Journal profile · Marine & Freshwater Biology
Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective
ISSN 0173-9565 · eISSN 1439-0485 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · ITALY · Quarterly · Founded 1980
Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.74; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,560; median 186 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 90 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective 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 Marine Biology and Ecology Research, Marine and coastal plant biology and Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, together about 42.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology, Oceanography and Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Marine Ecology publishes original contributions on the structure and dynamics of marine benthic and pelagic ecosystems, communities and populations, and on the critical links between ecology and the evolution of marine organisms. The journal prioritizes contributions elucidating fundamental aspects of species interaction and adaptation to the environment through integration of information from various organizational levels (molecules to ecosystems) and different disciplines (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, marine biology, natural history, geography, oceanography, palaeontology and modelling) as viewed from an ecological perspective. The journal also focuses on population genetic processes, evolution of life histories, morphological traits and behaviour, historical ecology and biogeography, macro-ecology and seascape ecology, palaeo-ecological reconstruction, and ecological changes due to introduction of new biota, human pressure or environmental change. Most applied marine science, including fisheries biology, aquaculture, natural-products chemistry, toxicology, and local pollution studies lie outside the scope of the journal. Papers should address ecological questions that would be of interest to a worldwide readership of ecologists; papers of mostly local interest, including descriptions of flora and fauna, taxonomic descriptions, and range extensions will not be considered.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Marine & Freshwater Biology
Editor-in-chief Roberto DanovaroPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 16%); most named Italy 9, Mainland China 5, United States 4, India 3, Hong Kong, China 2 (32 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 Sciences17.5%
- Marine and coastal plant biologyEarth and Planetary Sciences12.9%
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesEnvironmental Science12.2%
- Marine and fisheries researchEnvironmental Science10.3%
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesEnvironmental Science5.2%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences4.5%
- Marine Ecology and Invasive SpeciesEnvironmental Science4.1%
- Isotope Analysis in EcologyEnvironmental Science3.8%
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 | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 3 |
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 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 | Marine & Freshwater Biology | 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
CASCAB AbstractsGeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO
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
- 1.74LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.8LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,338OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.64OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 37.16%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 76LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 78Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 123,473Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,374 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 32 | 3 |
| 2025 | 90 | 53 | 147 |
| 2024 | 71 | 41 | 198 |
| 2023 | 67 | 44 | 331 |
| 2022 | 46 | 8 | 254 |
| 2021 | 74 | 18 | 467 |
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
186 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 134 days – 270 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (91 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 213 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (143 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 44%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 59 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 192 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 3,560 / EUR 2,970 / GBP 2,390 | — | — | |
| 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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 6
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted11
- book reviewPlease contact book review Editor Michael Stachowitsch if you are interested in providing a book review. Only books of broad general interest will be considered…Length not stated
- concept analysisConcept Analysis Reports of original research, with methods, findings and conclusions. Short articles that present particularly novel or exciting results, intro…Length not stated
- hypothesisAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- opinionAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- original researchAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- perspectiveAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- research articleAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- reviewAuthors are invited to submit manuscripts within one of the following formats: General SubmissionWe seek original contributions on the structure and dynamics of…Length not stated
- review articleReview Article Overview of developments in fields or the current lines of thought. Synthesizes multiple sources of information and emphasis is more factual and …Length not stated
- short communicationShort Communication Brief observations and research reports in a concise format.Length not stated
- thinking beyond the dataThe forum 'Thinking Beyond the Data' encourages theoretical and speculative contributions presenting novel ideas and/or syntheses or challenging hypotheses on t…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the ‘Conflict of Interest’ section in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
The journal encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Peer Review and Acceptance The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Papers with serious problems of English composition or grammar may be returned without review. Wiley…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Open Access uses CC-BY Model summary
This journal uses the CC-BY Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
Editor screens papers before review Model summary
The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Papers with serious problems of English composition or grammar may be returned without review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint
Preprints considered Model summary
Marine Ecology 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 ·
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
- ITALY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1980
- ISSN
- 0173-9565
- Electronic ISSN
- 1439-0485
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective
What CAS zone is Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 3 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 Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.74; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 186 days (interquartile range 134–270 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 44% (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 Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 6; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective based?
Of the 32 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 16%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (9), Mainland China (5) and United States (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS, CAB Abstracts, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective open access, and what is the APC?
Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,560.
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: .