The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Daniel W. A. Noble; Zoe A Xirocostas; Nicholas Wu; April Robin Martinig; Rafaela A Almeida; Kevin R Bairos-Novak; Heikel Balti; Michael G Bertram; Louis Bliard; Jack A Brand; Ilha Byrne; Ying-Chi Chan; Dena Jane Clink; Quentin Corbel; Ricardo A Correia; Jordann Crawford-Ash; Antica Culina; Elvira D'Bastiani; Gideon G Deme; Melina de Souza Leite; Félicie Dhellemmes; Shreya Dimri; Szymek M Drobniak; Alexander D Elsy; Susan E Everingham; Samuel J L Gascoigne; Matthew J Grainger; Gavin C Hossack; Knut Anders Hovstad; Edward R Ivimey-Cook; Matt Lloyd Jones; Ineta Kačergytė; Georg Küstner; Dalton C Leibold; Magdalena M Mair; Jake Martin; Ayumi Mizuno; Iain R Moodie; David Moreau; Rose E O'Dea; James A Orr; Matthieu Paquet; Rabindra Parajuli; Joel L Pick; Patrice Pottier; Marija Purgar; Pablo Recio; Dominique G Roche; Raphaël Royauté; Saeed Shafiei Sabet; Julio M G Segovia; Inês Silva; Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar; Bruno E Soares; Birgit Szabo; Elina Takola; Eli S J Thoré; Bishnu Timilsina; Natalie E van Dis; Wilco C E P Verberk; Stefan J G Vriend; Kristoffer H Wild; Coralie Williams; Yefeng Yang; Shinichi Nakagawa; Malgorzata Lagisz

doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

Journal article

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Daniel W. A. Noble, Zoe A Xirocostas, Nicholas Wu, April Robin Martinig, Rafaela A Almeida, Kevin R Bairos-Novak, Heikel Balti, Michael G Bertram, Louis Bliard, Jack A Brand, …

Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Vol.292(2039), 20241487

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

PMID: 39876721

Abstract

Biological Evolution

Ecology - methods

Information Dissemination

Peer Review, Research

Preprints as Topic

Publishing

Publishing preprints is quickly becoming commonplace in ecology and evolutionary biology. Preprints can facilitate the rapid sharing of scientific knowledge establishing precedence and enabling feedback from the research community before peer review. Yet, significant barriers to preprint use exist, including language barriers, a lack of understanding about the benefits of preprints and a lack of diversity in the types of research outputs accepted (e.g. reports). Community-driven preprint initiatives can allow a research community to come together to break down these barriers to improve equity and coverage of global knowledge. Here, we explore the first preprints uploaded to EcoEvoRxiv (n = 1216), a community-driven preprint server for ecologists and evolutionary biologists, to characterize preprint use in ecology, evolution and conservation. Our perspective piece highlights some of the unique initiatives that EcoEvoRxiv has taken to break down barriers to scientific publishing by exploring the composition of articles, how gender and career stage influence preprint use, whether preprints are associated with greater open science practices (e.g. code and data sharing) and tracking preprint publication outcomes. Our analysis identifies areas that we still need to improve upon but highlights how community-driven initiatives, such as EcoEvoRxiv, can play a crucial role in shaping publishing practices in biology.

Details

Title: The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution
Authors/Creators: Daniel W. A. Noble - Australian National University
Zoe A Xirocostas - University of Technology Sydney
Nicholas Wu - Western Sydney University
April Robin Martinig - UNSW Sydney
Rafaela A Almeida - Ecologie & Evolution
Kevin R Bairos-Novak - The University of Queensland
Heikel Balti - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Michael G Bertram - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Louis Bliard - Institut de Biologia Evolutiva
Jack A Brand - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Ilha Byrne - The University of Queensland
Ying-Chi Chan - Swiss Ornithological Institute
Dena Jane Clink - Center for Environmental Health
Quentin Corbel - Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale
Ricardo A Correia - University of Turku
Jordann Crawford-Ash - Australian National University
Antica Culina - Ruđer Bošković Institute
Elvira D'Bastiani - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, LA, USA
Gideon G Deme - Case Western Reserve University
Melina de Souza Leite - Universidade de São Paulo
Félicie Dhellemmes - Technische Universität Berlin
Shreya Dimri - Bielefeld University
Szymek M Drobniak - Jagiellonian University
Alexander D Elsy - ETH Zurich
Susan E Everingham - Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research
Samuel J L Gascoigne - School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
Matthew J Grainger - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
Gavin C Hossack - Perry Point VA Medical Center
Knut Anders Hovstad - SINTEF
Edward R Ivimey-Cook - University of Glasgow
Matt Lloyd Jones - University of Exeter
Ineta Kačergytė - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Georg Küstner - University of Würzburg
Dalton C Leibold - Australian National University
Magdalena M Mair - University of Bayreuth
Jake Martin - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Ayumi Mizuno - UNSW Sydney
Iain R Moodie - Lund University
David Moreau - University of Auckland
Rose E O'Dea - The University of Melbourne
James A Orr - University of Oxford
Matthieu Paquet - Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale
Rabindra Parajuli - Florida Atlantic University
Joel L Pick - University of Edinburgh
Patrice Pottier - Australian National University
Marija Purgar - Ruđer Bošković Institute
Pablo Recio - Australian National University
Dominique G Roche - Carleton University
Raphaël Royauté - ParisTech
Saeed Shafiei Sabet - University of Guilan
Julio M G Segovia - Bielefeld University
Inês Silva - Center for Advanced Systems Understanding
Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar - Bielefeld University
Bruno E Soares - University of Regina
Birgit Szabo - University of Bern
Elina Takola - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Eli S J Thoré - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Bishnu Timilsina - The Arctic University Museum of Norway, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Tromso, Norway
Natalie E van Dis - Institute of Life Sciences
Wilco C E P Verberk - Radboud University Nijmegen
Stefan J G Vriend - Netherlands Institute of Ecology
Kristoffer H Wild - Australian National University
Coralie Williams - UNSW Sydney
Yefeng Yang - UNSW Sydney
Shinichi Nakagawa - UNSW Sydney
Malgorzata Lagisz - UNSW Sydney
Publication Details: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Vol.292(2039), 20241487
Publisher: Royal Society; LONDON
Number of pages: 9
Identifiers: 991005776031907891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Biology; Ecology; Evolutionary Biology
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science