Journal profile · Marine & Freshwater Biology
Marine Biology
ISSN 0025-3162 · eISSN 1432-1793 · Springer Berlin Heidelberg · GERMANY · Monthly · Founded 1967
Marine Biology: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.28; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,790; median 182 days to acceptance (94 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 180 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Marine Biology is published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Marine Biology and Ecology Research, Marine and fisheries research and Marine and coastal plant biology, together about 32.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Oceanography and Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Marine Biology publishes original and internationally significant contributions from all fields of marine biology. Special emphasis is given to articles which promote the understanding of life in the sea, organism-environment interactions, interactions between organisms, and the functioning of the marine biosphere. While original research articles are the backbone of Marine Biology, method articles, reviews and comments are also welcome, provided that they meet the same originality, importance and quality criteria as research articles. Articles of exceptional significance are published as highlight articles. They are accompanied by an editorial comment, and they are promoted in social media. Aspects of particular interest include: marine biogeochemistry ecology of marine populations and communities marine ecophysiology behavioural biology of marine organisms development and life cycles of marine organisms biochemistry and physiology of marine organisms evolution of marine organisms population genetics of marine organisms marine conservation technology developments in marine biology global change ecology of marine organisms marine invasion ecology marine biodiversity Preference will be given to articles contributing to the advancement of growing research areas and/or the solution of present day theoretical debates.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Marine & Freshwater Biology
Editor-in-chief Ulrich SommerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Germany 14, United States 10, Australia 7, Spain 5, Canada 4 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences12.9%
- Marine and fisheries researchEnvironmental Science10.5%
- Marine and coastal plant biologyEarth and Planetary Sciences8.7%
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesEnvironmental Science8.1%
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesEnvironmental Science7.7%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences6.3%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science4%
- Isotope Analysis in EcologyEnvironmental Science3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 2.28LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 108LetPub ·
- h-index
- 217OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 11,134OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.53%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 176LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,200,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 13,301 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 177 | 103 | 54 |
| 2025 | 180 | 105 | 341 |
| 2024 | 221 | 134 | 979 |
| 2023 | 205 | 101 | 1,522 |
| 2022 | 152 | 76 | 1,468 |
| 2021 | 223 | 86 | 2,923 |
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
182 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 125 days – 260 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 214 days
- Sample
- 94 articles with submission and acceptance dates (424 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)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 3,790 / EUR 2,890 / GBP 2,490 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- Interim reports; papers with inconclusive results
Article types accepted16
- comments and repliesComments and replies: Comments relate to articles in Marine Biology not older than one year.Length not stated
- letterOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- method articleOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- methodsMethods: Method articles may describe methods developed by the authors or a compendium of methods from the “grey” literature, if these methods deserve the atten…Length not stated
- opinionOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- original articleOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- original paperOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- original papersOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- original researchOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- perspectiveOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- rapid communicationOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- rapid communicationsRapid communications: Rapid communications are reports of important new research results or discoveries which deserve to be published more rapidly than usual ar…Length not stated
- reviewOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
- reviews, concepts, and synthesesReviews, concepts, and syntheses: Review papers are invited on any topic related to the focus of Marine Biology.Length not stated
- short notesShort notes are brief papers that contain significant observations that do not warrant full-length papers or important experimental results that are not suffici…Length not stated
- surveyOriginal papers: These are the most important components of Marine Biology. They report on original research in all fields of marine biology and conform to the …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Plagiarism, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability
Data availability statement required for all original research Model summary
All original research must include a Data Availability Statement. Data Availability Statements should provide information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found. Statements should include, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. When it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when in…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Marine Biology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Initial checks for English language, ethical issues, and plagiarism Model summary
Submitted manuscripts are first checked for English language, ethical issues, and plagiarism.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1967
- ISSN
- 0025-3162
- Electronic ISSN
- 1432-1793
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Marine Biology
What CAS zone is Marine Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Marine Biology is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Marine & Freshwater Biology. 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 Marine Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.28; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 217.
How long does peer review take at Marine Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 94 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 182 days (interquartile range 125–260 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 Marine Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. 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 Marine Biology based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (14), United States (10) and Australia (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Marine Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Marine Biology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Marine Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Marine Biology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,790.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .