Instructions for Authors
This instruction is for English manuscripts. Please see this page for Japanese manuscripts.
Aims
Publishing format
Category of papers
Manuscript submission
Submission and inquiry contact information
Publication consideration
Layout
Proofreading
Separate prints
Copyright
Registration of data
Registration in ZooBank
Manuscript preparation
Page size and format
Language
Structure of manuscript
Authors' contributions
Competing of interests
References
Citing figures and tables within the text
Tables
Figures
Aims
"Humans and Nature" is an annual electronic publication series from Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo ("Hitohaku" as an abbreviation in Japanese). This journal is devoted to the advancement of science in its broadest sense and particularly to the enhancement of forum for the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature.
Publishing Format
Publications will be issued once a year. However, this does not apply in the case of special issues or other exceptions. The accepted paper will be made available for download on website of the Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo and J-STAGE.
Category of papers
The following (a) to (d) shall be refereed articles.
(a) Original articles: Objective and original reports, whose conclusions are expected to lead to our better understandings in academic sense of relevant subjects.
(b) Reviews: Articles which introduce series of recent findings and relevant discussions in particular fields of science chiefly through bibliographic works from original viewpoints, giving insights regarding crucial problems needing further efforts for solution and directions for future progresses.
(c) Reports: Articles which report preliminary results of field surveys, laboratory. experiments, and practical attempts in the places of education.
(d) Data: Articles giving compiled summaries of data obtained by surveys, experiments, tests, etc. These are aimed to be available for future researches, analyses, evaluations, design, etc.
We also accept manuscript that do not fall into the above categories, such as "Perspective."
Manuscript submission
The manuscript should be submitted as email attachments, along with the "Pledge." If the files are too large to attach to an email, please contact the editorial committee. The template of the "Pledge" form can be downloaded from here. We don't accept printed manuscripts.
Submission and inquiry contact information
Humans and Nature, Editorial Committee
Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo
Yayoigaoka 6, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1546, Japan
Tel: +79-559-2001
E-mail: kenkyu-kiyou(at)hitohaku.jp
Publication consideration
Original articles, reviews, reports, data
The editorial committee evaluates submitted manuscripts to determine if they align with the journal's scope. If they do, original articles and reviews undergo peer review by at least two experts, while reports and data are reviewed by at least one expert. Based on the reviewers' feedback, the editor in charge may request revisions from the authors. The decision to publish is made by the editorial committee, considering the opinions of the reviewers and the editor in charge.
Others
The editorial committee evaluates submitted manuscripts to determine if they align with the journal's scope and decides on their publication. Even if accepted, the editor in charge may request revisions from the authors. These manuscripts do not undergo peer review.
Layout
The layout of the paper is left to the discretion of the editorial committee.
Proofreading
Author proofreading is limited to the first proof, with subsequent proofreading conducted by the editorial committee. Significant additions or changes to the content in the first proof are not permitted.
Separate prints
Separate prints via paper media are not created. If desired, please inquire through the editorial committee to the printing company.
Copyright
The copyright of the published paper belongs to Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo. Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted in the paper.
Registration of data
New molecular sequences in manuscripts must be deposited in the appropriate international data bank. The data base accession number must be included in the manuscript. Additionally, the editorial committee may request submission of data deemed necessary.
Registration in ZooBank
For manuscripts including zoological nomenclatural acts, the author(s) should acquire registration numbers of Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) after they are accepted and report it to the editorial committee.
Manuscript preparation
Page size and format
Manuscript should be prepared using Microsoft Word (docx/doc) or a compatible application. The page size should be A4, with 80 alphabetical characters per line and 25 lines per page. Page numbers should be placed in the upper right corner outside the margin and consecutive line numbers should be placed outside the left margin. Footnotes are not to be used. Chapter titles ("Introduction," "Materials and Methods," etc.) and subheadings beneath them should be in bold Gothic font, with chapters centered and subheadings left-aligned. After acceptance, the editorial committee may perform editing. There are no page limits for any manuscripts, but even after acceptance, the editorial committee may request revision, such as reducing the number of pages.
Language
The manuscript should be written in English. Units generally follow the International System of Units. However, if units deviate from this and are commonly used in the field, this rule does not apply. Scientific names of species should be italicized. Authors are responsible for ensuring correct English usage, such as by undergoing English language editing.
Structure of manuscript
Original articles, reviews, reports, data
First page: Category (e.g. Original article), running title (40 or fewer alphabetical characters, including spaces), title, and author names should be provided. Indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk placed on the right of the name. Below this information, include the affiliation and location, with corresponding numbers next to the author's name. The email address of the corresponding author should be indicated as "*Email: ooo@xxx.com."
Second page: This page should contain a concise abstract of the text, consisting of no more than 200 words, and three to six key words that identify the most important subject covered by the article, listed in alphabetical order.
Third and subsequent pages: The main text typically follows the basic structure of original articles, consisting of Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. However, for articles where adhering to this structure is difficult, it is not mandatory. Following the main text, include acknowledgments (including information on research grants and animal ethics, if applicable), author contributions (only if there are multiple authors), competing of interests, references, tables, captions for figures, and figures. If desired, an optional abstract of up to 400 characters in Japanese can be included at the end.
Others
First page: Category (e.g. Perspective), running title (40 or fewer alphabetical characters, including spaces), title, and author names should be provided. Indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk placed on the right of the name. Below this information, include the affiliation and location, with corresponding numbers next to the author's name. The email address of the corresponding author should be indicated as "*Email: ooo@xxx.com."
Second and subsequent pages: The main text, acknowledgments (including information on research grants and animal ethics, if applicable), author contributions (only if there are multiple authors), competing of interests, references, tables, captions for figures, and figures should be included as necessary.
First page: Category (e.g. Original article), running title (40 or fewer alphabetical characters, including spaces), title, and author names should be provided. Indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk placed on the right of the name. Below this information, include the affiliation and location, with corresponding numbers next to the author's name. The email address of the corresponding author should be indicated as "*Email: ooo@xxx.com."
Second page: This page should contain a concise abstract of the text, consisting of no more than 200 words, and three to six key words that identify the most important subject covered by the article, listed in alphabetical order.
Third and subsequent pages: The main text typically follows the basic structure of original articles, consisting of Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. However, for articles where adhering to this structure is difficult, it is not mandatory. Following the main text, include acknowledgments (including information on research grants and animal ethics, if applicable), author contributions (only if there are multiple authors), competing of interests, references, tables, captions for figures, and figures. If desired, an optional abstract of up to 400 characters in Japanese can be included at the end.
Others
First page: Category (e.g. Perspective), running title (40 or fewer alphabetical characters, including spaces), title, and author names should be provided. Indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk placed on the right of the name. Below this information, include the affiliation and location, with corresponding numbers next to the author's name. The email address of the corresponding author should be indicated as "*Email: ooo@xxx.com."
Second and subsequent pages: The main text, acknowledgments (including information on research grants and animal ethics, if applicable), author contributions (only if there are multiple authors), competing of interests, references, tables, captions for figures, and figures should be included as necessary.
Authors' contributions
If there are multiple authors, describe the roles of each author.
Ex.) TH conceived and designed the study, conducted field observations at XX; TH and JS collected samples; SK performed the analyses; all authors contributed to the interpretation and writing. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Ex.) TH conceived and designed the study, conducted field observations at XX; TH and JS collected samples; SK performed the analyses; all authors contributed to the interpretation and writing. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Competing of interests
Declare any conflicts of interest.
Ex.) There are no conflicts of interest with any specific company in conducting this study.
Ex.) There are no conflicts of interest with any specific company in conducting this study.
References
For citations of two authors, connect them with "and." For citations of three or more authors, use "et al."
Ogawa (2020) described xxx.
Ogawa and Osawa (2020) described xxx.
Ogawa et al. (2020) described xxx.
xxx was described (Ogawa, 2020, 2021a, b; Osawa et al., 2022).
References cited in the text as well as in the captions of figures and tables should be listed at the end of the manuscript under "Refences," arranged alphabetically by author name. Works by the same author should be listed in chronological order, with publications from the same year designated with lowercase letters (e.g., "a," "b") in the order they appear in the text. References should be formatted according to the following example.
Journal articles
Books
Parts of books
Websites (not preferable)
Ogawa (2020) described xxx.
Ogawa and Osawa (2020) described xxx.
Ogawa et al. (2020) described xxx.
xxx was described (Ogawa, 2020, 2021a, b; Osawa et al., 2022).
References cited in the text as well as in the captions of figures and tables should be listed at the end of the manuscript under "Refences," arranged alphabetically by author name. Works by the same author should be listed in chronological order, with publications from the same year designated with lowercase letters (e.g., "a," "b") in the order they appear in the text. References should be formatted according to the following example.
Journal articles
Allen, J. C. and Boettcher, A. L. (1978) Amphiboles in andesite and basalt: II. Stability as a function of P-T-fH2O-fO2. American Mineralogist, 63, 1074-1087.
Ozaki, M., Matsuura, H. and Sato, Y. (1996) Geologic age of the Kobe Group. Journal of the Geological Society of Japan, 102, 73-83. (in Japanese with English abstract)
Books
Shimazu, M. (1991) Petrology of the Volcanic Rocks in the Green Tuff Region. Kyoritsu Shuppan, Tokyo, x + 172 p. (in Japanese)
Prothero, D.R., Ivany, L.C. and Nesbitt, E.A. (eds.) (2003) From Greenhouse to Icehouse. The Marine Eocene-Oligocene Transition. Columbia University Press, New York, xi + 541 p.
Parts of books
Torrey, J.G. (1965) Physiological bases of organization and development in the root. In Lang, A. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 1256-1327.
Websites (not preferable)
Froese, R. and Pauly, D. (2024) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org (accessed June 15, 2024)
Frost, D. (2024) Amphibian species of the world 6.2, an online reference. https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org (accessed June 15, 2024)
Citing figures and tables within the text
Figure and table numbers should correspond to their appearance order in the text.
XX is indicated in Fig. 1A.
XX was considered (Figs. 1, 2).
XX is indicated in Table 1.
XX was considered (Tables 1, 2).
XX was considered (Fig. 1; Table 1).
XX is indicated in Fig. 1A.
XX was considered (Figs. 1, 2).
XX is indicated in Table 1.
XX was considered (Tables 1, 2).
XX was considered (Fig. 1; Table 1).
Tables
Tables cited in the text should be placed on separate pages. Tables should be created using Microsoft Word or a compatible application and should not include vertical lines. The captions for tables should start with, e.g. "Table 1" and be placed above the tables. Tables should not be excessively large and should fit within the width of a printed page. Additionally, vertically long tables can span multiple pages. Specify the desired size for printing (single-column or double-column) in the margins of the paper. Tables that are not cited in the text should not be included.
Figures
Figures cited in the text should be created on separate sheets. The size of figures should not exceed 80 mm in width for single-column printing or 170 mm for double-column printing. The height should not exceed 240 mm. If a figure contains multiple panels, distinguish them with uppercase letters (A, B, etc.). For file saving, EPS is preferable for line drawings. For JPEG, TIFF, or PDF formats, a resolution of 1,200 dpi for line drawings, 600 dpi for black and white photographs, 350 dpi for color photographs, and 800 dpi for combined line drawings and photographs (black and white) or 600 dpi for combined line drawings and color photographs is recommended. Specify the figure number (e.g., Fig. 1) and the desired size for printing (single-column or double-column) in the margins of the paper. Figures that are not cited in the text should not be included.
Revised in May 2017
Revised in March 2018
Revised in March 2019
Revised in July 2022
Revised in July 2024
