Journal profile · Zoology
Ethology
ISSN 0179-1613 · eISSN 1439-0310 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · GERMANY · Monthly · Founded 1986
Ethology: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.28; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,650; median 140 days to acceptance (84 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 108 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Ethology is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 4 of Biology 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 Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior, together about 47.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
International in scope, Ethology publishes original research on behaviour including all aspects of Tinbergen's four questions: development, physiological mechanisms, function, and evolution. The Journal addresses behaviour in all species, from slime moulds to humans. Authors are encouraged to provide a conceptual background, thereby highlighting the general importance of their study to behavioural biology as such. Ethology welcomes replicates of earlier experiments that are relevant to our readers if the replication is part of larger study, or if the importance of the replication is well-justified. Publication of negative results is also encouraged, as long as the methods and analyses are sufficient to offer clear evidence that the negative results are valid. Are you a graduate student who would like to receive additional advice on your submission? If you identify yourself as such during the submission process, the editors of Ethology be pleased to offer advice and feedback on your manuscript. This will have no influence on the outcome of the review process. Official Journal of the Ethological Society, one of the oldest European associations of behavioural biologists: Keywords ethology, behaviour, research, animal, laboratory, ecology, sociobiology Indexing Information Academic Search (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Alumni Edition (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Premier (EBSCO Publishing) AgBiotech News & Information (CABI) AgBiotechNet (CABI) AGRICOLA Database (National Agricultural Library) Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) Animal Breeding Abstracts (CABI) Astrophysics Data System (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) BIOBASE: Current Awareness in Biological Sciences (Elsevier) Biocontrol News & Information (CABI) Biological Abstracts (Clarivate Analytics) Biological Science Database (ProQuest) BIOSIS Previews (Clarivate Analytics) CAB Abstracts® (CABI) Current Contents: Agriculture, Biology & Environmental Sciences (Clarivate Analytics) Dairy Science Abstracts (CABI) Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database (ProQuest) GEOBASE (Elsevier) Global Health (CABI) Grasslands & Forage Abstracts (CABI) Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest) Helminthological Abstracts (CABI) Horticultural Science Abstracts (CABI) Hospital Premium Collection (ProQuest) InfoTrac (GALE Cengage) Irrigation & Drainage Abstracts (CABI) Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics) Materials Science & Engineering Database (ProQ
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Zoology
Editor-in-chief Wolfgang GoymannPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 7, United Kingdom 6, United States 5, Australia 4, India 2 (35 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences25.1%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.8%
- Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.8%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.6%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Primate Behavior and EcologyPsychology5.6%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science5.5%
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPsycINFOCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 1.28LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.48LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- h-index
- 67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 128OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,972OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.01OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 51.15%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 74LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 78Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 256,218Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,088 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 73 | 39 | 4 |
| 2025 | 108 | 73 | 80 |
| 2024 | 114 | 76 | 215 |
| 2023 | 106 | 77 | 302 |
| 2022 | 102 | 44 | 404 |
| 2021 | 147 | 59 | 1,112 |
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
140 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 102 days – 182 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (84 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 159 days
- Sample
- 84 articles with submission and acceptance dates (192 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 34 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 34 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 142 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 4,650 / EUR 3,850 / GBP 3,120 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 2
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted7
- behavioural notesBehavioural NotesLength not stated
- editorialThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Except where otherwise stated…Length not stated
- ethological methodsEthological MethodsLength not stated
- perspectives and current debatesPerspectives and Current DebatesLength not stated
- registered reportsRegistered ReportsLength not stated
- research articleOriginal contributions (Research articles)Length not stated
- species-in-the-spotlight"Species-in-the-spotlight“ articlesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
The list of authors should accurately illustrate who contributed to the work and how. All those listed as authors should qualify for authorship according to the following criteria:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potent…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing
Data sharing mandated Model summary
This journal mandates data sharing and peer reviews shared data.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
COPE member Model summary
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read the Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found at authorservices.wiley.com/ethics-guidelines/index.html.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint
Preprints allowed Model summary
Ethology will consider for review articles previously available as preprints on non-commercial servers. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to non-commercial servers at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The journal requires that clinical trials are prospectively registered in a publicly accessible database and clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report their results. Authors are asked to include the name of the trial register and the clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract. If the trial is not registered, or was registered retrospectivel…
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 Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1986
- ISSN
- 0179-1613
- Electronic ISSN
- 1439-0310
- Society / sponsor
- Ethological Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 132, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Ethology
What CAS zone is Ethology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Ethology is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Zoology / Behavioral Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Ethology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.28; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 128.
How long does peer review take at Ethology?
Based on the dates recorded on 84 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 140 days (interquartile range 102–182 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 42% (2025). 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Ethology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 2; Cover letter: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Ethology based?
Of the 35 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (7), United Kingdom (6) and United States (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Ethology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Ethology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Ethology open access, and what is the APC?
Ethology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,650.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .