Oikos is a journal issued by the Nordic Ecological Society and is one of the leading peer-reviewed journals in ecology. Oikos publishes original and innovative research on all aspects of ecology. Emphasis is on theoretical and empirical work aimed at generalization and synthesis across taxa, systems and ecological disciplines. Papers should be well founded in ecological theory and contribute to new developments in ecology by reporting novel theory or critical experimental results. Confirming or extending the established literature is given less priority. Synthesis of new and emerging fields in ecology and beyond is encouraged. Papers of review character should strive for conceptual unification and being a point of departure for future work rather than restrospective summaries of established fields or topics. Papers in Brevia, Horizons and Forum sections are given high priority in the publication process. Oikos Sections Research papers - Research papers report original research in all fields of ecology and should aim at a readership from a wide range of ecological disciplines. Research papers' manuscripts should have a maximum of 50 references. Forum - Forum is the section in Oikos where syntheses and reviews are published. The format can be short notes or more substantial reviews aimed at bringing fields together, to transgress existing boundaries and to syntesize larger fields or seemingly disparate areas, and to offer new ways of interpreting existing data. Forum articles should strive for conceptual unification and being a point of departure for future work rather than just summarizing existing bodies of theory and data. It is an arena for challenging current thinking on ecological issues by revising established concepts and received knowledge through critical experiments or new theory so that new ground can be broken. Horizons - Horizons papers are short (maximum two printed pages) essays on the past and the future of ecological research, an exploration of new territories of ecology by a more speculative, yet scientifically sound, reasoning on topics that also may be more peripheral to traditional ecological thinking. Manuscripts are judged strongly on their novelty and originality.The Horizons section invites authors to look ahead, to go beyond the contemporary and mainstream and serves as an arena for informed reflections and outlooks within or outside the field of ecology. It is aimed at capturing emerging ideas and concepts by using existing knowledge and insights as a springboard for pointing in new directions and for breaking new grounds. Horizon articles may be solicited but are always sent out for review before possible publication. Brevia - Brevia offers the possibility to comment on and discuss papers published in Oikos. Brevia articles should be brief, succcinct and to the point and should broaden and widen the scope of published ccontributions, or debate controversial findings. It is open for discussions on fundamental issues in ecology or the way the science of ecology is done. Manuscripts should rarely be longer than approximately 5 pages with a very brief (maximum 200 words) opening summary and with a reference list in the standard Oikos format. Oikos does not publish book reviews. Oikos is published in cooperation with the journals Ecography, Lindbergia, J. Avian Biology, the internet journal Web Ecology and the monograph series Ecological Bulletins. Manuscripts may be transferred between these journals according to profile.