New Zealand Journal of Ecology (2013) 37(2): 161- 161

©New Zealand Ecological Society

Fostering the next generation of reviewers in New Zealand ecology

Editorial
Timothy J. Curran 1,2
Ellen Cieraad 2,3
Joanne M. Monks 4
  1. Department of Ecology, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln, Canterbury 7647, New Zealand
  2. International Network of Next Generation Ecologists (www.innge.net)
  3. Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, Canterbury 7640, New Zealand
  4. Department of Conservation, Private Bag 4715, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Abstract: 

[First paragraph...]
Peer review is the main quality control process in science. Most would agree that the subjection of scientific discoveries to the scrutiny of expert scientists results in higher quality and more reliable scientific outcomes. Recently, several opinion pieces have drawn attention to a crisis in the peer-review system in ecology (e.g. Hochberg et al. 2009; Donaldson et al. 2010). A key problem is the trouble editors have in finding suitable reviewers to assess manuscripts. This causes delays in the time taken for a decision on manuscripts and forces editors to fall back on an often time-limited coterie of regular reviewers, which results in reviewer fatigue and further exacerbates the problem (Hochberg et al. 2009).

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