# Conbio Submission > Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for Conservation Biology via Wiley's ScholarOne Manuscript Central — article-type selection, double-blind preparation, word/abstract caps, Style Guide formatting, data-availability statement, and declarations. Final checks; it does not draft content. - Skill: `thedixitjain/conbio-submission` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/conbio-submission` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/conbio-submission/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/conbio-submission --- # Submission Preflight (conbio-submission) The last check before pressing submit on **Wiley ScholarOne Manuscript Central** (`mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cobi`). *Conservation Biology* is **double-blind**, so the single most common avoidable failure is an under-anonymized manuscript. Check upload-week specifics on the official page before relying on them (per-type caps can change — see `resources/official-source-map.md`). ## When to trigger - "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload - Unsure which files/metadata ScholarOne expects - Confirming the chosen article type's caps are met and the manuscript is properly anonymized ## Process facts - **Owner / publisher:** Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) / Wiley. - **Portal:** **Wiley ScholarOne Manuscript Central** (`mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cobi`). - **Review model:** **double-blind** — anonymize the manuscript and author identities; provide a separate title page. - **Article types & word limits:** Contributed Papers 7,000 in current Wiley listings; use the live Instructions for Authors page for the final caps on Research Notes, Reviews, Essays, Conservation Practice and Policy, Comments, Diversity, Letters, and any Registered Reports route. - **Abstract:** **≤ 300 words** (none for Letters, Comments, or Diversity). - **Word count:** runs from the **first word of the Abstract through the last word of Literature Cited**; **excludes** tables, figure legends, and text in tables. - **Exhibits:** about **one table/figure per four pages** of text. - **Style:** *Conservation Biology* **Style Guide** (author-date); IMRAD for Contributed Papers, Research Notes, and Practice & Policy. - **Data:** **data-availability statement** for research/synthesis articles; the journal-specific Wiley tier encourages data sharing, so archive shareable data/code in a DOI-capable repository and document restrictions for sensitive data. ## Preflight checklist ### Article type & length - [ ] Article type chosen and its word cap met (count Abstract → Literature Cited) - [ ] Abstract ≤ 300 words, states problem + approach + finding (omit where the type forbids it) - [ ] Exhibit count within ~one per four pages; extras moved to Supporting Information ### Anonymity (double-blind) - [ ] No author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the manuscript - [ ] Self-references neutralized ("as we showed in…" removed) - [ ] Identifying **file metadata stripped** (document properties, comments) - [ ] Separate (non-anonymous) title page prepared as a distinct file ### Format & content - [ ] Style Guide formatting; consistent author-date citations; title-style rules followed - [ ] IMRAD order where required; no combined Results/Discussion; no separate Conclusion - [ ] Figures/tables/maps self-contained and accessible; sensitive localities masked (see `conbio-figures-and-tables`) - [ ] **Conservation relevance** stated explicitly (see `conbio-conservation-relevance-and-implications`) ### Compliance & data - [ ] Ethics / permits / animal-care / human-subjects compliance stated - [ ] **Data-availability statement** drafted; data/code package staged for a public repository (see `conbio-reporting-and-data-policy`) - [ ] Sensitive-species data masked; restricted-data access path provided ## ScholarOne file manifest (stage the upload in this order) `cobi` on Manuscript Central expects the pieces as separate files, not one merged PDF. Assemble: 1. **Anonymized main document** — blinded manuscript with the abstract, IMRAD body, Literature Cited, and the Supporting Information paragraph; no names, affiliations, or acknowledgments. 2. **Separate title page** — the non-anonymous file carrying authors, affiliations, ORCID, and the corresponding author. Keep it out of the blinded document entirely. 3. **Figures, tables, and maps** — self-contained, colorblind-safe, legible in grayscale, with sensitive localities masked (see `conbio-figures-and-tables`). 4. **Supporting Information** — full model output, balance/sensitivity runs, protocols. 5. **Statements** — data-availability statement, ethics/permits/animal-care/human-subjects declarations, and any conflict-of-interest text. Confirm the exact file prompts, declaration wording, and any per-type caps on the live Wiley Instructions for Authors page during upload week; treat all of them as live-check items. ## Anonymization scrub sequence (the most common avoidable failure) Run these in order before the blinded document is final: - Strip **document metadata**: author name in file properties, tracked-change authorship, comment initials, and the PDF producer/author fields. - Neutralize **self-citation**: change "as we showed in (Author 2021)" to "as shown in (Author 2021)"; keep the reference in Literature Cited so the argument is intact. - Blind **fieldwork tells**: an unusual site name, a named permit number, or a lab-specific dataset can identify the group as surely as a byline — describe the site generically in the blinded copy. - Move all **acknowledgments and funding** to the title page; they routinely leak identity. ## Anti-patterns - Leaving author identifiers in the text, acknowledgments, or file metadata (breaks double-blind) - Merging the title page into the blinded manuscript instead of uploading it as a separate file - Abstract over 300 words; word count outside the chosen type's cap - Sending a long paper to the Research Note or Comment type - Choosing Registered Reports after results exist - Submitting with no data-availability statement or with sensitive locations exposed ## Output format ``` 【Article type】Contributed Paper / Note / Review / Essay / Practice & Policy / Comment (cap met? Y/N) 【Anonymized】text + self-refs + file metadata clean? [Y/N] 【Abstract】word count (≤300, or N/A) 【Word count】within cap (Abstract→Literature Cited)? [Y/N] 【Style Guide + IMRAD + title rules】[Y/N] 【Data-availability statement + package staged】[Y/N] 【Next】await decision → conbio-revision-and-rebuttal on revision ``` ## Supplementary resources - [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers, anonymization, repro tooling - [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official Conservation Biology URLs behind every fact in this pack --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Conservation-Biology-Skills/skills/conbio-submission/SKILL.md`