Journal profile · Zoology
Journal of Animal Ecology
ISSN 0021-8790 · eISSN 1365-2656 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1932
Journal of Animal Ecology: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.7; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,610; median 208 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: hard; 325 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Animal Ecology is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd 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 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Plant and animal studies and Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, together about 31.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
<em>Journal of Animal Ecology</em> publishes animal ecology research that advances ecological theory, generates ecological insights, or addresses broad ecological principles.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Zoology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science12.4%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences10.4%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science8.9%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.7%
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science8.4%
- Animal Ecology and Behavior StudiesEnvironmental Science7.5%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science5.3%
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 | 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 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 1 |
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
- 3.7LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.48LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 139LetPub ·
- h-index
- 316OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,717OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.78OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 59.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 212LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,447 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 190 | 146 | 46 |
| 2025 | 325 | 259 | 691 |
| 2024 | 237 | 186 | 1,355 |
| 2023 | 179 | 152 | 2,186 |
| 2022 | 217 | 140 | 3,648 |
| 2021 | 250 | 148 | 5,872 |
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
208 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 133 days – 287 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 34 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 248 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (432 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 ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 19%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 15 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 3,610 / EUR 3,000 / GBP 2,410 | — | — |
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
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1932
- ISSN
- 0021-8790
- Electronic ISSN
- 1365-2656
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Animal Ecology
What CAS zone is Journal of Animal Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Animal Ecology is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Zoology / 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 Journal of Animal Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.7; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 316.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Animal Ecology?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 208 days (interquartile range 133–287 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Hard”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 19%. 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 Journal of Animal Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Animal Ecology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Animal Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Animal Ecology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,610.
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: .