Data Sharing Policy

Data availability

Authors should make their research data publicly accessible, while respecting ethical and privacy considerations.

Types of data

The policy covers raw and processed data, supplementary materials, code, metadata, genetic and genomic datasets, images, occurrence and specimen records, and statistical outputs.

Data repositories

Data should be deposited in a repository recognised in the field that issues persistent identifiers:

  • GenBank, ENA or DDBJ for DNA and protein sequences; SRA or GEO for genomic and transcriptomic data
  • ZooBank for new zoological names and nomenclatural acts
  • GBIF for occurrence records, where appropriate
  • Dryad, Figshare, Zenodo or an institutional repository for other data

Voucher and type specimens should be deposited in a recognised, publicly accessible collection and cited with catalogue numbers.

Data Availability Statement

Every manuscript must include a statement saying where the data are held and how they can be accessed. If the data cannot be shared, for privacy, legal or conservation reasons, the statement must explain why.

Sensitive data and privacy

Data about human participants must be anonymised, as set out in Ethical Approvals and Informed Consent. Precise localities of threatened or commercially targeted species may be generalised or withheld.

Access during peer review

Reviewers and editors may ask to see the data in order to verify results and assess reproducibility. Authors must provide them promptly and in a usable format.

Non-compliance

Manuscripts without a Data Availability Statement are returned to the authors before review.