Submissions

Author Guidelines

Why PBMT?

Population Biology Modeling & Theory is a society-owned open-access journal founded in 2025 to serve the needs of the community of modelers and theorists in population biology. PBMT is the journal of the Society for Modeling & Theory in Population Biology. It seeks to present both novel research as well as commentaries, historical articles, interviews, pedagogical articles, and reviews that enhance the community and enrich the field. Topic areas include demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics.

Mathematical modeling and theory are central to fields of biology that study populations, including ecology, evolution, and population genetics, as well as demography, population dynamics, phylogenetics, and infectious disease epidemiology. Mathematical traditions in these biological areas have a long history, co-existing alongside empirical studies that involve laboratory and field research. PBMT builds on the long history of research that studies phenomena in population biology to provide a community-oriented record for the field. PBMT seeks to publish research of the highest quality, emphasizing contributions to modeling and theory.

All articles are published as open-access articles, using the subscribe-to-open publication model, in which no charges are paid by authors or readers. The journal is owned by the Society for Modeling and Theory in Population Biology and is published by Stanford University Press, in partnership with the Public Knowledge Project.

Scope

Population Biology Modeling & Theory reports advances in modeling and theory in population biology, in areas including demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics. Contributions are expected to use mathematics, and where appropriate, statistics and computation. Although contributions include mathematics, research articles in Population Biology Modeling & Theory emphasize the biological motivation for the mathematical development, as well as the interpretation of mathematical findings for advancing biology. Empirical results are sometimes reported, provided that the emphasis is on the development of the models and theory.

Editorial process

All submissions will be assessed at the editorial level. Articles that are not declined at this stage will be sent for peer review. Before submitting a manuscript, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photographs and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

Original Research Articles, Notes, and Software Reports can be submitted without prior consultation with an editor. For all other types of manuscripts, manuscripts are generally invited by the associated Section Editors, and unsolicited submissions are unlikely to be accepted. Authors interested in writing such manuscripts are encouraged to contact Section Editors for relevant sections, or the Editor-in-Chief, summarizing the article they propose to write and indicating the type of article. 

Peer reviewers at PBMT are anonymous, unless they wish to identify themselves to authors. The review system is single-blind: author names are known to reviewers.

Manuscript types

The journal reports the following types of contributions. Manuscript types 1-3 can be submitted as unsolicited manuscripts. In the remaining categories, manuscripts are invited. Authors inquiring about the possibility of preparing an article in these other categories are encouraged to contact the appropriate Section Editor, or the Editor-in-Chief for manuscript categories that do not have a Section Editor; specify the category of article, propose a title, and briefly describe the proposed article.  

1. Original Research Articles are the main type of manuscript in the journal. They report thorough development and analysis of models and theory. Authors are invited to emphasize completeness and thoroughness in preparing manuscripts. 

2. Notes are short research contributions. Notes are suited to short theoretical contributions or observations that provide a complete story with a single main point or result. A Notes article is distinguished from an Original Research Article by its shorter length but also by its narrower scope.

3. Software Reports are articles that introduce new software that advances modeling & theory. Software Reports typically include any relevant modeling & theory that supports the functioning of the software, worked examples, and a description of where the software can be obtained. Updates to existing software packages are also encouraged. 

4. Reviews are articles that discuss recent progress and future potential in specific areas of modeling & theory. Reviews clarify developments and seek to explain complex aspects of modeling & theory in simpler terms. Reviews may include elements such as boxes and glossaries.

5. Perspectives are contributions on modeling & theory developments reported in an essay format. Perspectives can be used to report authors' perspectives on original research published in PBMT or elsewhere, on recent developments in the field more generally, or on other matters pertaining to the field where researchers may have a particular personal approach. Perspectives also report on the history of the field and historical connections to current research. 

6. Book Reviews report on books of interest to the modeling & theory community. Book reviews will typically take one of two forms. (1) Short book reviews (500-1500 words) focus on a single book and are expected to provide general context on the area of the book, situate the book in relation to the field, describe the contents of the book, and assess its contribution. (2) Long book reviews (2000-4000 words) can cover multiple books in a scholarly area and can provide a synthetic introduction to the area. Suggestions for books to review can be made to the Book Review Editor.

7. Media Reviews are similar to Book Reviews. They will be considered on media other than books, such as films relevant to modeling & theory.

8. Interviews report conversations with modeling & theory researchers, on their careers and research. 

9. Education Articles are articles focused on teaching topics in modeling & theory. Education Articles can take one of many forms; examples may include: (1) pedagogical primers that seek to explain established modeling & theory concepts and results in novel ways, (2) articles with a strong point of view presenting hard-won expertise or opinions on pedagogical approaches, or (3) tutorials that introduce the basic ideas of a subject, potentially as part of a special issue on the subject. 

10. Meeting Reports describe conferences and workshops focused on modeling and theory.

11. Editorials introduce issues or groups of contributions within journal issues. Editorials can also discuss broader topics in the field from the standpoint of journal editors.

12. Comments are (typically short) pieces that react to other content published in the journal. 

Special issues

The journal publishes special issues that may include multiple types of articles that relate to a shared theme. Topics for special issues can be proposed to the Editor-in-Chief. An initial inquiry should include a title for the special issue, a paragraph about what the special issue will cover, and a list of editors for the special issue. 

Preprints

PBMT allows preprinting of author-prepared manuscripts. 

Manuscripts declined from other journals as "too theoretical"

PBMT will consider manuscripts declined by the leading society-run journals in its consituent fields when the peer-review process at one of those journals has assessed a submission to be high-quality work, but "too theoretical." If a manuscript has been judged by a leading society-run journal associated with an area of population biology to be excellent but too theoretical for that journal, authors can upload the decision letter and reviews from the other journal as part of a submission. Signed decisions and reviews are preferred, if available, but unsigned reviews will be considered. For submissions that include this extra material, if PBMT does not decline a submission without review, PBMT may ask authors to provide a proposed response to the reviews from the other journal or to resubmit the manuscript as a revision that addresses the reviews; PBMT might seek communication from the other journal, or might choose to disregard the reviews from the other journal in considering the submission.   

Preparing manuscripts for submission

PBMT seeks to enable authors to present research in ways appropriate to their projects. No fixed section headings are expected. Manuscript length is also flexible. 

File format. For the initial submission, source files are not required. A single PDF is the preferred format for the initial submission. Format of a manuscript generally will not be considered in the initial decision to consider the manuscript further.

Supplementary information. Manuscripts are permitted to include supplementary information that will be linked from the main article but is not part of it. 

Recommended reviewers. Authors are invited to recommend 3-6 potential reviewers for their manuscripts. Place this information in the cover letter.

Additional instructions for formatting of manuscripts. (updated 4/20/2026) Authors should prepare manuscripts in the general style of theory articles in the journal's associated fields, with a title, non-specialist summary, and abstract followed by numbered sections. Appendices that are included in the main manuscript are permitted, as is supplementary information. While data analyses are not expected, in articles that do contain data analyses, the preferred style is for mathematical and theoretical material to be presented in the natural logical order that leads to the data analyses, rather than for theory to appear exclusively or primarily in supplementary sections.

Prepare text in a one-column format; the journal publishes as a single-column journal. The preferred software for manuscript preparation is LaTeX or Microsoft Word. While considerable flexibility is accommodated for initial submissions, authors can expect formatting requests upon revision or acceptance of manuscripts.  

Non-specialist summary. The non-specialist summary is a 120-word summary of the manuscript that is expected to be accessible for relevant biological researchers who extend beyond the community of theorists, for example, to a general audience of ecologists, evolutionary biologists, or population geneticists (as appropriate to the paper). The non-specialist summary is expected for manuscript categories 1-4 (Original Research Articles, Notes, Software Reports, and Reviews) and not for other manuscript categories. 

Abstract. An abstract is expected for manuscript categories 1-4 (Original Research Articles, Notes, Software Reports, and Reviews), as well as for manuscript categories 5 (Perspectives) and 9 (Education Articles). Abstracts for Original Research Articles can be up to 250 words; abstracts for the other categories are expected to be 100-150 words.

Author contribution statement. An optional free-form author contribution statement is allowed but not required.

In-text citations. Citations should be prepared in an (author, year) citation format, with the bibliography presented in alphabetical order, with unnumbered references.

One author: (Slatkin 1995).

Two authors: (Ohta & Kimura 1973).

Three or more authors: (Pritchard et al. 1999).

Several citations in a list appear in order by year, separated by semicolons. Articles in the same year are listed alphabetically. Multiple sources indicated by the same author tag are grouped together, regardless of year: (Ohta & Kimura 1973; Slatkin 1995; Pritchard et al. 1999, 2000; Estoup et al. 2002).

When a citation is positioned so that the authors or the reference is the subject of a sentence, place only the year in the parentheses: Slatkin (1995) introduced a statistic R_ST.

Bibliography. In the bibliography, papers are listed alphabetically by author. Please use the following examples for guidance. Do not abbreviate journal names. Use et al. after 5 names.

Journal articles

Ohta T, Kimura M (1973). A model of mutation appropriate to estimate the number of electrophoretically detectable alleles in a finite population. Genetical Research 22: 201-204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016672300012994

Servedio MR, Brandvain Y, Dhole S, Fitzpatrick CL, Goldberg EE, et al. (2014). Not just a theory — the utility of mathematical models in evolutionary biology. PLoS Biology 12: e1002017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002017

Slatkin M (1995). A measure of population subdivision based on microsatellite allele frequencies. Genetics 139: 457-462. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/139.1.457

Books

Balding DJ, Bishop M, Cannings C, eds. (2007). Handbook of Statistical Genetics, Volume 1, 3^rd edition. Chichester, UK: Wiley.

Hartl DL, Clark AG (2007). Principles of Population Genetics, 4^th edition. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.

Pielou EC (1975). Ecological Diversity. New York: Wiley.

Otto SP, Day T (2009). A Biologist’s Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Chapters in edited volumes

Nordborg M (2002). Separation of time scales and convergence to the coalescent in structured populations. In: Slatkin M, Veuille M (eds.). Modern Developments in Theoretical Population Genetics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 194-232.

Dissertations

Cotterman C (1940). A calculus for statistico-genetics. PhD thesis, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Newspapers & magazines

Greenwood V (2023). Evolving bacteria can evade barriers to ‘peak’ fitness. Quanta Magazine, November 28, 2023. https://www.quantamagazine.org/evolving-bacteria-can-evade-barriers-to-peak-fitness-20231128/

Websites

Felsenstein J (2019). Theoretical Evolutionary Genetics website. https://felsenst.github.io/pgbook/pgbook.html, accessed April 16, 2026.

Preprints posted on preprint servers

Masel J, Dornhaus A (2026). What good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theory. arXiv: arXiv.2604.13344. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.13344

Additional instructions for Comments on Interviews

Student reflections on SMTPB interviews are meant to give a relatable perspective on the interviewee’s work and career from a viewpoint of someone entering the field. Writing the piece requires engagement with the interview and general understanding of the interviewee’s work and its position in the field. Bibliographies for these reflections will be short, and the pieces are intended to be somewhat personal, noting the impact of the interview and interviewee on the writer. The reflection should be submitted is in the “Comment” manuscript category.

Title. Use a quote from the subject or a theme from the interview in the title. For example, “[Name of subject]: 'Brief quote from the Interview that encapsulates the Comment'”.

Author(s). Authors are the student(s) writing the reaction and do not include the interviewer(s).

Abstract & non-specialist summary. No abstract, no non-specialist summary.

Main text. Interviews will be wide-ranging and will cover many topics. A goal here is to limit the reflection primarily to one main theme. A target length for the reaction is 500-1000 words. The theme will be one that (1) is salient in the interview, (2) induces a relatable reaction in the student, and (3) can be illustrated using one or a small number of main works conducted by the interview subject.

Loose guidelines for the structure of the piece can be as follows:

Beginning, 1-2 paragraphs:

-Describe your reaction to the interview with reference to something specific from the interview.

-Is there a common experience in the field of which your reaction might be emblematic?

-What was most salient to you in the subject’s comments in the interview?

Middle, 1-2 paragraphs:

-Describe scientific work or specific career milestones of the interview subject illustrating the main theme you have identified.

-Discuss the work or career events to illuminate something special about the subject.

-For example, comment on a subject’s choices of problems, career moves, hobbies or skills that bear on their work, particular methods of solution, or impactful findings.

End, 1-2 paragraphs:

-Conclude with lessons that we might take away from the subject’s career or work as depicted in the interview.

-Refer back to the topics described in the opening paragraphs.

References. Reference lists will be short, perhaps of length 2-5, although more references are allowed if needed. Cite the interview itself. Other citations might include: (1) one or a small number of works by the interview subject, (2) one or a small number of works that describe the theme of the piece, and (3) topics in the field that connect in a broad sense to the work of the subject.

How to request to contribute a Comment on an Interview. Comment authors are current PhD students assigned by the Interviews Editors. If you are interested in writing a Comment on an Interview, please write to the Interviews Editors, and include the following information: (1) Specify which SMTPB Interview you wish to cover. The Interview is expected to be one that has been posted on the SMTPB website and/or YouTube channel,  but which has not yet been published in PBMT. (2) In a few sentences, describe what you found interesting about the interview and what emphasis you propose for the Comment. (3) In a few sentences, describe your research and how it relates to the Interview subject; also include your year in the PhD program and the name of your PhD advisor(s). Comment authors are expected to be SMTPB members.