Access to resources—whether human, financial, or social—is a key indicator of research output and, in turn, academic career progression. However, resources are not equally distributed among scientists and disparities often stem from external factors. This reality is particularly impactful for early career researchers (ECRs) who have limited control over the resources available to them to advance their careers. The resources needed to fund open-access (OA) publishing are a well-known source of academic inequity (Ross-Hellauer 2022). Despite this, wide support for OA publishing exists across the scientific community, largely because OA articles increase access to the scientific literature by removing costly paywalls (Piwowar et al. 2018). Benefits of OA publishing also exist for individual researchers; OA studies are read and cited more, so much so that an “open access citation advantage” has been described (McCabe and Snyder 2014). Depending on the methods and journals studied, this advantage ranges from an 8 to 40% increase in citation rate (Piwowar et al. 2018). The OA publishing model is set to expand further, with influential groups seeking to mandate OA publishing (e.g., Plan S; Else 2021) including recent guidance from the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy (The White House 2022). However, OA publishing remains expensive, often prohibitively so, and OA fees deter ECRs broadly (Sarabipour et al. 2019), and particularly those from the Global South (Kwon 2022; Santidrián Tomillo et al. 2022).

In an effort to increase access to OA publishing among ECRs, and particularly those from the Global South, we established the Limnology & Oceanography Letters Early Career Publication Honor. The goal of the honor is to provide OA fee waivers for selected ECR-led publications based on the need and potential impact of the research. The honor stems from a unique opportunity that highlights the value of bringing multiple perspectives to the editorial table. It was developed as part of the Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellowship (RCEF), a program established in 2017 by founding Editor-in-Chief of Limnology & Oceanography Letters, Dr. Patricia Soranno, to better integrate ECRs into publishing (see overview by Deemer et al. 2021). As part of the program, fellows are invited to an annual strategy day with Wiley, the publishers of Limnology & Oceanography Letters, and editors of other journals published by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). At this event in 2019, attendees were tasked with brainstorming ways to better support ECRs in publishing and bolster ASLO's journal portfolio. Through discussions with Dr. Jim Cloern—the Editor-in-Chief of Limnology and Oceanography Letters—we conceived the idea for an ECR publication honor that would waive OA fees for ECR-led studies. We then worked with Dr. Cloern, ASLO leadership, and Wiley to bring the publication honor from idea to implementation. Like the RCEF program it was founded within, the publication honor is a unique initiative among academic journals (Deemer et al. 2021).

In the inaugural solicitation for the Honor, we invited ECRs—defined as graduate students or researchers within 3 years of completing their PhD—to submit brief applications that described their study design, its novelty and relevance to the journal, their lived experiences relating to representation in science, and their access to funding for OA publishing. We received 71 applications from 19 countries. To objectively select honorees from a deep pool of applicants, we scored each application according to the areas emphasized in our solicitation.

In this Virtual Issue of Limnology & Oceanography Letters (https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/topic/vi-categories-23782242/virtual-issues/23782242), we celebrate the publication of seven studies led by the first cohort of ECR honorees. Our honorees represent seven institutions in three countries (United States, Australia, and Italy) and their studies span broad aquatic science disciplines including biogeochemistry, species distribution modeling, microbial ecology, organismal physiology, and impacts of sea-level rise. The articles report cutting-edge research and illustrate the valuable role ECRs play in advancing these disciplines.

Among selections, a common theme was quantifying and predicting climate change effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. Champion and Coleman (2021) integrated seascape topography into predictions of fish distributions under climate change. They found that predicted poleward extensions of species' ranges are reduced by as much as 60% when topography is considered, highlighting the need for incorporating static topography into predictions of future species' distributions. In another marine-focused study, Unzueta-Martínez et al. (2021) sampled oyster microbial communities to test host-associated microbial stability under rising levels of atmospheric CO₂ and ocean acidification. They reported that some taxa within the oyster microbiome responded directly to ocean acidification, while others were more sensitive to host response, thereby identifying which members of the microbiome may contribute to the health and resistance of their host and which are most vulnerable to acidification. McKenzie et al. (2021) asked how ongoing sea-level rise (SLR) will impact coastal infrastructure. Using geochemical tracers and tracking of organic contaminants, their study provides some of the first empirical evidence for coastal wastewater infrastructure being compromised by SLR-driven groundwater inundation—flooding that occurs when the water table is elevated—highlighting water quality and human health impacts associated with SLR.

Biogeochemical fluxes, and in some instances, their impacts on organismal physiology, was another theme of the selected studies. Heal et al. (2022) shed new light on how marine microbial communities interact with and accumulate arsenic, a potentially toxic element. They showed that in the open ocean surface waters, much of the bulk particulate arsenic is actually contained in complex lipids, some of which appear to be of bacterial origin. This represents an important advance in our understanding of marine arsenic biogeochemistry. Through microscopic and chemical analyses of sinking particles, Michaud et al. (2022) linked the ocean surface to its abyssal depths to understand the origins of large, heretofore unexplained, episodic pulses of organic carbon (OC). By quantifying phytoplankton presence and biomineral composition, their measurements suggested that these high-flux events stem from the transport of coastal diatom blooms that have been greatly transformed by pelagic food webs en route to the deep ocean, thus improving our understanding of high OC flux events. In an agricultural setting, Benelli and Bartoli (2021) used a microcosm experiment to show how plants and animals influence the release of the greenhouse gas methane from canal sediments. Methane release was 97% lower when plants and oligochaetes were present, highlighting the value of maintaining biodiversity in artificial irrigation networks. Andrew et al. (2022) clarified the physiological effects of iron and light limitation on Southern Ocean phytoplankton communities. They found variation in responses to iron and light limitation for a range of phytoplankton with one species in particular—Proboscia inermis—dedicating a much greater amount of resources into Rubisco, a key carbon-fixing enzyme, than all other Antarctic phytoplankton included. They suggest that this response represents a divergent molecular strategy that allows this species to dedicate important resources to diffusive carbon uptake rather than relying solely on active carbon uptake.

The diversity and potential impact of articles in this Virtual Issue highlight the important contributions that ECRs are making to limnology and oceanography. For ASLO and Wiley, this publication honor is already considered a success and resources have been committed to waive six ECR publications each year for the next two years. Still, there are further opportunities to address inequities. We see a particular need for expanding support for scientists from the Global South where research and publishing are often underfunded. The first round of the honor attracted a geographically diverse applicant pool including 18 applicants from the Global South, despite no dedicated effort to advertise to diverse networks. A second solicitation that explicitly prioritized and advertised to applicants from the Global South and Ukraine recently closed. Publishers, including Wiley, are also developing programs that support OA publishing for underfunded countries. For example, the Research4Life program (https://www.research4life.org/) provides waivers and discounts to scientists affiliated with institutions in low to lower-middle income countries. While a good start, these waivers and discounts are likely still insufficient for overcoming the financial burdens facing the authors they target (Mekonnen et al. 2022). Furthermore, to realize a more equitable publishing landscape, support for authors from the Global South and other resource-limited positions cannot be merely financial. For example, access to international research networks and audiences through programs such as ASLO's Amplifying Voices seminar series can help reduce disparities (Meinikmann et al. 2022). To this end, the publishing honor includes an optional round of friendly peer review between members of the selection committee and honorees. This added nonfinancial benefit serves two functions: (1) the honorees get editorial feedback before submission to increase the likelihood of their study being accepted for publication, and (2) it provides a networking opportunity that is often interdisciplinary and international.

Access to OA publishing is clearly important to ECRs, with roughly 10 times more applications received than honors available during the first call. Equity in publishing will advance when the scientific community, societies, and publishers collaborate to build programs that increase ECR access to OA publishing. This goal can be accomplished, for instance, by the creation of similar publication-support programs through more journals, societies, or institutions. Additionally, on the publisher side, dedicated OA fee waivers or discounts could be set aside to support ECR work. Ultimately, each entity taking action within their purview can help level the playing field of OA publishing while also being mindful of how differential access to resources can impact careers, particularly for ECRs.

获得资源——无论是人力、财力还是社会资源——是研究成果的关键指标，进而也是学术职业发展的关键指标。然而，资源在科学家之间的分配不均，差异往往源于外部因素。这一现实对早期职业研究人员 (ECR) 影响尤其大，他们对可用于推进职业生涯的资源的控制有限。资助开放获取 (OA) 出版所需的资源是学术不平等的一个众所周知的来源 (Ross-Hellauer  2022 )。尽管如此，科学界普遍支持 OA 出版，这主要是因为 OA 文章通过消除昂贵的付费墙增加了对科学文献的访问（Piwowar 等人，2018 年 ）). OA 出版对个体研究人员也有好处；OA 研究被阅读和引用更多，以至于描述了“开放获取引用优势”（McCabe 和 Snyder  2014）。根据所研究的方法和期刊，这一优势可使引用率提高 8% 至 40%（Piwowar 等人，  2018 年）。OA 出版模式将进一步扩展，有影响力的团体寻求授权 OA 出版（例如，Plan S；Else  2021），包括美国科学技术政策办公室（白宫 2022）的最新指导。然而，OA 出版仍然很昂贵，通常令人望而却步，而且 OA 费用广泛地阻止了 ECR（Sarabipour 等人，  2019 年）)，尤其是来自全球南方的那些人 (Kwon  2022 ; Santidrián Tomillo et al.  2022 )。

为了增加 ECR（尤其是来自全球南方的 ECR）对 OA 出版的访问，我们设立了Limnology & Oceanography Letters Early Career Publication Honor。该荣誉的目标是根据研究的需要和潜在影响，为选定的 ECR 主导的出版物提供 OA 费用减免。该荣誉源于一个独特的机会，它突出了将多种观点带到编辑桌上的价值。它是作为 Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellowship (RCEF) 的一部分开发的，该计划由Limnology & Oceanography Letters的创始主编 Patricia Soranno 博士于 2017 年设立，旨在更好地将 ECR 整合到出版中（参见Deemer 等人的概述等 2021). 作为该计划的一部分，研究员将受邀与 Wiley、 Limnology & Oceanography Letters的出版商以及湖沼学和海洋学科学协会 (ASLO) 出版的其他期刊的编辑一起参加年度战略日。在 2019 年的这次活动中，与会者的任务是集思广益，以更好地支持 ECR 出版并加强 ASLO 的期刊组合。通过与Limnology and Oceanography Letters主编 Jim Cloern 博士的讨论-我们构想了 ECR 出版荣誉的想法，该荣誉将免除 ECR 主导研究的 OA 费用。然后，我们与 Cloern 博士、ASLO 领导层和 Wiley 合作，将出版荣誉从构思变为实施。与其成立的 RCEF 计划一样，出版荣誉是学术期刊中独一无二的举措 (Deemer et al.  2021 )。

在首届荣誉征集活动中，我们邀请了 ECR（定义为完成博士学位后 3 年内的研究生或研究人员）提交简短的申请，描述他们的研究设计、研究的新颖性和与期刊的相关性，以及他们与代表相关的生活经历在科学方面，以及他们获得 OA 出版资金的机会。我们收到了来自 19 个国家的 71 份申请。为了从众多申请人中客观地选择获奖者，我们根据征集活动中强调的领域对每份申请进行评分。

在本期湖沼学与海洋学快报(https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/topic/vi-categories-23782242/virtual-issues/23782242) 中，我们庆祝由第一批研究人员领导的七项研究的发表ECR 获奖者。我们的获奖者代表三个国家（美国、澳大利亚和意大利）的七个机构，他们的研究涵盖广泛的水生科学学科，包括生物地球化学、物种分布模型、微生物生态学、生物生理学和海平面上升的影响。这些文章报告了前沿研究，并说明了 ECR 在推进这些学科方面发挥的重要作用。

在选择中，一个共同的主题是量化和预测气候变化对海洋和沿海生态系统的影响。Champion 和 Coleman ( 2021 ) 将海景地形学纳入气候变化下鱼类分布的预测中。他们发现，当考虑地形时，预测的物种范围的极向延伸减少了多达 60%，这突出了将静态地形纳入未来物种分布预测的必要性。在另一项以海洋为重点的研究中，Unzueta-Martínez 等人。( 2021 ) 对牡蛎微生物群落进行采样，以测试在大气 CO _{2水平升高的情况下与宿主相关的微生物稳定性}和海洋酸化。他们报告说，牡蛎微生物组中的一些分类群直接对海洋酸化做出反应，而其他分类群则对宿主反应更敏感，从而确定微生物组的哪些成员可能有助于宿主的健康和抵抗力，哪些最容易受到酸化的影响。麦肯齐等人。( 2021 ) 问持续的海平面上升 (SLR) 将如何影响沿海基础设施。他们的研究使用地球化学示踪剂和有机污染物追踪，为沿海废水基础设施受到 SLR 驱动的地下水淹没（地下水位升高时发生的洪水）的损害提供了一些初步经验证据，突出了与水质和人类健康相关的影响单反。

生物地球化学通量，在某些情况下，它们对有机体生理学的影响，是所选研究的另一个主题。治愈等。( 2022 ) 揭示了海洋微生物群落如何与潜在有毒元素砷相互作用并积累砷。他们表明，在开阔的海洋表层水域中，大部分散装颗粒砷实际上包含在复杂的脂质中，其中一些似乎来自细菌。这代表了我们对海洋砷生物地球化学的理解取得了重要进展。通过对下沉粒子的微观和化学分析，Michaud 等人。( 2022) 将海洋表面与其深海深度联系起来，以了解迄今为止无法解释的大量有机碳 (OC) 偶发脉冲的起源。通过量化浮游植物的存在和生物矿物成分，他们的测量结果表明，这些高通量事件源于沿海硅藻华的运输，这些藻华在前往深海的途中被远洋食物网大大改变，从而提高了我们对高 OC 通量事件的理解. 在农业环境中，Benelli 和 Bartoli ( 2021) 使用微观世界实验来展示植物和动物如何影响运河沉积物中温室气体甲烷的释放。当植物和寡毛类动物存在时，甲烷释放量降低了 97%，这凸显了在人工灌溉网络中维持生物多样性的价值。安德鲁等人。( 2022 ) 阐明了铁和光限制对南大洋浮游植物群落的生理影响。他们发现一系列浮游植物对铁和光限制的反应存在差异，特别是一个物种——Proboscia inermis- 将更多的资源投入到 Rubisco 中，这是一种关键的固碳酶，比所有其他南极浮游植物都要多。他们认为，这种反应代表了一种不同的分子策略，允许该物种将重要资源用于扩散碳吸收，而不是仅仅依赖活性碳吸收。

本期虚拟期刊中文章的多样性和潜在影响突出了 ECR 对湖泊学和海洋学的重要贡献。对于 ASLO 和 Wiley 来说，这一出版荣誉已经被认为是成功的，并且资源已承诺在未来两年内每年免除六份 ECR 出版物。尽管如此，还有更多的机会来解决不平等问题。我们认为特别需要扩大对全球南方科学家的支持，那里的研究和出版往往资金不足。第一轮的荣誉吸引了来自不同地域的申请者，其中包括来自全球南方的 18 名申请者，尽管他们没有专门努力向不同的网络做广告。明确优先考虑并向来自全球南方和乌克兰的申请人做广告的第二次招标最近结束。出版商，包括 Wiley 在内，也在开发支持资金不足国家 OA 出版的计划。例如，Research4Life 计划 (https://www.research4life.org/) 为隶属于中低收入国家机构的科学家提供豁免和折扣。虽然是一个良好的开端，但这些豁免和折扣可能仍不足以克服他们所针对的作者所面临的经济负担（Mekonnen 等人，2017 年）。 2022 年）。此外，为了实现更公平的出版环境，对来自全球南方和其他资源有限职位的作者的支持不能仅仅是经济上的。例如，通过 ASLO 的 Amplifying Voices 研讨会系列等项目接触国际研究网络和听众可以帮助减少差异（Meinikmann 等人，  2022 年）。为此，出版荣誉包括评选委员会成员和获奖者之间的可选一轮友好同行评审。这种额外的非经济利益有两个作用：(1) 获奖者在提交之前获得编辑反馈，以增加他们的研究被接受发表的可能性，以及 (2) 它提供了一个通常是跨学科和国际的交流机会。

获得 OA 出版显然对 ECR 很重要，在第一次通话期间收到的申请大约是获得荣誉的 10 倍。当科学界、学会和出版商合作制定计划以增加 ECR 对 OA 出版的访问时，出版的公平性将会提高。例如，可以通过更多期刊、学会或机构创建类似的出版支持计划来实现这一目标。此外，在出版商方面，可以预留专门的 OA 费用减免或折扣以支持 ECR 工作。最终，每个在其职权范围内采取行动的实体都可以帮助平衡 OA 出版的竞争环境，同时还要注意对资源的不同访问如何影响职业，特别是对 ECR。