Authorship

Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) do not meet the criteria for authorship as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Similarly, AI cannot hold copyright, sign legal agreements, or be held accountable for its outputs. As such, generative AI and LLMs cannot be listed as authors or co-authors on any paper submitted to Ciencias Marinas for publication. Human authors are solely responsible for the entire content of a manuscript submitted to Ciencias Marinas for publication, including written content, images, artwork, data analysis, results, citations, and references. 

Manuscript preparation

Text

Assistive AI tools may be used solely to improve the readability, grammar, and language of the manuscript. If you have used an AI for this purpose, you must disclose its use in your manuscript (consult the MS template for detailed instructions). Authors are strictly prohibited from using AI to generate original substantive text, citations, or references. 

Images

Generative AI may not be used to create, alter, or enhance research data, measurements, graphs, or analysis outputs. Ciencias Marinas allows authors to use AI for non-data illustrations. For example, AI may be used to alter or create graphical abstracts, conceptual models, or schemas, although the authors are solely responsible for the content of these elements.

Data analysis

Authors may use AI in data analysis if it is an intrinsic part of the experimental design. However,  its use must be described in a reproducible manner in the Methods section of the paper, and an appropriate statement must be included in the Declarations section of the article. In addition, Ciencias Marinas reserves the right to request pre-AI-adjusted versions of images, composite raw data, and the original AI prompts used during the research process for auditing purposes at any stage during peer review or the publishing process. Inappropriate use of AI for data analysis may result in the immediate rejection or retraction of the article. 

Disclosure requirements

All manuscripts submitted to Ciencias Marinas must include a subsection titled "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies" located in the Declarations section immediately before the References found in the MS Template.

The declaration of the use of AI must take the form of the following sentence: “The authors, who are solely responsible for the content of this article, employed [AI tool, version number] to [specific reason or purpose]. We also confirm that we have complied with the policies, legal mandates, licensing agreements, copyright restrictions, and intellectual property guidelines of our institutions for the permitted use of AI, specifically [brief summation of policies, mandates, and guidelines].”

If no AI tools were employed, the declaration must take the form of the following sentence: “The authors did not employ any AI tools in this work.”