<i>Journal of Zoology</i>: Highlights of the year 2024

It is 195 years since Proceedings of the Zoological Society was founded in 1830, followed soon after by Transactions of the Zoological Society in 1834, and almost 60 years since their merger into the Journal of Zoology in 1966. This represents an extraordinary history of almost 200 years of publishing on zoological topics. To be preceded by such a long history of auspicious research is both a great privilege and a responsibility, to ensure that the Journal continues the tradition of quality and innovation in zoological research. Over the past year, we have enjoyed exploring research published across those 200 years in our regular online collection, ‘Species in the Spotlight’, which focuses on enduring themes alongside advances and changes in approaches. Observing the change in style of writing over these 200 years has also been a particular highlight, including, for example, the soap opera style record of the habits of Gentoo penguins (Bagshawe, 1938) featured in our Species in the Spotlight on penguins. It is enlightening to see constantly evolving writing styles, especially as the Journal of Zoology embraces a more inclusive approach to writing expression by stressing that manuscripts must be able to be understood and be without spelling or grammatical errors rather than requiring a particular style of expression. Furthermore, the interpretations of described behaviours in the older papers underscore the value of different worldviews to provide a wider perspective in formulating hypothesised origins of traits. The Journal of Zoology continues to proudly embrace a focus on empirical research, as well as the broad remit across zoological topics on which the Journal has built its reputation. We build on these foundations while also embracing our commitment to enhancing diversity and equity. In 2017 and 2019, the Journal of Zoology assembled two virtual issues highlighting the contributions of women in zoology. In his introduction, Bielby (2017) lamented the ongoing inequity reflected in a gender bias particularly at more senior levels within STEM subjects. In that year (2017), 32% of all authors in the Journal were female, with 42% of the first authors female. In 2024, the number of female first authors outnumbered male first authors for the first time in the Journal's history (56% of first authors), although the authorship is still male-biased overall (~65% male). Recent publications not only reflect a higher diversity of authors in terms of gender and country of origin (Cameron, 2024), but also more interdisciplinarity reflecting greater integration of disciplines. This has seen an increase in the average number of authors per publication over the last 40 years—from an average of 1.9 authors per manuscript in 1984 to an average of 4.6 authors in 2024. Our latest Paper of the Year (van der Wal et al., 2023) is not only a scientifically robust and exciting contribution but also reflects an innovative approach to research, using interdisciplinary approaches requiring many authors (26) from a variety of countries (12), mostly in the species range states in Africa. We were delighted to publish our most recent Huxley Review paper in March (Gaston, 2024), which explores how three major sets of drivers, opportunity, capability and motivation, shape people's personalized ecologies. The entire Journal of Zoology editorial team have been essential to enacting diversity and equity interventions. I thank you, and look forward to continuing to work together with you all. I also thank our expert reviewers for their insightful reviews that have enable us to maintain our high scientific standards. I look forward to seeing new zoological research in the Journal of Zoology in 2025.