The "Three-Review and Three-Proofreading" system is a fundamental editorial framework for books, newspapers, and journals. To ensure transparency, the Journal of Tropical Biology outlines its specific workflow below. Authors can contact the relevant editor via the "Contact Us" section on our website.

1. Author Submission: Authors submit manuscripts through the online system. For details, refer to the Submission Guide.

2. Editor-in-Chief (EIC) Pre-screening (3-day): Performed by the EIC, Executive Editor, or a Deputy Editor. Manuscripts failing basic standards are rejected (comments visible to author). Those with potential but needing improvement are returned for revision (comments visible).

3. Managing Editor's Initial Review (3-day): The Managing Editor (ME) cannot reject manuscripts. They assign promising submissions to a Section Editor for review (review comments visible to EIC and Section Editor only). Manuscripts needing work are returned to author for revision.

4. Section Editor's Review (5-day): The Section Editor cannot reject manuscripts. They may return manuscripts for author revision or, if meeting standards, forward them to the ME for external peer review.

5. Managing Editor Assigns External Review (7-day): The ME anonymizes suitable manuscripts and sends them for double-blind peer review. Other manuscripts may be returned for author revision.

6. External Expert Review (First Round, 14-day): Reviewers' comments are returned to the ME (not visible to author), who forwards them to the author.

7. External Expert Review (Second Round / Revision Review, 14-day): For revised manuscripts, reviewers' comments are again returned via the ME to the author.

8. Managing Editor's Final Check (14-day): The ME reviews revisions and, if satisfactory, submits the manuscript to the EIC/Executive Editor for final decision. Manuscripts needing further revision are returned to the author.

9. Editor-in-Chief Final Decision (7-day): The EIC makes the final decision to Accept or Reject. Accepted manuscripts proceed to the ME for handling of publication fees and production. Unpaid manuscripts are withdrawn.

10. First Proofreading by Managing Editor: The ME performs copyediting and returns the version to the author for confirmation. The finalized Chinese text is then sent to an English editor for language polishing (7-day) before typesetting into a PDF proof.

11. Second Proofreading by Author: The author reviews the proof and returns it with comments (visible to all editors) to the ME for the third proofread.

12. Third Proofreading by Managing Editor: If the proof is unsatisfactory, it is returned to the author. Approved proofs are submitted to the EIC/Executive Editor for Online First publication.

13. Online First Publication by Editor-in-Chief: The EIC publishes qualified manuscripts online. Substandard proofs are returned to the ME.

14. Pre-Print Issue Review: The EIC, Executive Editor, or appointed experts review the complete issue before printing (this step may occur outside the online system).

15. Post-Print Issue Review: The EIC, Executive Editor, or experts review the printed issue for quality control (this step may occur outside the online system).