Latebreaking Poster Abstracts

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 are unable to 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. 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 and the ESA Diversity Statement.

How To Submit

You must submit your abstract using the online submission form. Abstracts sent by email will not be considered.

To submit an abstract, you will need to log in using an ESA member account. If you have been an ESA member or registered for an ESA meeting in recent years, you should already have an ESA member account. Your username and password to log in for the meeting are the same as for your ESA member account. If you have not been an ESA member or registered for an ESA meeting in recent years, you will need to create an ESA member account before you can submit. You do not need to pay membership dues to create an ESA member account or submit for the meeting.

Click the link below to begin by logging in. You will be able to return to the abstract to edit it until the submission deadline has passed. Information on how to do so will be included in two automated emails you will receive, first when you begin and then when you complete your submission.

Before You Begin

If this is your first time submitting an abstract for an ESA meeting, we suggest reading contributed and latebreaking abstracts from a previous meeting. Abstracts from recent meetings are available online (2022, 2021, 2020). 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 meetings@esa.org.

About Latebreaking Poster Sessions

We invite submission of abstracts for latebreaking posters for the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting. Abstracts are encouraged to address the meeting theme, “ESA for All Ecologists”, if appropriate but doing so is not necessary. We welcome submissions from any topic in ecology. This includes submissions that report interdisciplinary work, address communication with broad audiences, or explore ways of teaching ecology at any level.

Poster sessions are the last scientific session each day to give presenters an opportunity for extended discussion and networking. There are no other scientific sessions that are scheduled concurrently with latebreaking posters.

Abstract Submission Guidelines

The abstract guidelines have been updated for 2023 to allow for greater flexibility in the formatting and content of abstracts. We welcome submissions on a wide variety of ecological topics, including but not limited to research-focused studies, education related topics, applied ecological works, conceptual or theoretical contributions, and resources to support ecological research.

Abstract Guidelines

• The body of the abstract is up to 400 words.
• The abstract should not contain any headings.
• All abstracts are expected to report on new work within the field of ecology.
• All abstracts are expected to report on new contributions (i.e., contributions that have not been previously published). Note, a project that qualitatively or quantitatively reviews current understanding (i.e., published works, etc.) such as, but not limited to, meta-analyses, are considered “new work” if that project has not been previously published.
• The abstract must report specific results (quantitative, qualitative, or conceptual). The results, outcomes, or knowledge may be preliminary, but they may not be vague. Abstracts without explicitly stated results, outcomes, or knowledge will be rejected.
• Abstracts must be clear. Poorly written abstracts will be rejected.
• Abstracts must be written in English and must follow standard grammar and punctuation rules. Abstracts that do not meet this guideline will be rejected.

The content of the abstract must:

• Provide sufficient background information for motivation or rationale of the study or work to be presented.
• Clearly articulate the goals, objectives, questions, or hypotheses of the study or work. For example, specific research questions or hypotheses may not be relevant to all abstract types, but the goals or objectives should be clear.
• Clearly articulate the approaches or methods employed to arrive at the results, outcomes, or conclusions produced by the study. For abstracts reporting on a research project, the specific methods used should be summarized; for more conceptual, theoretical, applied, or other projects, the general approach or framework needs to be summarized.
• Cleary summarize key outcomes or contributions from the work; these may be in the form of quantitative results (e.g., for research-focused studies) or qualitative outcomes or knowledge produced.
• Conclude with one or more ecologically relevant take-home messages.

Example abstract structure

[Your background text here. Provide motivation or rationale for your study/work.] The goals [or objectives, questions, or hypotheses] of this study are [your text here.] Our approach to addressing our [goals, etc.] was [text here; describe methods, techniques, approaches, or similar]. Here we show [summarize key outcomes or knowledge produced]. In conclusion, this study suggests [your “big picture” ecologically relevant conclusion generated from your study/work].

Helpful information about abstract entry

• For every author listed, their name, institution, email, and country are required information.
• Missing coauthors are a very common issue. Be sure to check to make sure everyone has been included in the Authors step during submission.
• The presenting author is the corresponding author who will receive all communications, including acceptance and scheduling notifications from ESA. To receive notifications from us on time, it is important to make sure the correct person is indicated and that their email is entered correctly.
• Any author can be designated as the presenting author. The submitter is designated by default, and this can be adjusted by editing the author list.

Presenting Author Demographics

Session Assignment

During abstract submission, you will be asked to rank 3 themes to guide the grouping of your presentation into a session with similar presentations. Consider the themes carefully. You can look over the themes in this PDF document.

One Presentation Rule

Each person should submit only one abstract where they are listed as presenting author. This rule is enforced to encourage broad participation. 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.

Abstract Fee

There is an abstract fee to submit a latebreaking poster abstract. This fee is for $35.00 student and $60.00 non-student. If you are unable to pay this fee due to a lack of funding, you can check a box to opt out on the first page of abstract submission. The abstract fee covers technical costs associated with abstract submission and review.

Next Steps After Submission

Abstract Review

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 Program Subcommittee. We will send an email to every submitter notifying them of the Program Subcommittee’s decision in June.

Editing Abstracts

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.

Required Revisions

In cases where an abstract is required to be revised, the submitter will have 2 weeks to formally submit a revised abstract. Submitters will be able to log back into the same form where they submitted their original abstract to submit a revised abstract. Submitters who revise will be notified of a final decision within 2 weeks of the deadline to revise.

Appealing Rejections

In cases where an abstract is rejected, the submitter will have 2 weeks to formally appeal the rejection. Submitters will be able to log back into the same form where they submitted their original abstract to indicate they are appealing, add a note to make a case for the appeal, and submit a revised abstract. Revision in cases of rejection is not required, but it is highly encouraged to address reviewer comments. Submitters who appeal will be notified of a final decision within 2 weeks of the deadline to appeal.

Meeting Registration and Housing

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 we anticipate will open in May.

The website to book a room in our hotel block will also open in May. We encourage attendees to book housing within our hotel block to support the long-term success of the meeting. The number of hotel rooms booked inside our housing block each year affects our ability to book future meeting cities, including the amount of convention center space we can book. By booking inside the block, you are helping us secure future meeting venues that our attendees are interested in and sufficient space within those venues for all of our sessions.

Cancellations

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 Meetings as soon as possible if a presentation needs to be cancelled. Please cancel by May 1 if possible, to help us minimize gaps in the final meeting program as well as receive an abstract fee refund if you paid the fee.

Funding to Support Meeting Attendance

ESA is happy to support access to the Annual Meeting by those who might not otherwise have funding to participate. There are multiple opportunities to apply for funding through ESA, which you can read about here. At this point the deadlines for registration grants and dependent care have passed, but there are other opportunities available through ESA’s sections and chapters that will be added to the website during April.

ESA members, especially students, are encouraged to seek support through their sections and chapters. Student support may include need-based grants or awards based on scientific work. Students are especially encouraged to apply for funding through the Les Real and Jim Brown Student Travel Award, which is funded by donations and administered by the Student Section.  

Students who are accepted as volunteers at the Annual Meeting will be able to have the base registration cost at the Early Bird rate reimbursed. 

Elected leaders in ESA’s sections and chapters are eligible for dedicated funding.