Ecologies of a Changing Planet

About the Conference

Ecologies of a Changing Planet is a fully virtual, global event designed to foster meaningful interaction, collaboration, and exchange across regions, disciplines, and perspectives. This initiative is developed in response to strong community interest within the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and partner communities for more globally connected forms of academic engagement. At a time of rapid environmental transformation, ecological knowledge is increasingly produced across fragmented contexts, scales, and worldviews. This conference seeks to bridge these divides by creating a space for dialogue across geographic, disciplinary, and socioecological boundaries, in alignment with ESA’s mission to advance the science and practice of ecology and support a diverse and inclusive scientific community.

Conference Co-Chairs:

• Karen Bailey, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
• Aroloye Numbere, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Bruno Soares, University of Regina, Canada

Planning Committee Members:

• Daniel Burgas, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Luisa Maria Diele-Viegas, Laboratory of (Bio)Diversity in the Anthropocene, Brazil
• Gentle Komi, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Dr. Peter Oghogho Onyagbodor, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Anders Frugård Opdal, The Norwegian Ecological Society, Norway
• Gerard Sapes, Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, Spain
• Nihan Yazgan, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Association (EkoEvo), Turkey

Staff:

• Teresa Mourad
• Joey Moreno

Conference Subthemes

The conference committee has identified five (5) general subthemes that serve as organizing pillars for the  conference program. Thematic sessions bring together a set of related contributions around a shared question or topic, typically combining brief presentations with extended, facilitated discussion that synthesizes ideas across speakers. 

We are especially looking for proposals that explore ecological themes across globally connected ecosystems (e.g., oceans) and/or integrate data or perspectives from multiple continents/regions/or biomes.  Scientists studying all ecosystems and biomes are welcome, including wetlands and marinescapes.

List of Subthemes

• Ecological Theory and Discovery 
• Applied Ecology and Environmental Solutions 
• Human Dimensions, Governance, and Science Policy
• Innovation, Data Science, and Emergent Technologies
• Education, Mentoring, and Building the Next Generation

Conference Dates and Times

DATES: February 23-25, 2027 

TIME: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern or Washington DC time zone 

All scheduled sessions are live and in real time. All sessions will include asynchronous participation options to enable global participation and access.

Conference Structure 

All scheduled sessions will be live and in real time.

To address broad, cross-cutting themes we will offer a limited number of Plenaries and Keynotes: These sessions will prioritize a diversity of perspectives and regions, typically taking the form of moderated discussions rather than single-speaker lectures. We also aim to create an environment where ecologists from around the world can not only share insights, but also learn from diverse contexts and build new collaborations to address global environmental challenges through Organized Research Sessions and Collaborative Sessions.

Organized Session Types and formats

Type 1. Organized Research sessions: These sessions will pull together 6-8 individual talks and many more individual posters around a specific subtheme/topic (e.g. socioecological approaches to ecosystem management).

• Individual Talks. These are more traditional talks to communicate key ideas, findings, or perspectives in a clear and accessible way. Each session will be about 55 minutes with 6-8 speakers. The primary format of individual talks is the flash talk. Flash talks are concise presentations of five-eight minutes (depending on number of speakers in a session) followed by 15-20 minutes of live interactive exchange, moderated by the session organizer. The goal is to use short presentations as a catalyst for exchange, feedback, and synthesis.

• Individual Posters. Poster presentations will be held separately from the research talks but will still be grouped within an organized session topic. Instead of traditional poster sessions, we propose interactive “poster rooms” where each presenter hosts their own breakout space and participants can move freely between rooms for direct discussion. This format prioritizes conversation and engagement, potentially supported by facilitated browsing and community voting or awards to encourage participation. These sessions are intended to replicate and improve upon the most interactive aspects of in-person poster sessions by prioritizing conversation over display. Posters will be uploaded ahead of the conference to actively engage with attendees. 

Type 2. Collaborative sessions: These sessions maybe Thinking or Action pods, Roundtable Sessions, Workshops aimed at participant engagement that builds new skills, and/or generate ongoing connections or outputs / products beyond the conference.  There are no preset schedule of speakers. Each organizer has the flexibility to design the session and ensure that participants are engaged meaningfully. Collaborative session organizers may propose 60 minute or 90 minute sessions. Collaborative sessions may be one of three formats:

• Thinking or Action Pods involve more intensive engagement where participants actively work together to develop ideas, analyze problems, or initiate collaborations, often with a tangible outcome or next step.
• Roundtable discussions are structured conversations led by organizers who introduce contrasting perspectives, followed by active participation from attendees, with an emphasis on dialogue rather than presentation.
• Skill-oriented workshops focus on practical learning and capacity building, providing participants with hands-on guidance in methods, tools, or professional development topics, with opportunities for interaction, questions, and applied exercises.

All organized sessions should:

• Have a clearly defined focus or question
• Are timely and relevant in a global context
• Either be a live session or a collaborative session in any accepted format
• Facilitate interaction, discussion, and synthesis. 

All session proposals should be submitted by the Session Organizer with their contact information and personal profile. The session organizer will be notified about the status of the proposal. The role of the session organizer is to invite potential speakers as well as moderate the session. The conference planning committee also plan to forward additional speakers for your review as we hope all sessions will have speakers from multiple continents.

Contribution types

We invite contributors to participate either as leaders of organized sessions or as individual presenters. To facilitate conference coherence, all contributors will be asked to identify the primary subtheme addressed by the session. We still welcome proposals that fall outside of the subthemes outlined. The conference planning committee reserves the right to assign organized sessions or individual abstracts to the most appropriate subtheme. We may create new subthemes if we receive a significant pool of related proposals not already articulated.

Conference Registration 

All speakers, presenters, session organizers and attendees must register to participate. 

Anticipated Schedule of Registration fees

Registration Type	ESA Member	Non-member
Professionals	$150	$175
Students	$80	$95
Developing country Based on World Bank classification of Low Income and lower middle income countries	$50	$75

Those who are not ESA members are invited to join ESA. Membership categories and benefits may be found here

General conference registration is expected to open in December.

Need registration fee help?

It is important that all ecologists be able to participate in ESA’s programming. Financial constraints should not prevent an ecologist from being able to participate.  ESA is seeking sponsorships and plan to make a pool of funds available for registration grants. Details TBD. Please check back in fall 2027.