Journal profile · Zoology
Behavioral Ecology
ISSN 1045-2249 · eISSN 1465-7279 · Oxford University Press · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1990
Behavioral Ecology: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.15; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,906; median 220 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: hard; 156 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Behavioral Ecology is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Animal Behavior and Reproduction, Plant and animal studies and Avian ecology and behavior, together about 52.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Studies on the whole range of behaving organisms, including plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and humans, are included. Behavioral Ecology construes the field in its broadest sense to include 1) the use of ecological and evolutionary processes to explain the occurrence and adaptive significance of behavior patterns; 2) the use of behavioral processes to predict ecological patterns, and 3) empirical, comparative analyses relating behavior to the environment in which it occurs.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Zoology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences27.1%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences17.7%
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science7.5%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.1%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science4.1%
- Primate Behavior and EcologyPsychology2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.15LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.89LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 106LetPub ·
- h-index
- 177OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,959OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.41OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 51.15%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 122LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,188 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 128 | 75 | 71 |
| 2025 | 156 | 104 | 360 |
| 2024 | 113 | 98 | 526 |
| 2023 | 122 | 100 | 897 |
| 2022 | 118 | 70 | 1,353 |
| 2021 | 158 | 82 | 2,338 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
220 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 152 days – 308 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 29 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 255 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (159 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- HardLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,906 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1990
- ISSN
- 1045-2249
- Electronic ISSN
- 1465-7279
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Behavioral Ecology
What CAS zone is Behavioral Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Behavioral Ecology is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Zoology / Behavioral Sciences / Ecology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Behavioral Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.15; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 177.
How long does peer review take at Behavioral Ecology?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 220 days (interquartile range 152–308 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Behavioral Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Behavioral Ecology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Behavioral Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Behavioral Ecology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,906.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .