[This template willhelp you present the material required for submitting an Article to Oryx,and includesstyles to help you prepare a neat manuscript. Articles are 2,000–7,000 words long (but this does not imply that a submission can be of the maximum length irrespective of content), with a line spacing of 1.5 or 2 (except for tables, which are better in single line spacing) and line numbering. An Article will usually have the structure Introduction, Study area, Methods, Results, Discussion. Each part below includes a summary of its typical contents (these are suggestions only: each study and manuscript has its own requirements in this respect). Parts that are not mandatory are enclosed in []; either remove the brackets or remove the part, as appropriate. If a section is lengthy (generally longer than five paragraphs) it can include up to two levels of subsections, with appropriate headings. Delete this introductory text before submitting your Article at Submissionswill only be considered if they adhere fully to the journal’s Instructions for Contributors.]
Article
Title should be a succinct description of the work, in ≤20 words, preferably embodying either the research question or conclusion
Firstname Lastname, Firstname Lastname and Firstname Lastname
Firstname Lastname (Corresponding author) Full institutional street address. E-mail . orcid.org/XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Firstname Lastname Institution, City, Country. orcid.org/XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Firstname Lastname Institution, City, Country. orcid.org/XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Abstract In a single paragraph of no more than 250 words the abstract should summarize the main text comprehensively but in an abbreviated form, be understandable in its own right, be informative without reference to the main text, not contain any references or undefined abbreviations, and have few if any numbers or statistics. In general the contents should include background (placing the work in context), aims (clear statements of purpose/hypothesis), methods (a brief description of what was done, and where and when), results (a summary of the main findings), and conclusions (the most important consequences of the work, with any recommendations).
Keywords Up to eight pertinent words or phrases, in alphabetical order, bearing in mind the need to optimize your text for search engines (see Writing for conservation for details)
[Supplementary material for this article can be found at
Introduction
The first paragraph should generally place the study in its broader context. Subsequent paragraphs should consider the current state of this field of research in the light of key literature on the subject, and, if appropriate, introduce the species, area and/or subject of the research being presented. The final paragraph should normally contain your research question(s)—preferably framed as hypotheses—or the aims of the study.
[Study area]
A brief description of the area in which your research was carried out, with relevant information such as vegetation type(s), mean annual rainfall and temperature, altitude range, seasonality of climate, geomorphology, topography, pedology, and other matters, as appropriate. The actual content will depend on the focus of the study. The tense used in this section will vary: when describing the situation particular to the time at which your work was carried out, use the past tense (e.g. mean monthly rainfall during the period of our study was 112 mm), but when describing the general situation use the present tense (e.g. mean annual rainfall in the Park is 1,200 mm). This section will usually require a map figure showing the location of the study area and of camera traps, transects or sample collection sites, as appropriate, depending on the study. For general map figure style see recent issues of Oryx and the journal’s Graphics for Conservation manual.
Methods
Should include a clear description of how you carried out your study, and when. This section must be sufficiently clear and detailed to enable somebody to repeat your study without your input. Provide a comprehensive description of the study design and methods, and details of any equipment used. Only include the make and manufacturer of equipment if it is specialized and not in common use (you do not need to provide the make and manufacturer of equipment such as binoculars, telescopesor global positioning systems). Include a full description of any statistical or modelling methods used. There is no need to mention that the data were entered into a spreadsheet or database, as this is standard procedure, but you do need to specify any statistical package used for analysis; e.g. R v. 3.4.3(R Core Team, 2017). The amount of information you include about a method will depend on how well-known the technique is. For well-known methods the name and a reference will generally suffice. Less commonly-used methods will require a brief description and a citation, and novel methods will require a detailed description.
Results
Present only the findings of your study (i.e. any comments on your results belong in the Discussion). Usually this section should not contain any references to literature, and will be written in the past tense. Avoid overlap between the text and the figures and tables: the tables and figures contain the details and the text presents a summary. When you cite tables and figures avoid emphasizing them, but rather emphasize the finding. For example, ‘A total of 33 species of mammals were hunted, of which only 11 were reported by hunters during formal interviews (Table 3)’ rather than ‘Table 3 shows that, during formal interviews, hunters only reported hunting 11 species, although 33 species were hunted in total’. Only incorporate photographs (which should be referred to as Plates) if they are part of the evidence: e.g. a species photographed with a camera-trap, or a photograph of a forest before and after fire.
Discussion
It may be helpful to start with a brief summary of the main findings. If the purpose of your study is to test a particular hypothesis, you would normally refer to this in the first paragraph. Second and subsequent paragraphs should discuss and compare your findings with other studies and/or studies in the same or similar areas (and/or under similar conditions, for example). The final paragraphs should focus on the wider implications of your work, and any management implications and /or recommendations. If further research is necessary, be clear why, and explain what type of research is required.
Author contributions A brief statement that specifies the contributions of each author (specified by their initials), in the following form: Study design and fieldwork: MF, JH; data analysis and writing the article: MF, JH and ML.
Acknowledgements A brief statement of thanks, in non-effusive terms, to those who have provided assistance (following peer review this should normally include acknowledgement of reviewers), and to sponsors, funders, protected area managers or government departments, as appropriate, and details of all sources of financial support, for all authors, with grant numbers if relevant. If there was no specific funding, provide the following statement: ‘This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, or commercial or not-for-profit sectors’.
Conflicts of interest Provide details of all known financial, professional or personal relationships with the potential to bias the work. Where no known conflicts of interest exist, state ‘None’.
Ethical standardsAll research submitted to Oryx must comply with the journal's Code of Conduct for authors contributing articles. Where relevant, please include a statement to this effect and, if the research involved human subjects, experimentation with animals and/or collection of specimens, provide details of the ethical clearance(s) received.
References
References must be in the journal’s referencing style (see the Instructions for Contributors for details). The most efficient way to create a tidy reference section is to use a bibliography manager, which will keep track of your citations—linking them automatically to the reference section and thus ensuring that all citations have matching references and vice versa—and format them in the journal’s preferred style.The Oryx reference style is available for Zotero, Mendeley and Endnote.
Table 1 Each table should be on a separate page, with captions that are comprehensible and self-explanatory without reference to the text. Ensure that all tables are cited in the main text. If necessary, the body of the table can contain groupings, and these should be in bold, and final lines containing means or totals can be used, with the line title in italics, as in this example:
Column header / Column header / Column headerSubheader / Subheader / Subheader / Subheader
Grouping
Grouping
Total
Fig. 1 For detailed guidance on designing maps and data plots, advice on the wise use of graphics formats, and video demonstrations to help with drafting beautiful figures, please see the journal's Graphics for Conservation manual. Each figure should be on a separate page, with captions (in text, not embedded in the figure) that are comprehensible and self-explanatory without reference to the text. Ensure that all figures are cited in the main text. For initial submission, figures do not need to be of publication quality but they must be legible and clear. The graphics formats accepted at this stage are Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and Encapsulated Postscript (EPS). Publication quality figures will be requested when the accepted text is sent to the corresponding author for a final check following copyediting (i.e. prior to proofing). At this stage instructions will be provided, if necessary, for modification of the figures to ensure they convey their message or purpose clearly and comply with the journal’s style. For further details see the journal’s Guidelines for preparation of figures and plates.
Plate 1 Images (e.g. a camera-trap or habitat photograph) should be cited in the text as Plates. Each plate should be on a separate page, with captions that are comprehensible and self-explanatory without reference to the text. Ensure that all plates are cited in the main text. For initial submission, plates do not need to be of publication quality but they must be legible and clear. The graphics formats accepted at this stage are Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and Encapsulated Postscript (EPS). Publication quality plates will be requested when the accepted text is sent to the corresponding author for a final check following copyediting (i.e. prior to proofing). At this stage instructions will be provided, if necessary, for modification of the plates to ensure they convey their message or purpose clearly and comply with the journal’s style. For further details see the journal’s Guidelines for preparation of figures and plates.
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