Updated: 28 November 2018
Recently, Wiley decided to move the journal, Diversity and Distributions, a Journal of Conservation Biogeography (DDI) to an Open Access model by January 1, 2019. Shortly after, a manuscript entitled, "Open Access Solutions for Biodiversity Journals: Don't Replace One Problem with Another," was submitted to the journal. Wiley entered a conversation with the Editor in Chief of DDI around factual inaccuracies presented in the manuscript. The errors were corrected, and the manuscript continued to acceptance. Wiley did raise concerns about the relevancy of the article in the context of DDI's stated scope, but at no time did we indicate that Wiley would refuse publication of the article. The article is indeed being published as planned. It is important to note, regardless of our differing opinions with members of the DDI editorial board, we would never stop the progression of research. We believe very deeply in the importance of editorial independence. Our hope was to engage in a healthy dialogue and it's unclear as to where the miscommunication happened, and we believe all parties acted in good faith.
Wiley is and always will be driven by the highest level of publishing integrity. We are disappointed, as are many in the community, with how this has transpired. We remain open to further discussions and resolution with the DDI editorial board and members of the research community.
Wiley
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