Media Tip Sheet: Wildfire Ecology at ESA’s 2026 Annual Meeting
Featured presentations at the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Salt Lake City, Utah
July 9, 2026
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mayda Nathan, mayda@esa.org
Wildfire is reshaping ecosystems across many regions of the world, with climate change, land use and fire management practices altering when, where and how landscapes burn. At this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting (July 26–31) in Salt Lake City, Utah, researchers will present new findings on the ecological effects of fire across forests, rangelands, peatlands and urban natural areas, management strategies for reducing the risk of severe fires and the factors shaping post-fire recovery.
Highlighted presentations examine changing fire regimes, what happens in the aftermath of fire, wildlife responses and the ecological effects of smoke, ash and fire retardants. Other talks explore how fire interacts with disease dynamics, belowground processes and forest biomass loss, alongside emerging tools for wildfire data analysis and smoke prediction. These studies reflect the breadth of questions ecologists are asking about fire as both a natural process and a growing source of ecological disruption.
ESA invites staff journalists, freelance journalists, student journalists and press officers to register for free as media attendees up to and throughout the week of the Annual Meeting. For eligibility information, please visit ESA’s press registration credential policy page.
Members of the media will have access to all scientific sessions at the conference and to a press room where they can enjoy refreshments, internet access, a printer and an interview area.
Monday, July 27
| 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MT | Impacts of Pinyon-Juniper Fuels Reduction Treatments on Wildfire Recovery in Southeastern Utah Presenters: Rebecca Finger-Higgens, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center; Anna Knight, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center; Tara Bishop, Utah Valley University; Brooke Osborne, Utah State University, Kristina Young, University of Wisconsin Madison; Barb Smith, US Forest Service Manti La Sal Ranger District; Kara Dohrenwend, Rim to Rim Restoration; Michael Duniway, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MT | Fire on the Rise: Climate, Land Use, and Ecological Shifts in the Southwest Presenters: Luiza Maria Aparecido, University of Utah; Tyson Terry, Arizona State University; Tara Bishop, Utah Valley University; Samuel St. Clair, Brigham Young University; Derek Mallia, University of Utah; Gavin Madakumbura, University of California, Los Angeles Organized Oral Session |
| 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MT | Linking fire ecology and disease dynamics in the conservation of Florida Scrub-Jays Presenter: Tajul Islam Mamun, Florida Atlantic University Poster Presentation |
Tuesday, July 28
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | Changing fire regimes in the Great Basin Presenters: Corey Gucker, Great Basin Fire Science Exchange and University of Nevada, Reno; Eva Strand, University of Idaho; Kori Blankenship, The Nature Conservancy, LANDFIRE; Mark W. Brunson, The Nature Conservancy; Génie MontBlanc, Great Basin Fire Science Exchange, UNR Organized Oral Presentation |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | Disturbance legacies constrain post-fire vegetation recovery in hydrology-restored tropical peat swamp forests Presenters: Erich Eberhard, Columbia University; Laura Graham, BOSF; Amanda Sinclair, CSIRO Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MT | Bird Community Response to Changing Fire Frequency and Severity in Sierra Nevada Mixed-Conifer Forests Presenters: Chelsea L. Andreozzi, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station and Oakridge National Laboratory; Patricia N. Manley, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station; Jeffrey E. Stenzel, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station; Liraz Bistritz, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station and Oakridge National Laboratory Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MT | Cross-Biome Fire Impacts on Fungal Ecology Presenters: Tanya Cheeke, Washington State University; Dustin Lower, University of California, Davis; Rebecca Hewitt, Amherst College Organized Oral Session |
| 1:30 – 3:00 PM MT | Animals after fire: fire regime shifts and extinction risks Presenter: Karen Hodges, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MT | A Physics-Informed Neural Controlled Differential Equation Model for Satellite-Based Indoor Wildfire Smoke Prediction Presenter: Yanrui (Kevin) Li, University Of Toronto Poster Presentation |
Wednesday, July 29
| 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT | From Ember to Exabyte: Wildfires are a Big Data Frontier Presenters: Matthew Bitters, University of Colorado Boulder; Jennifer Balch; University of Colorado Boulder; Melissa Lucash, University of Oregon; Lise St Denis, University of Colorado Boulder; Nayani Ilangakoon, University of Colorado Boulder; Ilkay Altintas, University of California, San Diego; Park Williams, University of California, Los Angeles; Organized Oral Session |
| 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT | Fire is the dominant driver of aboveground forest biomass loss in the western United States Presenters: Qian He, University of California, Los Angeles; Park Williams, University of California, Los Angeles; Jazlynn Hall, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Yue Li, University of California, Los Angeles; Christopher Hakkenberg, University of California, Los Angeles Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | First Fires: Socioecological restoration of Indigenous cultural burning in tule wetlands Presenters: Nicolas Cruz, University of California, Santa Cruz; Blair McLaughlin, University of California, Santa Cruz; Erika Zavaleta, University of California, Santa Cruz Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | Forest fire as a driver of the expansion of avocado monoculture in Mexico Presenters: Blanca Saenz-Ceja, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Ivan Franch-Pardo, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | Floral Enhancements in Burned Slash Piles Support Bee Communities in Post-Fire Managed Forests Presenters: Rose McDonald, University of Oregon; Katie Moriarty, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement; James Rivers, Oregon State University; Lauren Ponisio, University of Oregon Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MT | Evaluating the ecological impacts of fire retardants: A quantitative review Presenters: Cadie Andrew, Utah State University; Moria Robinson, Utah State University Poster Presentation |
Thursday, July 30
| 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT | Avian dispersers and microsite conditions mediate post-fire recruitment dynamics of an imperiled tree species Presenters: Tyler Pelletier, University of Nevada, Reno Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT | Dose-dependent impacts of experimental smoke on tree physiology Presenters: Annapurna Post-Leon, University of Utah; Ainsley Nystrom, Montana State University; Lillie Congram, University of Utah; Chloe Raymond, University of Utah; William Anderegg, University of Utah Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT | Fire from the Bottom Up: Integrating Belowground Processes into Fire Ecology Presenters: Angelia Romano, University of Georgia; Eva Legge, Syracuse University; Rohit Nandakumar, University of Georgia, Adam Pellegrinia, Stanford University; Anita Simha, Louisiana State University Organized Oral Session |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | When it all comes “ashing down:” simulated wildfire ash deposition reduces herbivore survival and development, but not behavior Presenters: Grace Melone, University of Wisconsin–Madison; James Crall, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Angela Smilanich, University of Nevada Reno; Amy Trowbridge, University of Wisconsin–Madison Contributed Oral Presentation |
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MT | When cities burn: Native species dominance after wildfire in New York City forests Presenters: Aaron Sexton, Cornell University; Kane Lawhorn, North Carolina State University; Howard Goldstein, Prospect Park Alliance; Lydia Paradiso, Cornell University Contributed Oral Presentation |
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Learn more about the upcoming ESA Annual Meeting, July 26–31, on the meeting website.
ESA invites press and institutional public information officers to attend for free. To register, please contact ESA Public Affairs Manager Mayda Nathan directly at mayda@esa.org.
The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.
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