MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
June 20, 2005

90^th Annual Meeting: News Media Registration

Members of the media and freelance writers are invited to attend the Ecological Society of America's ( ESA ) 90th Annual Meeting, to be held jointly with the INTECOL IX International Congress of Ecology in Montréal , Quebec , August 7-12, 2005. The meeting theme is, “Ecology at Multiple Scales.” Over 4,000 ecological scientists, researchers, educators, administrators, and policy-makers from around the globe are expected to attend.

The meeting's opening evening will feature a Public Plenary Address by Cristian Samper, Director of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. On Monday, August 8 th , the Opening Plenary will feature a 90 th anniversary celebration of ESA , featuring past presidents of ESA reflecting on the Society's historical milestones. Also featured in the Opening Plenary: May Berenbaum, well known entomologist and recipient of ESA 's prestigious MacArthur award.

Scientific presentation highlights include:

• Linking ecological processes and environmental impacts across scales: Coastal ecology and energy development in the Caspian Sea and Gulf of Mexico
• Mercury cycles: Sources, mass balances, bioaccumulation, and options to manage affected systems
• Ecological effects of the Chernobyl disaster: Genes to ecosystems
• Comparative ecology of tropical trees: Linking physiology to dynamics and distribution
• Ecological processes important in the responses of bird populations to environmental change driven by agriculture
• Linking local, regional and global ecological changes across densely populated landscapes

Several special sessions have been incorporated into the program, focusing on major ecological issues. They include: Restoration of Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq, Delivering on the promise of ecological science to improve land management: Ecological site descriptions, and two sessions on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

The five-and-a half-day program will include 4 plenary sessions, 24 scientific symposia, 36 workshops, 22 evening sessions, 16 scientific field trips and tours, 15 special sessions, 53 organized oral sessions, and more than 200 contributed paper and poster presentation sessions.

A complete schedule of field trips, symposiums, talks, and workshops may be found at:

http://www.esa.org/program/preliminarySchedule.html

A fully searchable database of abstracts can be found at: http://abstracts.co.allenpress.com/pweb/esa2005

PLEASE NOTE: All abstracts are embargoed until midnight EDT of the day they are to be presented.

NEWSROOM OPERATION

Members of the press (see policy below) are exempt from registration fees and are free to attend all meeting sessions. A staffed press room, including computers, a printer, telephones, and an area for interviews, will be available.

ESA POLICY ON PRESS CREDENTIALS

We are able to waive registration for reporters with: a recognized press card or current membership in the National Association of Science Writers, the Canadian Science Writers Association, the International Science Writers Association, or the Society of Environmental Journalists. Registration is also waived for Public Information Officers who can demonstrate membership in one of the above professional organizations.

We do not waive registration for editors of peer-reviewed journals, ad sales representatives, publishers, program officers or marketing professionals.

INSTITUTIONAL PRESS OFFICERS

Press officers may request copies of all abstracts related to their institution. ESA will distribute any relevant press releases in the Annual Meeting press room. Please contact Annie Drinkard ( annie@esa.org ) for more information.

To register for the Annual Meeting, please contact Annie Drinkard at annie@esa.org or call 202-833-8773 x211. The deadline for registering for fieldtrips and workshops is Wednesday, June 29, 2005.