Research studies based on an integrative vision are essential in order to reach a fuller understanding of the natural world and to make informed decisions about management and conservation. In order for those works to have impact, it is critical to have platforms to share this information with a broad audience, fostering collaboration and progress within and across fields. The creation of a new journal focused on integrative studies is therefore a valuable resource, as it brings together diverse perspectives and approaches to generate new knowledge and more effective conservation and management strategies.
Out of this context, the journal Biología Integrativa y Conservación (BIC, acronym in Spanish) begins, and we welcome its readers. BIC focuses on disseminating research results from different areas of biological information, mainly in the Neotropics, promoting studies that use an integrative approach. The journal considers traditional areas of knowledge such as taxonomy, ecology, conservation, and systematics, but also aims to incorporate emerging approaches such as macroecology, landscape genetics, and zoonotic disease ecology. The advance of scientific knowledge is driven by simultaneously using the conceptual and methodological resources available at the time, as well as incorporating and innovating new tools to address questions; today, more tools are available and are becoming more sophisticated, providing the ability to address complex questions in a holistic way.
In the late 20th century, the term integrative biology was introduced to address questions about the complex systems in nature. It is not a new discipline, but rather a combination of different subdivisions of biology and of biology with other branches of science. At BIC, we refer to Integrative Biology as an attitude to address complex biological processes and as a way of doing science (Wake 2000Wake, M. H. 2000. Integrative biology as a framework for education and training. Biology International, 39:14-18., 2003Wake, M. H. 2003. What is “integrative biology”? Integrative and Comparative Biology 43: 239-241.). Considering the crisis of biodiversity loss (a product of human population growth and inequity in the use of natural resources), there are great challenges to address. In the first instance, there is the challenge of ensuring human beings and nature coexist in a harmonious and mutually beneficial way. This leads to the question of what conservation is (and is not), which requires a space for discussion. For conservation to be useful, it also needs to integrate disciplines from natural and social sciences and their methods to preserve biodiversity and ecological functions.
While the majority of journals dedicated to publishing conservation research are based in the United States and Europe, interestingly, these countries are not the highest producers of conservation-related publications (Yang et al. 2022Yang, Y., H. Schneider and A. Campos-Arceiz. 2022. Integrative Conservation: A new journal from the conservation frontline. Integrative Conservation, 1(1):1-5.). In contrast, in the rest of the Americas there are significantly fewer spaces for scientific dissemination on biodiversity conservation. BIC hopes to help fill this gap by offering the opportunity to publish free of charge.
Our editorial committee is composed of women and men with important academic trajectories, who are experts in areas related to the aims and scope of BIC. This journal has a double-blind evaluation system and a peer-review philosophy, which will result in manuscripts that meet the BIC profile being published in a manner that is both fair and prompt.
In this inaugural volume of BIC, which includes a special issue on Dry Forest, we proudly launch this endeavor and emphasize that from the spaces of the Public University in Mexico it is possible to promote the scientific dissemination of works of high academic quality.