Editorial

Abstract

Five years ago, I was asked by Professor Fred Kayanja to take up a second term as editor of the African Journal of Ecology to help oversee some changes in the journal. For 45 years, AJE has been an important journal for the African ecological community and is one of the few international scientific journals that has a high degree of African authorship. Pressure of work means that I must now step down again and hand over the reins to Kate Abernethy as the new Editor-in-Chief with Bryan Shorrocks as Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Kate has a long association with the African Journal of Ecology as an author, member of the international reviewer panel, member of the editorial board and associate editor. She brings a wealth of interdisciplinary ecological expertise from her fieldwork in Gabon, where she was Director of the Station d'Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés (SEGC) in Lopé National Park from 2000 to 2007. Kate is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Stirling, a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and an Associate Researcher for the National Centre for Research in Science and Technology in Gabon (CENAREST). Kate's appointment reflects the continental scope of AJE and its commitment to publishing a wide range of ecological research. Over the past few months, Kate has been working with the journal editorial office to smooth the editorial workflow and improve turnround time for papers. In this task, she is very ably assisted by Bryan Shorrocks, who also has a long association with both the journal and the East African Wildlife Society as the Society's UK representative and as a Trustee on the East African Wildlife Trust, a charitable organization that has given money to the EAWLS in the past. Bryan brings a great deal of editorial experience. He was a senior editor for the prestigious Journal of Animal Ecology for nearly 10 years and served the AJE, together with Fred Kayanja, as the international editor. Bryan is a very distinguished African ecologist, having studied large mammals for many years, especially giraffe, and is the author of the book “The Biology of African Savannahs.” Academic publishing is in a dynamic phase, and the editorial team will continue to work in close partnership with the EAWLS and the publisher Wiley to guide the journal to every greater success.