Editorial Notes And News
COPEIA WILL BEGIN ONLINE EARLY PUBLISHING IN 2014
DURING the 2013 meetings of the ASIH Executive Committee and the Publications Policy Committee (PPC), it became clear that there is nearly consensus support throughout the society for online early publication of papers that have been accepted for publication in Copeia. The Publication Policy Committee discussed this issue thoroughly at the 2013 meeting, and this topic has been in discussion for several years. I have had many discussions with (1) the staff at Allen Press and (2) with Production Editor Katie Smith and Figure Editor W. Leo Smith. It has become clear that the costs associated with online early publishing are minimal.
With the consent, encouragement, and support of President William Matthews and Executive Committee, and following the consensus support of the PPC, beginning with issue 2014(1), Copeia will begin publishing online early. Accepted manuscripts will be published online as soon as a production ready proof is prepared. This typically will take as little as several days after authors send proof corrections. For many contributors, this reduction in publication time can be very important, e.g., in the tenure review process, and in grant submission and reporting.
Copeia will continue to publish our traditional print quarterly. The only serious complication that could arise for society-driven journals like Copeia occurs when there are changes from online version to print version. This would be especially problematic for the description of new taxa. Therefore, no changes from the online-early publication and the print publication that appears quarterly will be accepted, regardless of the rationale offered.
Online-early production allows authors to publish their work faster (and have production times equal to for-profit journals), thus making Copeia more attractive to authors seeking to maintain higher H-scores by publishing in higher impact factor journals. We, the Exec and the PPC, think that this is an important new approach for Copeia.
As Editor, my personal perspective is that Copeia, the very personal journal of the ASIH, will exist long after the present ASIH membership has become food for the worms. However, it would be naive to think that nothing needs to change. While impact factors do not mean everything, our own current poor impact factor indicates that we must remain cognizant of the publishing environment. As we work hard to understand how traditional society-driven journals are to survive and be competitive in the world of for-profit journals that have rapid production times, we believe that our journal that has survived 100 years will have another successful century!
Chris Beachy, Editor
Department of Biological Sciences
Southeastern Louisiana University
ASIH SYMPOSIA FOR THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING
ARE you thinking about planning a symposium for the 2015 Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada (15–19 July 2015)? If so, proposals are due to Henry R. Mushinsky (mushinsk@usf.edu) by 1 March 2014. Your proposal should contain the following: 1) Symposium Title (or Topic); 2) Name of the Symposium Chair (phone number and e-mail address) with the names of Associated Co-organizers; 3) Information on topic and background; 4) What benefit is the topic to the Society?; 5) List of potential speakers and topics; 6) Length of symposium (1/2 day, 1 day; all JMIH symposia must be completed in one day or less); 7) Sources of funding other than ASIH; 8) ASIH funding requested and rationale (maximum per request = $1500 if two are funded; $3000 if one is funded). We encourage symposia that cut across taxonomic boundaries. Talks should be planned to fit into a 15- or 30-minute schedule, without exception, to facilitate flow among concurrent sessions.
HENRY S. FITCH AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN HERPETOLOGY—CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NOMINATIONS are solicited for the Henry S. Fitch Award for Excellence in Herpetology from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH). The prize is awarded to an individual for long-term excellence in the study of amphibian and/or reptile biology, based principally on the quality of the awardee's research; consideration is also given to educational and service impacts of the individual's career. The award is presented at the plenary session held in conjunction with the annual meeting of ASIH and includes a cash prize and certificate. Nominations are encouraged from any herpetologist and should include the nominee's curriculum vitae and details of the nominee's specific contributions and their impacts on herpetology.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should be submitted by 1 March 2014 for the nominee to be eligible for that year's award. Nominations will be effective for three years. The nomination should be e-mailed to Dr. Darrel Frost, Chair of the 2014 Fitch Committee (frost@amnh.org), or to the ASIH Secretary, Maureen A. Donnelly (maureen.a.donnelly@gmail.com). The winner of the 2014 Fitch award will be announced during the plenary session in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In July 2013 at the ASIH meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the award was presented to Roy W. McDiarmid.
ROBERT H. GIBBS, JR. MEMORIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SYSTEMATIC ICHTHYOLOGY—CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NOMINATIONS are solicited for the Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH). The prize is awarded for “an outstanding body of published work in systematic ichthyology” to a citizen of a Western Hemisphere nation who has not been a recipient of the award. The award is offered annually and consists of a plaque and a cash award (approximately $5000). The award will be presented during the plenary session in Chattanooga in 2014 during the annual meeting of ASIH. Nominations may be made by any ichthyologist, including self-nominations, and should include the nominee's curriculum vitae, details of the nominee's specific contributions, and their impacts on systematic ichthyology.
Nominations should be submitted by 1 March 2014 for the nominee to be eligible for that year's award. Nominations will be effective for three years. Nominations for 2014 should be sent via e-mail to Dr. Richard Vari, Chair of the 2014 Gibbs Committee (varir@si.edu), or to the ASIH Secretary, Maureen A. Donnelly (maureen.a.donnelly@gmail.com).
In July 2013 at the ASIH meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the award was presented to Lynne R. Parenti.
ROBERT K. JOHNSON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE—CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NOMINATIONS are solicited for the Robert K. Johnson Award. In 2014, the award will be presented to an ichthyologist. The ASIH created the award to recognize members that perform exceptional service for the ASIH in memory of Bob Johnson whose service was exemplary. Bob served on many ASIH committees, four terms as a member of the Board of Governors, as managing editor of Copeia, Secretary, and Chair of the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee. As Chair of the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee, he developed a policy and procedures manual for the ASIH that has proved to be an exceptionally useful document. Bob's committee was inspired by his commitment to this task, which codified the activities of ASIH. The award is presented at the opening Plenary Session of the annual meeting of the ASIH and includes a plaque. Nominations may be made by any ichthyologist or herpetologist and should include the nominee's curriculum vitae and details of the nominee's specific service contributions to the ASIH.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should be submitted by 1 March 2014 for the nominee to be eligible for that year's award. Nominations will be effective for three years. E-mail nominations to Hank Bart, Chair of the 2014 Johnson Award Committee (hbartjr@tulane.edu), or to the ASIH Secretary, Maureen A. Donnelly (maureen.a.donnelly@gmail.com).
In July 2013 at the ASIH meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the award was presented to Patrick T. Gregory.
JOSEPH S. NELSON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE—CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NOMINATIONS are solicited for the recently established Joseph S. Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in Ichthyology from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH). The award recognizes a member of ASIH for an outstanding body of work in any area of ichthyology, including, but not limited to: ecology, behavior, life history, genetics, conservation, and systematics. The award is granted principally on the basis of the quality of the awardee's research; consideration is also given to educational and service impacts of the individual's career. The recipient, selected by an award committee, will be announced at the ASIH annual meeting. The award, to be presented at the annual meeting, consists of an engraved crystal obelisk to commemorate a prestigious career devoted to the study of fishes. Nominations are encouraged from any ASIH member and must include the nominee's curriculum vitae and details of the nominee's specific contributions and their impacts on the field of ichthyology.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should be submitted by 1 March 2014 for the nominee to be eligible for this year's award. Nominations will be effective for three years. The nomination should be submitted electronically via e-mail to Dr. Larry Allen (larry.allen@csun.edu) or to the ASIH Secretary, Dr. Maureen A. Donnelly (maureen.a.donnelly@gmail.com).
In July 2013 at the ASIH meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first Nelson Award was presented to Gerald R. Smith.