The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution

Proc. R. Soc. B 292: 20241487

published article

pre-registered

data available

code available

Authors

Affiliations

Daniel W. A. Noble

The Australian National University

Zoe A. Xirocostas

University of Technology Sydney

Nicholas C. Wu

Western Sydney University

April Robin Martinig

University of New South Wales

Rafaela A. Almeida

KU Leuven

Kevin R. Bairos-Novak

The University of Queensland

Heikel Balti

Université Marie et Louis Pasteur

Michael G. Bertram

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Louis Bliard

University of Zurich

Jack A. Brand

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Ilha Byrne

The University of Queensland

Ying-Chi Chan

Swiss Ornithological Institute

Dena Jane Clink

Cornell University

Quentin Corbel

CNRS

Ricardo A. Correia

University of Turku

Jordann Crawford-Ash

Australian National University

Antica Culina

Ruđer Bošković Institute

Elvira D’Bastiani

University of California

Gideon G. Deme

Case Western Reserve University

Melina de Souza Leite

University of São Paulo

Félicie Dhellemmes

Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Shreya Dimri

Bielefeld University

Szymek M. Drobniak

University of New South Wales

Alexander D. Elsy

ETH Zürich

Susan E. Everingham

University of Bern

Samuel J. L. Gascoigne

University of Oxford

Matthew J. Grainger

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Gavin C. Hossack

Port Perry

Knut Anders Hovstad

SINTEF Ocean

Edward R. Ivimey-Cook

University of Glasgow

Matt Lloyd Jones

University of Exeter

Ineta Kačergytė

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Georg Küstner

University of Würzburg

Dalton C. Leibold

The Australian National University

Magdalena M. Mair

University of Bayreuth

Jake Martin

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Ayumi Mizuno

University of New South Wales

Iain R. Moodie

Lund University

David Moreau

University of Auckland

Rose E. O’Dea

University of Melbourne

James A. Orr

University of Oxford

Matthieu Paquet

CNRS

Rabindra Parajuli

Florida Atlantic University

Joel L. Pick

University of Edinburgh

Patrice Pottier

The Australian National University

Marija Purgar

Ruđer Bošković Institute

Pablo Recio

The Australian National University

Dominique G. Roche

Carleton University

Raphaël Royauté

Université Paris-Saclay

Saeed Shafiei Sabet

University of Guilan

Julio M. G. Segovia

Bielefeld University

Inês Silva

Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar

Bielefeld University

Bruno E. Soares

University of Regina

Birgit Szabo

University of Bern

Elina Takola

Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research

Eli S. J. Thoré

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Bishnu Timilsina

The Arctic University of Norway

Natalie E. van Dis

Helsinki University

Wilco C. E. P. Verberk

Radboud University Nijmegen

Stefan J. G. Vriend

The Netherlands Institute of Ecology

Kristoffer H. Wild

The Australian National University

Coralie Williams

University of New South Wales

Yefeng Yang

University of New South Wales

Shinichi Nakagawa

University of Alberta

Malgorzata Lagisz

University of Alberta

Published

January 29, 2025

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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Citation

BibTeX citation:

@article{noble2025,
  author = {Noble, Daniel W. A. and Xirocostas, Zoe A. and Wu, Nicholas
    C. and Martinig, April Robin and Almeida, Rafaela A. and
    Bairos-Novak, Kevin R. and Balti, Heikel and Bertram, Michael G. and
    Bliard, Louis and Brand, Jack A. and Byrne, Ilha and Chan, Ying-Chi
    and Clink, Dena Jane and Corbel, Quentin and Correia, Ricardo A. and
    Crawford-Ash, Jordann and Culina, Antica and D’Bastiani, Elvira and
    Deme, Gideon G. and Leite, Melina de Souza and Dhellemmes, Félicie
    and Dimri, Shreya and Drobniak, Szymek M. and Elsy, Alexander D. and
    Everingham, Susan E. and Gascoigne, Samuel J. L. and Grainger,
    Matthew J. and Hossack, Gavin C. and Hovstad, Knut Anders and
    Ivimey-Cook, Edward R. and Jones, Matt Lloyd and Kačergytė, Ineta
    and Küstner, Georg and Leibold, Dalton C. and Mair, Magdalena M. and
    Martin, Jake and Mizuno, Ayumi and Moodie, Iain R. and Moreau, David
    and O’Dea, Rose E. and Orr, James A. and Paquet, Matthieu and
    Parajuli, Rabindra and Pick, Joel L. and Pottier, Patrice and
    Purgar, Marija and Recio, Pablo and Roche, Dominique G. and Royauté,
    Raphaël and Shafiei Sabet, Saeed and Segovia, Julio M. G. and Silva,
    Inês and Sánchez-Tójar, Alfredo and Soares, Bruno E. and Szabo,
    Birgit and Takola, Elina and Thoré, Eli S. J. and Timilsina, Bishnu
    and van Dis, Natalie E. and Verberk, Wilco C. E. P. and Vriend,
    Stefan J. G. and Wild, Kristoffer H. and Williams, Coralie and Yang,
    Yefeng and Nakagawa, Shinichi and Lagisz, Malgorzata},
  publisher = {Royal Society},
  title = {The Promise of Community-Driven Preprints in Ecology and
    Evolution},
  journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
  volume = {292},
  number = {2039},
  pages = {20241487},
  date = {2025-01-29},
  url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2024.1487},
  doi = {10.1098/rspb.2024.1487},
  langid = {en},
  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.}
}

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Noble, D. W. A., Z. A. Xirocostas, N. C. Wu, A. R. Martinig, R. A. Almeida, K. R. Bairos-Novak, H. Balti, et al. 2025. The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292:20241487.