The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Daniel W.A. Noble; Zoe A. Xirocostas; Nicholas C. 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

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Daniel W.A. Noble^* (Corresponding author), Zoe A. Xirocostas, Nicholas C. 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 LeiteFélicie 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

^*Corresponding author for this work

NIOO - Aquatic Ecology (AqE)

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	20241487
Journal	Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume	292
Issue number	2039
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1487
Publication status	Published - 29 Jan 2025

Keywords

EcoEvoRxiv
ecology
evolution
grey literature
preprints
publication
scholarly publishing

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10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

Embargoed Document

Noble et al 2025
Final published version, 984 KB
Licence: Taverne
Embargo ends: 29/07/2025
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code from: The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution
Noble, D. W. A., Xirocostas, Z. A., Wu, N. C., Martinig, A. R., Alao de Almeida, R., Bairos-Novak, K. R., Balti, H., Bertram, M. G., Bliard, L., Brand, J. A., Byrne, I., Chan, Y-C., Clink, D. J., Corbel, Q., Correia, R. A., Crawford-Ash, J., Culina, A., D'Bastiani, E., Deme, G. G., De Souza Leite, M., & 46 othersDhellemmes, F., Dimri, S., Drobniak, S. M., Elsy, A. D., Everingham, S. E., Gascoigne, S. J. L., Grainger, M., Hossack, G. C., Hovstad, K. A., Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Lloyd Jones, M., Kačergytė, I., Küstner, G., Leibold, D. C., Mair, M., Martin, J., Mizuno, A., Moodie, I., Moreau, D., O’Dea, R. E., Orr, J. A., Paquet, M., Parajuli, R., Pick, J. L., Pottier, P., Purgar, M., Recio, P., Roche, D. G., Royauté, R., Shafiei Sabet, S., Segovia, J. M. G., Silva, I., Sánchez-Tójar, A., Soares, B. E., Szabo, B., Takola, E., Thoré, E. S. J., Timilsina, B., van Dis, N. E., Verberk, W. C. E. P., Vriend, S. J. G., Wild, K. H., Williams, C., Yang, Y., Nakagawa, S. & Lagisz, M., 20 Dec 2024
Research output: Non-textual form › Software › Scientific

Open Access
The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution
Noble, D., Xirocostas, Z., Wu, N., Martinig, A., Almeida, R., Bairos-Novak, K., Balti, H., Bertram, M., Bliard, L., Brand, J., Byrne, I., Chan, Y-C., Clink, D., Corbel, Q., Correia, R., Crawford-Ash, J., Culina, A., D’Bastiani, E., Gywa, G., Leite, M., & 30 othersDhellemmes, F., Dimri, S., Drobniak, S., Elsy, A., Everingham, S., Gascoigne, S., Grainger, M., Hossack, G., Hovstad, K., Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Lloyd Jones, M., Kačergytė, I., Küstner, G., Leibold, D., Mair, M., Martin, J., Mizuno, A., Moodie, I., Moreau, D., O’Dea, R., Orr, J., Paquet, M., Parajuli, R., Pick, J., Pottier, P., Purgar, M., Recio, P., Roche, D., van Dis, N. & Vriend, S., 13 Jun 2024.
Research output: Working paper/discussion paper › Preprint

Open Access

Cite this

Noble, D. W. A., Xirocostas, Z. A., Wu, N. C., Martinig, A. R., Almeida, R. A., Bairos-Novak, K. R., Balti, H., Bertram, M. G., Bliard, L., Brand, J. A., Byrne, I., Chan, Y. C., Clink, D. J., Corbel, Q., Correia, R. A., Crawford-Ash, J., Culina, A., D'bastiani, E., Deme, G. G., ... Lagisz, M. (2025). The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292(2039), Article 20241487. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

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abstract = "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.",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

AU - Noble, Daniel W.A.

AU - Xirocostas, Zoe A.

AU - Wu, Nicholas C.

AU - Martinig, April Robin

AU - Almeida, Rafaela A.

AU - Bairos-Novak, Kevin R.

AU - Balti, Heikel

AU - Bertram, Michael G.

AU - Bliard, Louis

AU - Brand, Jack A.

AU - Byrne, Ilha

AU - Chan, Ying Chi

AU - Clink, Dena Jane

AU - Corbel, Quentin

AU - Correia, Ricardo A.

AU - Crawford-Ash, Jordann

AU - Culina, Antica

AU - D'bastiani, Elvira

AU - Deme, Gideon G.

AU - De Souza Leite, Melina

AU - Dhellemmes, Félicie

AU - Dimri, Shreya

AU - Drobniak, Szymek M.

AU - Elsy, Alexander D.

AU - Everingham, Susan E.

AU - Gascoigne, Samuel J.L.

AU - Grainger, Matthew J.

AU - Hossack, Gavin C.

AU - Hovstad, Knut Anders

AU - Ivimey-Cook, Edward R.

AU - Jones, Matt Lloyd

AU - Kačergytė, Ineta

AU - Küstner, Georg

AU - Leibold, Dalton C.

AU - Mair, Magdalena M.

AU - Martin, Jake

AU - Mizuno, Ayumi

AU - Moodie, Iain R.

AU - Moreau, David

AU - O'dea, Rose E.

AU - Orr, James A.

AU - Paquet, Matthieu

AU - Parajuli, Rabindra

AU - Pick, Joel L.

AU - Pottier, Patrice

AU - Purgar, Marija

AU - Recio, Pablo

AU - Roche, Dominique G.

AU - Royauté, Raphaël

AU - Shafiei Sabet, Saeed

AU - Segovia, Julio M.G.

AU - Silva, Inês

AU - Sánchez-Tójar, Alfredo

AU - Soares, Bruno E.

AU - Szabo, Birgit

AU - Takola, Elina

AU - Thoré, Eli S.J.

AU - Timilsina, Bishnu

AU - Van Dis, Natalie E.

AU - Verberk, Wilco C.E.P.

AU - Vriend, Stefan J.G.

AU - Wild, Kristoffer H.

AU - Williams, Coralie

AU - Yang, Yefeng

AU - Nakagawa, Shinichi

AU - Lagisz, Malgorzata

N1 - Code archiving: Zenodo

PY - 2025/1/29

Y1 - 2025/1/29

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - EcoEvoRxiv

KW - ecology

KW - evolution

KW - grey literature

KW - preprints

KW - publication

KW - scholarly publishing

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2024.1487

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85216963126

SN - 0962-8452

VL - 292

JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

IS - 2039

M1 - 20241487

ER -

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Embargoed Document

Research output

code from: The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Cite this