About the Journal

The Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research

The Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research  (JZAR) is an initiative of EAZA, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. EAZA represents and links 370 institutions and organisations in 44 countries. Formed in 1992, EAZA’s mission is to facilitate cooperation within the European zoo and aquarium community towards the goals of education, research and conservation.

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research (JZAR) provides a forum for publication of novel, peer-reviewed research papers, reviews, technical reports and evidence-based case studies. Through their living collections, zoos and aquariums are uniquely placed to contribute to conservation-related research. Research categories covered by JZAR includes studies in pure and applied biological sciences (e.g. behaviour, genetics, medicine, nutrition, population management and reproduction), in situ conservation research (e.g. socio-economic and field surveys) and research aimed at developing other roles of zoos and aquariums (e.g. visitor learning and marketing surveys).

A section of the Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research is devoted to submissions of original, previously unpublished, case studies documenting the effects of a husbandry intervention. Evidence-based husbandry for living collections aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to decision making. Sharing knowledge about the effects of management and/or husbandry interventions will improve global management of living collections. The vision is that the assessment and dissemination of the effectiveness of husbandry actions will become a routine part of zoological management practice. The core activities at the root of any evidence-based practice can be identified as:

  • a questioning approach to practice leading to scientific experimentation
  • meticulous observation, enumeration, and analysis replacing anecdotal description
  • recording and cataloguing the evidence for systematic retrieval

Publication Schedule

JZAR is published quarterly. JZAR aims to keep the time between original submission and appearance online short and will encourage authors to revise rapidly once a paper has been submitted and deemed acceptable.

Submissions

Manuscripts should be submitted via the online submission module (after registering and log in). Submission of a manuscript will be taken to imply that the material is original and that no similar paper is being, or will be, submitted elsewhere, either in whole or substantial part (this excludes oral presentation, in-house reports or abstract publication). Serialized studies should not be submitted and titles should not contain part numbers. The Editors reserve the right to accelerate the publication of high-profile papers, commissioned reviews or topical papers. Authors may suggest up to four referees for their paper; however the Editor reserves the right to choose referees other than those suggested. The type of submission (see below) should be clearly stated.

For more information about the types of paper that will be considered, manuscript preparation, publication ethics etc, download the Author Guidelines.

Please be aware that we have recently changed our policy regarding case studies, and that we are reluctant to consider single case studies or case reports in veterinary medicine for publication in JZAR. If you still think your manuscript is a valuable contribution to JZAR, please contact the Managing Editor to discuss your options.