Molecular Ecology publishes papers that utilize molecular genetic techniques to address consequential questions in ecology, evolution, behaviour and conservation. Studies may employ neutral markers for inference about ecological and evolutionary processes or examine ecologically important genes and their products. We also publish articles on technical methods, computer programs and genomic resource development in our companion journal, Molecular Ecology Resources. However, papers that are primarily descriptive and relevant only to the taxon being studied should be submitted to a more specialized journal.