Journal profile · Ecology
Ecology
ISSN 0012-9658 · eISSN 1939-9170 · Wiley-Blackwell · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1920
Ecology: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.96; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,970; median 185 days to acceptance (108 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 345 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Ecology is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Plant and animal studies and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, together about 38% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Ecology publishes articles that report on the basic elements of ecological research. Emphasis is placed on concise, clear articles documenting important ecological phenomena. The journal publishes a broad array of research that includes a rapidly expanding envelope of subject matter, techniques, approaches, and concepts: paleoecology through present-day phenomena; evolutionary, population, physiological, community, and ecosystem ecology, as well as biogeochemistry; inclusive of descriptive, comparative, experimental, mathematical, statistical, and interdisciplinary approaches. Aims and Scope Established in 1920, Ecology publishes research and synthesis papers on all aspects of ecology, with particular emphasis on papers that develop new concepts in ecology, that test ecological theory, or that lead to an increased appreciation for the diversity of ecological phenomena. Theoretical, analytical, experimental, empirical, historical, and descriptive approaches are all appropriate, though preference is given to research and synthesis that leads to generalizations potentially applicable to other species, populations, communities, or ecosystems. Included within the journal are papers on physiological responses of individual organisms to their biotic and abiotic environments, ecological genetics and evolution, the structure and dynamics of populations, interactions among individuals of the same or different species, the behavior of individuals and groups of organisms, the organization of biological communities, landscape ecology, and ecosystems processes. Papers reporting ecological research on all kinds of organisms and ecosystems are welcome. New methodologies with a potential for broad use in ecology are also of interest. Papers that are well grounded in ecological theory and have broad implications for environmental policy or resource management may be well suited for publication in Ecological Applications, but are also welcome in Ecology if they meet the general criteria described above. Papers must be original and not be work previously published in the primary literature. This does not mean that reanalysis, interpretation, or assessment of published data is in any way excluded from our journals. Some forms of prior gray literature publication are acceptable, and the decision rests with the judgment of the Subject-matter editors. We will consider for review manuscripts that concisely describe interesting science, and we do not discriminate against dissertati
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Ecology
Editor-in-chief Kathryn L. CottinghamPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science18.6%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.7%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Animal Ecology and Behavior StudiesEnvironmental Science5.3%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science5.2%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science4.8%
- Rangeland and Wildlife ManagementEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.2%
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 | Ecology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 3.96LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.77LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 262LetPub ·
- h-index
- 508OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 16,892OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 281LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 25,959 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 251 | 175 | 135 |
| 2025 | 345 | 246 | 1,191 |
| 2024 | 280 | 191 | 1,810 |
| 2023 | 286 | 204 | 2,908 |
| 2022 | 367 | 204 | 6,795 |
| 2021 | 339 | 155 | 7,557 |
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 Crossref · to
185 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 122 days – 257 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 82 days (108 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 279 days
- Sample
- 108 articles with submission and acceptance dates (644 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)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
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 3,970 / EUR 3,310 / GBP 2,650 | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted1
- data paperData Papers are a unique type of manuscript published in Ecology, designed to enrich the global ecological and scientific community through the sharing of data …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship List and Roles
Author List All individuals in the author list must be entitled to authorship. Refer to the “Publication” section of the ESA Code of Ethics for guidelines on authorship. Names of individuals entitled to authorship must appear in both the ScholarOne online submission form and on the title page of the manuscript, in the same order. It is not appropriate to name multi-author collaborative and consort…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of Overlap
At the time of submission, authors must provide information describing the extent to which data, text, or figures in the manuscript have been used in other papers that are published, in press, submitted, or soon to be submitted elsewhere. Authors should provide this information in the “Dual Publication” field of the ScholarOne online submission form. In cases of overlap with other publications or …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Reuse of Papers That Were Not Published Open Access
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of papers published in journals of the Ecological Society of America for personal use or educational use within one’s home institution is granted to ESA members without fee, provided that the first page or initial screen of a display includes the notice “Copyright by the Ecological Society of America,” along with the full citation, including…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Changing the Contact Author During the Peer Review Process
It is possible to change the contact author for a submission. To change roles, both the original contact author and the new contact author must affirm that they consent to the change in author roles by contacting the journal’s editorial staff.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Authors interested in posting a copy of their manuscript to a preprint server must obey the following guidelines: The version of the manuscript posted on the preprint server must be the original version submitted to the journal and cannot be any version improved by peer review. If the manuscript is accepted, the author must provide a link to the published paper with the preprint posting. Authors s…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1920
- ISSN
- 0012-9658
- Electronic ISSN
- 1939-9170
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 107, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Ecology
What CAS zone is Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Ecology is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Ecology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.96; CiteScore 7, h-index 508.
How long does peer review take at Ecology?
Based on the dates recorded on 108 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 185 days (interquartile range 122–257 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. 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 Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Ecology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Ecology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,970.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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: .