not use generative artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of this manuscript.

22. References

In-text citations must include the author’s surname and year of publication. For works with two authors, both surnames must be included, joined by “&”. For works with three or more authors, “et al.” must be used from the first citation.
Examples:
Herrera & Nassar 2009
Peña et al. 2008
Langdon et al. 2010
The reference list must be organized alphabetically by the surname of the first author. The full journal name, volume, pages or article identifier, and DOI must be included whenever available. DOIs must be presented as permanent links using https://doi.org/.
Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy and completeness of all references before submission, including author names, year, title, full journal name, volume, pages, and DOI.

Format Examples

Scientific article:
Lugo AE. 2009. The emerging era of novel tropical forests. Biotropica 41:589–591. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Scientific article with several authors:
Pauchard A, Langdon B, Peña E. 2008. Potencial invasivo de Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco en bosques nativos del Centro-Sur de Chile: patrones y recomendaciones. In: Mujica R, Grosse H, Müller-Using B, eds. Bosques Seminaturales: una opción para la rehabilitación de bosques nativos degradados. p. 171–187.
Book:
Author A, Author B. Year. Book title. Publisher, city, country.
Book chapter:
Author A, Author B. Year. Chapter title. In: Editor A, Editor B, eds. Book title. Publisher, city, country. p. xx–xx.
Website or database:
Institution or Author. Year. Resource title. Available at: URL. Accessed day month year.
When a reference does not have a DOI, it must still be presented according to the journal’s bibliographic format.

23. Originality, Similarity, and Previous Publication

Manuscripts submitted to Bioinvasiones must be original and must not be under simultaneous evaluation by another journal. The journal may use text-similarity detection tools to identify overlap with previously published work.
Textual similarity will be evaluated by the editorial team considering the context, extent, and nature of the overlapping content. Cases of plagiarism, undeclared self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, or inappropriate use of previously published material may result in rejection of the manuscript.
Manuscripts previously deposited as preprints may be considered by the journal, provided that this condition is declared at the time of submission and that the corresponding information is provided.

24. Editorial Evaluation and Peer Review Process

All manuscripts will be initially evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief or by a member of the editorial team, who will verify their suitability for the aim and scope of the journal, as well as compliance with the submission guidelines.
Manuscripts that do not fit the scope of Bioinvasiones, present major problems of format, writing, originality, or scientific quality, or do not meet the minimum presentation requirements may be rejected or returned without external review.
Manuscripts that pass this initial evaluation will be assigned to an associate editor or member of the editorial board, who will coordinate the peer review process. The journal may request evaluation by external specialists according to the topic of the manuscript.
Based on the reports received, the editorial team may make one of the following decisions:

  1. Accept.

  2. Accept with minor revisions.

  3. Request major revisions.

  4. Reject with possibility of resubmission.

  5. Reject.
    The final decision on publication of a manuscript rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the designated editorial team.

25. Suggested Reviewers

During the submission process, authors must suggest four potential reviewers, indicating full name, institutional affiliation, and contact email.
Suggested reviewers must have expertise in the topic of the manuscript and must not have conflicts of interest with the authors. The journal reserves the right to consider or not consider these suggestions during the editorial process.

26. Proofs and Final Corrections

Once the manuscript has been accepted, the editorial team may make style, formatting, layout, and minor copyediting adjustments to adapt the text to the journal’s standards. Final proofs may be sent to the corresponding author for review before publication.
At this stage, only minor corrections will be allowed. Substantive changes to content, authorship, analyses, or interpretation of results will not be accepted unless requested by the editorial team.

27. Open Access

Bioinvasiones is an open-access journal. Accepted articles will be freely available on the journal’s website.

28. Submission, Processing, and Publication Charges

Bioinvasiones does not charge submission, editorial processing, or publication fees for accepted articles.

29. Author Responsibilities

By submitting a manuscript to Bioinvasiones, authors declare that:

  1. The manuscript is original.

  2. The manuscript has not been previously published.

  3. The manuscript is not under evaluation by another journal.

  4. All authors have approved the submitted version.

  5. All individuals who meet authorship criteria have been included.

  6. Contributions from individuals who do not meet authorship criteria have been acknowledged.

  7. Funding sources have been declared.

  8. Conflicts of interest have been declared.

  9. Necessary ethical, legal, or institutional permits have been obtained.

  10. References, data, figures, tables, and supplementary materials have been reviewed and are the responsibility of the authors.

30. Editorial Inquiries

Inquiries related to the editorial process, types of contributions, manuscript preparation, special issues, or other aspects of the journal must be addressed to the editorial team of Bioinvasiones through the official channels indicated on the journal’s website.