The main objective of Tropical Conservation Science (TCS) is to bring to light research related to the conservation of tropical ecosystems.

TCS is a peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that provides a forum for original state-of-the-art research of broad interest to tropical conservationists. Short turn-around time from submission to publication is an important feature of the journal. Tropical Conservation Science publishes diverse types of papers, including: Review Articles, Research Articles, Conservation in Action, Short Communications and Opinion Articles.

TCS seeks submissions that investigate conservation problems involving, first and foremost, socio-economic, political and industrial drivers of tropical ecosystem loss and degradation. Equally important to the journal is its aim to stimulate the publication of research that maps, tracks, and assesses drivers of tropical/ecosystem conservation. TCS welcomes studies that examine how nature (e.g. natural resources/biodiversity/geodiversity) is impacted/managed/used/valued by people across the tropics. How can conservation science be positively applied to generate solutions, change behaviors and obtain better conservation outcomes? This can include local studies with broader conservation implications, global scale analysis and insights from comparisons including both tropical and temperate zones.

TCS manuscripts typically report on a wide range of topics including taxonomy, ecology, evolution, behavior, parasitology, epidemiology, and population genetics, for both plant and animal communities, as they relate to tropical conservation. TCS also welcomes manuscripts reporting on social and economic issues related to tropical conservation, such as the impacts of and/or on indigenous people, poverty, population growth, ecological footprint, conservation policy, and pertinent scientific, technological, cultural and religious issues. The journal encourages interdisciplinary papers using a wide range of methods, including modeling, molecular biology, epidemiology, ecology and/or evolutionary theory, to analyze, assess and discuss vital tropical conservation issues.