Vie et Milieu

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Instructions to Authors

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Vie et Milieu - Life & Environment publishes in English only, accepting original papers and reviews within the field of ecology. Contributions to topics in marine ecology, trophic webs, ecophysiology, quantitative ecology, modelisation, systematics, phylogeny, evolution, genetics, symbioses, and the environment are welcome.

The journal is focused on marine sciences, but also publishes studies of lagoonal and terrestrial domains. Description of new species may be considered for publication if accompanied by significant information on biogeography, ecology, phylogeny or other biological concerns, to ensure that the paper is of general interest.

Submission of a manuscript implies that all the authors have approved the paper and agree with its contents.

All manuscripts are subject to peer-review. Authors are encouraged to suggest five referees (with postal and electronic addresses), but the Editors reserve the right to choose referees other than those suggested.

Manuscript submission

An electronic copy in PDF format should be submitted to the Editorial Office via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The text must include the following information:

  • a concise and informative title in capital letters (omit author and date of any taxon names)
  • authors' names in italics and capital letters;
  • authors’ affiliations and addresses, including the e-mail address of the corresponding author;
  • a running title, that must not exceed 55 characters and spaces;
  • up to eight keywords;
  • an abstract about 200 words. It should state concisely the scope of the work and give the most significant findings. It must not include references.
  • The text should be divided into the following sections: introduction, materials and methods, results (using sub-sections with short headings), discussion, acknowledgements and references (except for taxonomic authorities in systematic hierarchies). Do not mix discussion material with results - these are separate sections. Conclusions should be given within the discussion section.
  • Legends of tables and figures must be provided separately at the end of the manuscript, after the references. They should not repeat the details given in the results. Legends must contain only alphanumeric characters.

Contributions for taxonomic papers and reviews may have other divisions.

Avoid footnotes.

Use italics for the scientific names of genera and species, and for any Latin terminology used: et al.; in vivo; in situ; etc.

At the first mention of a taxon, the authority(ies) must be added, using the International Codes of Nomenclature.

Use SI units and appropriate symbols (mm, not millimeter; µm, not micron; s, not sec; Ma for million years)

References 

In the text, give references in the following forms: "x (2005) said"; "it has been shown by different authors (x & y 2004, z 1989, 2001)"; "x et al. 2004" for more than two authors.

Consecutive references must be separated by a comma. All authors quoted in the text should appear in the reference list. In the list, references should be given alphabetically by authors' names and chronologically under each author. Papers with two or more authors are listed in alphabetical order by second authors' last name.
In the reference list, the titles of the journals must be abbreviated. (http://library.caltech.edu/reference/abbreviations/
http://home.ncifcrf.gov/research/bja/
If the reference has a doi, please indicate it.

Examples:
Bouck L, Thistle D 2006. Responses of two morphologically similar species of benthic copepod (Harpacticoida, Dioosaccidae) to an erosion rate that occurs during winter storms. Vie Milieu 56(1): 9-14
Lekve K, Stenseth C 2005. Climatic influences on marine fish community ecology. In Marine ecosystems and climate variation, Stenseth NC, Ottersen G, Hurell JW, Belgrano A eds, Oxford University Press: 252 p.
Clarke KR, Warwick RM 2001.Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Primer-E, Plymouth.

Tables

Tables should be compiled on separate pages and numbered with roman numerals according to their sequence in the text. They should not be included in the text. Long headings should be avoided. Horizontal lines should be inserted only above and below the column headings and at the foot of the tables. Do not use vertical lines. Long lists of species are undesirable. Footnotes in tables should be designated by symbols (*, †, #...).

Illustrations

Illustrations usually consist of line drawings and photographs. They are numbered with Arabic numerals and referred to consecutively in the text as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc. Component parts of figures should be clear and large enough to allow reduction. Use scale bars with appropriate units (e.g., 0.2 mm), instead of magnifications or scale ratios. When reduced to final publication size, illustrations should fit into either one (8.1 cm) or two (17 cm) column widths. The type area of the journal is 17 x 24 cm (final size including legend).
Illustrations should have a high contrast.

Accepted manuscripts

Both electronic copy of the accepted manuscripts are required (separate files for text, figures and tables). Figures must not be included in text.

Electronic files

Lines drawings should be scanned at high resolution (at least 800 dpi) and saved as JPEG, PSD (Photoshop) or EPS (Photoshop Illustrator) formats. Other formats (Power Point, BMP, PICT...) are unsuitable. Photographs (halftones) must be scanned at least at 300 dpi.
Tables should be prepared in Word or Excel programs.

A PDF file of the manuscript proofs is sent to the corresponding author for checking prior to publication. At this stage, only essential alterations and correction of printing errors may be undertaken. Excessive and/or unnecessary corrections will be charged to the author(s). Galley proofs must be returned to the Editorial Office ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) within 3 days of receipt. If the proofs are not returned to the Editorial Office within the 3 days, it will be assumed that the article can be published unchanged.

Reprints 

The PDF version of an article may be sent to the author upon request.
You may use the PDF in the following ways:

  • you may share print or electronic copies of the paper with colleagues;
  • you may use all or part of the article and abstract in personal compilations or other publications of your work;
  • you may use the article for educational or research purposes, including use in course packages;
  • when using the PDF version of the article, it must always be cited with full bibliographic reference;
  • you are not authorised to post the PDF version of the article online
  • you are not authorised to sell or reproduce the article, or any part of it, for any commercial purposes.

Copyright

The journal holds the copyright for all the articles it publishes.

General terms and conditions of subscription to the electronic version of Vie et Milieu/Life & Environment

Last Updated on 08 September 2023
You are here: Instructions to Authors
Vie et Milieu
Observatoire Océanologique - Laboratoire Arago - Sorbonne Université
66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer - France
Email: vimilieu@obs-banyuls.fr

Managing Editor
Franck Lartaud
Phone: (33) (0)4 30 19 24 52
Email: franck.lartaud@obs-banyuls.fr

Editorial Secretary
Véronique Arnaud
Phone: (33) (0)4 68 88 73 29 (morning)
Email: editionvm@obs-banyuls.fr