PONE-D-21-14202

ESIDE: A computationally intelligent method to identify earthworm species (E. fetida) from digital images: Application in taxonomy

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Abbasi,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Comments

1.I would like to congratulate the authors for there innovative research related to earthworm taxonomy using digital images.

2.This paper presents an initial work to classify earthworm species from digital images which is the first study of its kind reported from any where, therefore the paper has the merit for publication in the journal.

3.the manuscript would become more worthy of publication if the authors would incorporate some information related to details about the tools which have been used.

4.The authors also need to incorporate the comments put forward by the second reviewer.

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Tunira Bhadauria, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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“Dr. Saiqa Andleeb acknowledges the support of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for granting research projects under the National Research Program for Universities (NRPU) and Technology Development Fund (TDF)(Grant ids: NRPU-2907 & TDF-02006).”

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

I would like to congratulate the authors for there innovative research related to earthworm taxonomy using digital images. This paper presents an initial work to classify earthworm species from digital images which is the first study of its kind reported from any where, therefore the paper has the merit for publication in the journal ,however the manuscript would become more worthy of publication if the authors would incorporate some information related to details about the tools which have been used. The authors also need to incorporate the comments put forward by the second reviewer.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This paper presents an initial work to classify earthworm species from digital images.

The work is simple: a comparison between the combination of a bunch of feature extractors and classifiers.

However, this seems to be the first work to be done in this specific application.

The authors have clarified all my points/questions from the previous version/submission.

Reviewer #2: The title of the manusript is really good and the information in this paper is new and relevant. But, just give the little basic information about the tools which have been used. And in the result and discussion section the 3rd line "In what follows.......is not clear rephrase the sentence.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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ESIDE: A computationally intelligent method to identify earthworm species (E. fetida) from digital images: Application in taxonomy

PONE-D-21-14202R1

Dear Dr. Abbasi

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Tuneera Bhadauria, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

I would like to congratulate the authors for revising the manuscript well, incorporating the suggestions and comments put forward by me and the reviewers in the revised manuscript making it worthy of publication in the journal. Accordingly, I recommend that the manuscript be accepted for publication in the journal.

Reviewers' comments: