Functional Ecology enjoyed another great year in 2013. Our most recent impact factor showed that the journal continues to rank among the most prestigious ecology journals in the world (IF = 486, ranked among the top 20 of the 136 ecology journals). Our submissions rose again in 2013 to 939, and online usage of papers published in the journal continues to increase; for example, full-text downloads doubled from 2012 (409 k downloads) to 2013 (> 800 k downloads). Of course, our successes bring with them some important challenges. As our submissions continue to grow, we can accept a smaller percentage of those submissions for publication (our acceptance rate is at its lowest ever) and so our choices about which papers to publish become tougher. To handle our increased submissions and extend our expertise into new areas, we have expanded our editorial board, currently composed of 61 of the best scientists in the discipline. It is to these people that we owe our gratitude for keeping the journal near the top of our ?eld. To those associate editors who have left us recently, a heartfelt thanks for all the great work you have done for the journal. To those who have joined us recently, welcome, and we know you will help us to maintain the high standards our authors and readers expect.
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