Darwin envisioned speciation as a consequence of divergent selection on ecological traits. A century and a half later, a role of ecology in speciation has been confirmed both experimentally and theoretically, leading to new questions: are adaptive radiations frequent? Are the conditions for speciation occurring via selection on a single trait more restrictive than via selection on many traits? Under what conditions can divergent selection cause speciation despite gene flow and how often are these conditions met in nature? What are the genetic bases of ecological speciation? Do adaptation and speciation result from selection acting mostly on de novo mutations, or has selection on standing variation been generally underappreciated?

In this stimulating scientific context, experimental and phylogenetic tests on the role of specific ecological factors in speciation, QTL mapping, and genomic scans seeking the genetic bases of ecological adaptation, as well as novel theoretical models that integrate these findings are needed to progress towards understanding the mechanisms of ecological speciation. We invite authors to submit original research articles as well as review and perspective papers that can advance our understanding of the role of ecology in the origin of species. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Adaptive radiations
• Pleiotropic effects of adaptation and speciation
• Multifarious (many traits under moderate selection) versus strong-selection (small number of traits under strong selection) scenarios for ecological speciation
• The geography of ecological speciation and the role of gene flow
• Parallel evolution of reproductive isolation
• Genetic bases of ecological adaptation and genomic signatures of ecological speciation

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijeco/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: