For over 20 years, Data Papers have been published in Ecology, providing a high-profile outlet for data compilations and recognition for the ecologists who create them.

Data Papers are a unique type of manuscript, designed to enrich the global ecological and scientific community through the sharing of data to be reused, reanalyzed, and remixed for advancing knowledge beyond its original purpose.

The ways in which ecologists collect and interact with data have changed since the inception of Ecology Data Papers. Our Data Paper Editors have reimagined Ecology Data Papers to fit 21st-century data standards, facilitating the generation and analysis of new ecological questions and fulfilling the historical role of Ecology as a leader in open science and reproducibility.

Data Papers are always subject to full peer review. The review process will evaluate ecological significance and overall quality first, with further technical review to ensure a high standard of usability, especially with respect to associated metadata.

In the guidelines on this page:

Data Paper 1.0 refers to submissions received through Spring 2026 which follow the metadata template established by Michener et al. (1997). For Data Papers published in this format, minimal details are typeset for publication in the journal. Depending on the time of publication, metadata and data are published with the paper as supporting information, in an external data repository, or both.

Data Paper 2.0 refers to the reimagined design and applies to new submissions received after Spring 2026. These submissions follow the updated data and metadata standards that include descriptive documentation (scientific context), technical documentation (metadata), and data. For Data Papers published in this new format, the descriptive documentation is typeset for publication in the journal, and the metadata and data are only published in a data repository.

NOTE: Submissions received in June, July, and August 2026 may be prepared in either format. All submissions received as of 1 September 2026 must be prepared in the Data Paper 2.0 format.

Guidelines for authors and reviewers of Data Paper 1.0 and 2.0 formats are provided below. Note: some files may download after selecting the button below (depending on your browser settings).