Media Tip Sheet: Urban ecology at #ESA2025
Featured presentations at the 110th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Baltimore, Maryland
August 5, 2025
For immediate release
Contact: Mayda Nathan, (202) 833-8773 ext. 211, mayda@esa.org
At the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md., Aug. 10–15, urban ecology will be front and center — fitting for a city that has long been a hub for research on nature in urban environments. Reflecting the meeting’s theme, “Ecology is Everywhere,” this growing field recognizes that cities are not just places where nature is degraded, but also where ecological processes thrive and evolve in unique ways.
Urban ecology explores how people and biodiversity interact in densely populated landscapes, and how urban ecosystems offer valuable services and insights. Presentations at the meeting cover a wide range of topics, including strategies for urban tree planting, pollinator behavior in city settings, the ecology of residential yards, and the role of urban farms and green spaces. Others link urban ecology to environmental justice and examine the lives of urban wildlife — highlighting how cities are not only habitats for humans, but for nature too.
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, August 11
| 1:30PM–3:00PM ET | What Are the Frontiers of Urban Ecology’s Prepositions? Exploring the Future of Ecology in, of, for, and with Cities Presenters: Myla Aronson, Rutgers University; Loren Byrne, Roger Williams University; Nancy Sonti, US Forest Service; Kristin Winchell, New York University; Matthew Lundquist, Marymount Manhattan College; Elizabeth Cook, Barnard College; Cynnamon Dobbs, Universidad de los Andes; Tim Nuttle, Oikos Ecology LLC; Joy Winbourne, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Hannah Partridge, National Audubon Society; Danielle Lee, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Inspire Session – Hilton Key 11-12 |
| 3:30PM–5:00PM ET | Ecology of Residential Yards: Wildlife and People Friendly Landscapes Presenters: Atticus Murphy, University of California Davis; Nicholas Dorian, Chicago Botanic Garden; Myla Aronson, Rutgers University; Susannah Lerman, US Forest Service; Meghan Avolio, Johns Hopkins University Organized Oral Session – Hilton Key 11-12 |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Beeing Urban: How City Life is Changing Pollination Behaviors Presenter: Simon Hassler, Webster University Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Mixed-Species Flocks in a Changing World: Social and Vocal Adaptations Across an Urban-Natural Gradient Presenter: Suyash Sawant, University of Florida Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
Tuesday, August 12
| 8:00AM–9:30AM ET | The Ecology of Segregation beyond Redlining: Status and Directions of an Emerging Field Presenters: Lawrence Brown, Morgan State University; Idowu Ajibade, Emory University; Diego Ellis Soto, University of California Berkeley; Melissa McHale, University of British Columbia Symposium – Hilton Key 11-12 |
| 1:30PM–3:00PM ET | Abandoned but Not Forgotten: The Socio-Environmental Legacy of Urban Vacant Lot Presenters: Mary Gardiner, The Ohio State University; Chih-Han Chang, National Taiwan University; Nat Adams, Johns Hopkins University; William Shuster, Wayne State University; Kristin Mmari, Johns Hopkins University; Ava Richardson Organized Oral Session – Hilton Key 8 |
| 3:30PM–5:00PM ET | Urban Long-Term Ecological Research in Baltimore: BES Lives! Presenters: Nancy Sonti, US Forest Service; Brittany Washington, City University of New York; Ian Yesilonis, US Forest Service; Michele Romolini, Loyola Marymount University; Megan Fork, West Chester University; Jon Duncan, Penn State University Organized Oral Session – Hilton Key 8 |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Carbon Sequestration of New York City Green Roof Farms Presenter: Lily Fillwalk, Rutgers University Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Disrupting nature’s rhythms: Artificial light at night alters urban ecosystem seasonality Presenter: Lin Meng, Vanderbilt University Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Microclimatic cooling effects of tree species in the urban forest of Boulder, Colorado and the role of functional traits Presenter: Advyth Ramachandran, University of Colorado Boulder Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
Wednesday, August 13
| 8:20AM–8:40AM ET | Ecological processes in the designs to transform a vast urban landfill into a new public park Presenter: Steven Handel, Rutgers University Symposium – Hilton Key 5 |
| 9:00AM–9:15AM ET | A national urban garden survey (NUGS) for community-driven basic ecological research Presenter: Eric Chapman, University of St. Thomas Organized Oral Session – Hilton Key 11-12 |
| 10:00AM–11:30AM ET | Wild Animal Welfare is in Our Backyards: Exploring Wild Animal Welfare and Its Ecological Impacts Among Wild Animals in Urban Spaces Presenters: Dave Daversa, University of California Los Angeles; M. Camille Hopkins, Harvard University; Bonnie Flint, Wild Animal Initiative; Jessica Wright-Lichter, Tufts University Symposium – Hilton Key 9-10 |
| 1:45PM–2:00PM ET | Examining urban tree health as a method of predicting species-specific climate adaptation Presenter: Margaret Schaefer, University of Maryland Contributed Talk – BCC 349 |
| 3:30PM–5:00PM ET | Perspectives on the Origins and Future of Urban Ecology Presenters: Paige Warren, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Steward Pickett, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Tara Trammell, University of Delaware; Charles Nilon, University of Missouri Symposium – Hilton Key 9-10 |
| 5:00PM–6:30PM ET | Atmospheric Deposition and Soil Solution Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Urban Forests at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, MA Presenter: Cameron Chin, Boston University Contributed Poster – Exhibit Hall |
Thursday, August 14
| 8:00AM–8:15AM ET | City Meets Nature: Engaging Los Angeles in Major Dam Removal and Endangered Southern California Steelhead Recovery Presenter: Russell Marlow, CalTrout Contributed Talk – BCC 337 |
| 8:45AM–9:00AM ET | Greening parking lots to mitigate urban heat Presenter: Huidong Li, Vanderbilt University Contributed Talk – BCC 349 |
| 9:15AM–9:30AM ET | Does urbanization induce phenological mismatches in orchard pollinators? Presenter: Sarah Willen-Nelson, University of Missouri St. Louis Contributed Talk – BCC 340 |
| 10:00AM–10:15AM ET | Assessment of the Urban Forest Health around Raleigh’s Greenway System Presenter: Alejandra Betancourt, North Carolina State University Contributed Talk – BCC 349 |
| 1:45PM–2:00PM ET | Canopy inequity persists beyond the urban core but its underlying drivers vary across a large metropolitan region Presenter: Lindsay Darling, Morton Arboretum Contributed Talk – BCC 349 |
| 3:30PM–3:45PM ET | Decades of inequitable growth in urban tree cover shapes human well-being across the United States Presenter: Cody Pham, University of California Davis Contributed Talk – BCC 349 |
On-site Press Room
Location: Room 330, Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Press Room hours:
Sunday, August 10: 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET
Monday, August 11: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
Tuesday, August 12: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
Wednesday, August 13: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
Thursday, August 14: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
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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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