All ESA Annual Meeting proposal and abstract deadlines are 5:00 PM Eastern so that technical support and ESA staff assistance will be immediately available when submitters need it. If you begin your submission very close to the deadline, you are choosing to take a risk and we will not make an exception if you don’t complete your submission in time. The form automatically closes at 5:00 EST / 2:00 PST whether you have completed your submission or not.
ESA meetings, open to ESA members and those interested in ecology, are among the most respected meetings of ecologists in the science community. ESA is committed to providing a safe, productive and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and ESA staff. All participants including, but not limited to attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, ESA staff, service providers, and others are expected to abide by the ESA Meetings Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all ESA meeting-related events including those sponsored by organizations other than ESA but held in conjunction with ESA events, in public or private facilities. In addition, ESA members and authors of ESA publications must adhere to the ESA Code of Ethics.
ESA is committed to holding an Annual Meeting in August where you can present your research. ESA is closely monitoring updates from local and national public health authorities regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The in-person meeting originally scheduled for August 2-7 in Salt Lake City, will become either a hybrid meeting that would offer virtual attendance in addition to in-person attendance, or become entirely virtual. Note that the hybrid option will allow you the option of presenting virtually by sending your presentation ahead of the session or attending in person.
COVID-19 mitigation recommendations are in place to protect human life, and as a scientific society, we will use the data to inform our decision on the type of Annual Meeting that will be held. We hope to have more information from the health experts to make a firm decision in May, after which we will open registration. The health, safety, and well-being of our members and staff are our priority. Rest assured that ESA will communicate the decision to you in an email and on ESA websites.
We ask that you remain optimistic and plan to participate in the meeting and attend as best you can. ESA has set up an events status page which is being updated regularly to reflect current information. The Meetings Committee has posted a statement here.
Please read and follow the abstract guidelines carefully. They are provided here as a guide to help you plan in advance. You can start your submission, save your progress, and then return to complete it at any time before the deadline has passed. A login and password will be automatically emailed to you when you begin an abstract submission. You may log in to view your abstract at any time by logging in here.
If this is your first time submitting an abstract for an ESA meeting, we suggest reading some contributed abstracts from a previous meeting. Abstracts from recent meetings are available online (2019, 2018, 2017). If you are a student, we strongly encourage you to work closely with your faculty adviser as you develop your abstract. If you encounter problems during abstract submission, email Jennifer Riem (jennifer@nullesa.org) and include the abstract ID number.
We invite submission of abstracts for latebreaking poster presentations for the 2020 ESA Annual Meeting. Abstracts are encouraged to address the meeting theme “Harnessing the ecological data revolution” if appropriate, but doing so is not necessary. We welcome submissions that report interdisciplinary work, address communication with broad audiences, or explore ways of teaching ecology at any level. Posters presentations are 90 minutes long and give presenters an opportunity for extended discussion and networking. Individually submitted contributed abstracts will be grouped together to create poster sessions organized around a common theme. Abstract authors will rank their preferred session themes as part of the abstract submission process. Latebreaking poster sessions are 5:00-6:30 pm on Thursday. By submitting an abstract, you are indicating you will be available during this time.
The meeting program in 2020 will have some new and exciting changes to improve the overall experience for attendees and presenters.
Changes that will affect contributed poster sessions include:
During abstract submission, you will rank 3 themes to guide the grouping of your presentation into a session with similar presentations. Consider the themes carefully.
Latebreaking poster sessions are 5:00-6:30 pm on Thursday. By submitting an abstract, you are indicating you will be available during this time.
Each person is allowed to submit only one abstract where they are listed as presenting author. This rule is enforced in order to encourage broad participation. You may present a poster or a talk, not both. This rule does not apply to coauthors. An author may be the presenting author on two abstracts only if one of the abstracts primarily reports on ecology education/outreach or is for an Inspire presentation.
There is no abstract fee to submit an abstract for a poster. This year we will offer poster presenters the opportunity to upload their poster to be made available in the online program a few weeks after the conference. Sharing your poster in the online program is optional.
Peer reviewers will rate abstracts using the abstract guidelines included in this call. The ratings and comments provided by peer reviewers will inform the acceptance decisions made by the Meetings Committee.
Because the submission deadline is very close to our final preparations of the program, editing these abstracts is not possible after the submission deadline has passed. Proofread very carefully.
The presenting author of every accepted abstract is required to register for the meeting and will be reminded to do so in meeting correspondence. Submitting an abstract does not register you for the meeting. Registration is a separate process that will open in April.
When submitting an abstract, presenters should be reasonably confident that they will attend the meeting and give the presentation as scheduled. The presenting author should notify ESA as soon as possible if a presentation needs to be cancelled. Please cancel by May 1 at the very latest to minimize gaps in the final meeting program.
| April 30, 2020 | Abstract submission deadline. |
| May 28, 2020 | Notification of acceptance sent to presenting author. |