Scope and Policy

Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia is a journal by the ‘Associação Brasileira de Limnologia’ (Brazilian Association of Limnology) which publishes original articles, short notes, review articles, opinion articles and methods articles aiming to contribute to the scientific development of Limnology.

The Journal covers a broad spectrum, including any theme of the ecology of continental waters from ecosystems such as streams, rivers, lakes, floodplains, swamps, reservoirs and estuarine zones. The scope of Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia comprises all aspects of theoretical and applied continental aquatic ecology, management and conservation, ecotoxicology, and pollution. Taxonomic works may also be accepted, provided that they contain ecological and geographic distribution information. Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original with no simultaneous submission to other periodicals. The authors assume the intellectual and legal responsibility for the results and the considerations presented.

Authors are entire responsible for manuscripts and its do not reflect the opinion of the journal editors. The authors are entirely responsible for accuracy of the information and citations. The academic plagiarism at any level is a crime. The Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editors are affiliated with universities and research institutes that have their own originality verification and plagiarism prevention software, which they use for detecting issues in submitted manuscripts. For example, in the case of the Editor-in-Chief affiliated with UNESP, the software used is Turnitin®.

Submitted manuscripts will first be checked for language, presentation, and style. Scientists who use English as a foreign language are strongly recommended to have their manuscript read by a native English−speaking colleague.

Authors should prepare their papers for submission following the instructions listed below. Manuscripts are initially evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief. As long as it adheres to the journal’s standards, the Editor in Chief forwards it to an Associated Editor, which indicates the paper for two peer reviewers. The journal uses the single-blind procedure in the analysis of the manuscripts. The reviewers submit their reviews to the Associate Editors that also elaborates a review based on the reviewer’s reviews. After that, the Associate Editor can accept the submission with minor revisions, accept with major revisions, decline the submission or decline with the possibility of a new submission. After examination of the content of the work, the editor sends the reviews to the author’s reformulation. The authors then resubmit the revised article, comprising of two files, one of them with all the changes tracks and comments enabled, ensuring that all the requests made by the reviewers/Editor were addressed, and another one without comments, highlights or any tracks enabled, as well as a detailed response letter (example of response letter below) indicating the changes made or the justification for not making them. If authors require additional time to review the manuscript, they should contact the Associate Editor through the Discussion panel in the submission system to request an extension of the deadline. If there is no response from the authors after 90 days, the manuscript will be automatically rejected. Authors are encouraged to submit the revised manuscript as a new submission, ensuring a healthy editorial flow for the journal.

RESPONSE LETTER EXAMPLE

Dear Associate Editor [NAME OF THE EDITOR],

We are submitting our revised manuscript entitled “[MANUSCRIPT ID NUMBER - MANUSCRIPT TITLE]”.

We addressed all the comments which are summarized in the table below.

Sincerely,

The authors.

--------------------------------

The Associate Editor notifies the Editor in Chief his decision, which then takes his final decision. After a paper has been accepted, a “proof print” of the article is sent (online) to the authors for a final revision.

Doubts and questions about the submissions' workflow may be sent through de e-mail actalimno@ablimno.org.br.

There are six categories of contributions to Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia:

1. Primary research papers. Comprising about 25 pages, including tables, figures and references. See below “Form and preparation of manuscripts”.

2. Short research notes, 2-4 printed pages, presenting concise information on timely topics. Abstract (English and Portuguese), keywords (English and Portuguese), and references are required; abstract/resumo and the remainder of the text are presented as continuous text, without topics.

3. Review papers. Review articles should cover subjects falling within the scope of the journal which are of active current interest. They may be submitted or invited.

4. Opinion papers. These articles should approach academic discussion on a topic relevant to the journal scope. The opinion articles should contain up to 3000 words and express views on theoretical, methodological or current topics in limnology and should be supported and justified by bibliographic elements. At the Editorial Board criterion, the journal will publish responses or considerations of other researchers stimulating discussion on the topics. The views expressed in the opinion articles are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the view of Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia.

5. Methods. These articles should approach new methods regarding data sample and analysis, regarding the journal scope.

6. Thematic sections. Sections regarding a specific theme proposed by the journal’s Editorial Board or by a Limnologist. It may be referring to a specific event in the area.

Form and preparation of manuscripts

Manuscripts submitted to Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia should be original and not being considered for publication elsewhere. Submission should be done in a single file by SciELO Publication System in the journal link: http://submission.scielo.br/index.php/alb/index. Manuscripts should be submitted in English, and a title, abstract and keywords in Portuguese must also be included. We strongly recommend that authors whose native language is not English to have their manuscript checked by an English-speaking colleague prior to submission.

Text

The following order must be used. First page: title in English (in bold type) and Portuguese, authors’ full name (e.g., Antonio Fernando Monteiro Camargo), affiliation, address, email address and ORCID address of all authors. All the authors should be identified by a superscript number. Second page: Abstract (in English and Portuguese), Keywords and, if applicable, a Graphical Abstract. Third and following pages: text of the article (Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, Statements/Data Availability Statements and References). The text should be in Times New Roman font, size 12, 1,5 spaced throughout. The following information should accompany all species cited in the text: a) for zoology, author name and the publication date of the original description should be given the first time that species is cited in the article; and b) for botany, only the name of the author who made the description should be given the first time that species is cited in the article.

Abstract

The concise abstract (250-300 words) should be structured and itemized into the following topics: aim, methods, results, and conclusions. The topics should be highlighted in bold. Abstracts should be written in English and Portuguese. Four to five keywords (also in English and Portuguese) should be supplied and should be distinct from those used in the title.

We strongly recommend the authors to prepare a graphical abstract. It should be elaborated in English including the main findings and ideas regarding the paper. It should be placed after the Portuguese abstract (minimum resolution of 300DPI).

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals (Table 1, 2, 3 etc. and Figure 1, 2, 3, etc.). In the first version, the tables and figures should be inserted in the text as they are cited. In the final version, the tables and figures should be inserted after the references. Figures should be in high resolution (300 DPI or more). Tables should follow the model below, with lines between the header and the data and at the top and bottom of the table. We encourage the use of colored figures by the authors, as we only publish articles in digital version. Tables and figures must be mentioned in the text.

Research Data

Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia recommends the publication of research data related to the manuscripts submitted to the journal. Data are defined as all measurements or information gathered, processed or created which allow making conclusions or to verify the research results. This includes raw or processed data, tabular data, text documents, lists, audios, videos, images, maps, review articles lists, statistical codes, programming codes. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia encourage authors to publish this material into the ALB Dataverse, available in SciELO Data: https://data.scielo.org/dataverse/bralb. Third party data used in the manuscript must be cited in-text in the References. Data deposited in the Dataverse will receive a DOI after it is published, and only data linked/related to the manuscript submitted to ALB can be deposited this way. Only submit your data after the acceptance of the manuscript for publication, after request by the Editorial Team. After submission on the Dataverse, data will only be published after a review from the Editorial Board and the SciELO Data team.

Aside from ALB Dataverse, the journal also recommends the following repositories to deposit research data:

Freshwater Research and Environmental Database (FRED)
Dryad
Zenodo
Figshare

Other data repositories can be found using the following tool: https://repositoryfinder.datacite.org/.

To assure transparency and safety, authors should display the data in a format which allows third party to open and interpret them accordingly. Confidential data, whether from the authors (primary data) or from other sources (secondary data), must not be shared or has to request the author`s consent to be accessed.

Data Availability Statement

Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia requires that authors include a Data Availability Statement section, after the Acknowledgements section, to any article reporting results from data sets, even if the data used in the manuscript is not freely available. The section, if applicable, must contain the name of the repository, DOI and/or hyperlinks directing to the data set and access conditions (free or restrict access).

Models of Data Availability statements:

1. Research data analyzed in this study is not publicly available by any mean.
2. The entire dataset supporting the results of this study has been published in the article itself.
3. All research data analyzed in the research is available in [NAME OF THE REPOSITORY]. Access is [ACCESS CONDICTION]. It can be accessed in [URL/DOI].
4. The dataset analyzed/produced in this study can be requested to the corresponding author due to [REASONS WHY DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE].

References

All references cited on the main text must be listed in alphabetic order according to the first author. If more than an article from the same author was cited, it must be referred in chronological order. The References section must begin in a separate page. Citation from dissertations, theses, undergraduate monographs, technical reports or abstracts for congresses should be avoided as much as possible and only in exceptional circumstances and with the reviewers and the Editors consent may be used.

Citation in the text: Use the name and year system:

Henry (2023), (Vitule & Pelicice, 2023), (Brasil, 2024), (ABLimno, 2023); for more than two authors use “et al.” (eg. Saito et al., 2024). Citations from the list of references should follow the American Psychological Association - APA 7th Edition (modified). Citations in the text must be listed in chronological order (eg. Bianchini-Júnior & Rocha, 2006; Angelini, 2019; Ferragut et al., 2022).

References examples:

Journal articles:

The academic paper references must be presented in the correct established way: name of the author abbreviated (surname, given name), year of publication, title of the work, journal title abbreviated, volume, edition number and page numbers (if available) and DOI, without omission of any relevant information.

• Suárez, B., Barrios, M. & Teixeira de Mello, F., 2024 Assessing the taxonomic sufficiency of macroinvertebrate communities and their potential to distinguish the impacts of land use on lowland streams in Uruguay. Acta Limnol. Bras. (Online), 36, e7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2179-975X5723
• Vallefuoco, F., Vanek, M., Bottarin, R. & Scotti, A., 2024. Quantification of large-spatial scale and in-stream factors affecting the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in mountain streams. Limnologica, 106, 126172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2024.126172 

• Same author articles:

  • Bianchini Jr., I., Cunha-Santino, M.B., Milan, J.A.M., Rodrigues, C.J. & Dias, J.H.P., 2015. Model parameterization for the growth of three submerged aquatic macrophytes. J. Aquat. Plant Manage, 53, 53-64.
  • Bianchini Jr., I., Fushita, A.T. & Cunha-Santino, M.B., 2019. Evaluating the retention capacity of a new subtropical run-of-river reservoir. Environ. Monit. Assess., 191, 161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7295-5

Chapter or Section in Book

• Ferragut, C., Costa, R.A. & Carneiro, R.O., 2022. Periphyton bioreactor as a tool for restoration of eutrophic environments. In Ferreira, M.L., ed. Biogeochemistry and ecosystem services in urban green-blue systems. São Paulo: ANAP, p. 131-145, 1 ed.

Book

• Henry-Silva, G.G. & Camargo, A.F.M., 2022. A Bacia do Rio Apodi-Mossoró: Aspectos ambientais, sociais e econômicos de uma bacia hidrográfica no semiárido do Rio Grande do Norte. Mossoró: EdUFERSA.

Web documents and sites

• Associação Brasileira de Limnologia – ABLimno, 2016. Breve Histórico da ABLimno (continuidade da SBL) [online]. Rio Claro: ABLimno. Retrieved in 2021, July 19, from https://www.ablimno.org.br/ablimno.php.

Juridic documents: laws, decrees, resolutions

• Brasil. Agência Nacional de Águas – ANA, 2021. Declara situação crítica de escassez quantitativa dos recursos hídricos na Região Hidrográfica do Paraná (Resolução ANA nº 77, de 1º de junho de 2021). Diário Oficial da União [da] República Federativa do Brasil, Poder Executivo, Brasília, DF. Retrieved in 2021, July 19, from https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/resolucao-ana-n-77-de-1-de-junho-de-2021-323553340.

Datasets

• Silva, L.B., 2022. Data for: Local and regional determinants of phytoplankton communities in water reservoirs from the Cerrado biome. SciELO Data, V1. https://doi.org/10.48331/scielodata.UQETEY

Number of authors per article

There is no limit on the number of authors per article. However, simple articles with a modest amount of information and within a single specialty are expected to have few authors (two or three). Articles with data from different geographic regions sampled by different research groups and with the need for specialists in different knowledge areas (taxonomy, mathematical modeling, bioinformatics, landscape ecology, etc.) are expected to have a large number of authors (eight, 10 or more). For example, in the preparation of a scientific article, there are five steps to be completed, as following: 1. Elaboration of the question (what one intends to answer) and elaboration of the project with the sampling or experimental design. 2. Sampling or execution of the experiment. 3. Data analysis (laboratory determinations, preparation of tables and graphs, application of statistical analyses, etc.). 4. Interpretation of the results regarding the existing scientific knowledge. 5. Writing of the work itself. Only those who actively participate in at least three of the five steps must be in the authorship of the work.

Cover letter

The submission of a cover letter along with the manuscript is mandatory. Cover letters must include the work's principal contributions, suggesting three potential reviewers (full name, e-mail and why you suggested them). Inform in the letter the contribution of each author in the five steps of the preparation of the paper mentioned above (1. Elaboration of the project; 2. Execution of the experiment; 3. Data analysis; 4. Interpretation of the results; 5. Writing the paper).

Ethics committee approval

If the work involves animal sampling or testing subjects, as well as human subjects in case of environmental perception analysis, submit to the ethics committee approval and indicate in the manuscript text, in the Material and Methods section, the committee name and the process number.

Submission of the manuscripts

The manuscripts prepared according to the aforementioned instructions must be submitted in Word for Windows format through the SciELO Online Submission System (http://submission.scielo.br/index.php/alb/index). Brazilian Association of Limnology does not charge any fee for submission and evaluation of manuscripts.