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 ecologist 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 Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy.
You must submit your proposal using the online submission form. Proposals sent by email will not be considered. Click the link below to begin by selecting which type of proposal you would like to submit. You will be able to return to the proposal 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.
We invite proposals for Inspire sessions for the 2020 ESA Annual Meeting. Inspire sessions are Ignite-style sessions intended to stimulate the exchange of new and exciting ideas in a short time period. Proposals are encouraged to address the meeting theme, “Harnessing the ecological data revolution,” if appropriate, but doing so is not necessary. Any timely and coherent subject of broad ecological interest will be considered. We also welcome proposals that explore interdisciplinary connections with areas of social and natural science outside of ecology or that relate to ecological education at any level.
Inspire sessions will be scheduled for 90 minutes and consist of between six and ten 5-minute talks organized to address a common theme. Each Inspire talk will feature 20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. Although there will be no time scheduled between individual presentations for questions and answers, the remainder of the session time (typically at least 30 minutes) will be used for extended discussion.
Each session should be organized around a general theme that is related to the advancement of ecology. Inspire sessions are intended to complement the traditional scientific program. These sessions will provide an opportunity for ecologists to share information with their colleagues that would not fit into the usual session types. The concise speaking slot and rapid slide transitions lend themselves to a more conversational and storytelling presentation style. Given 5 minutes to speak, what would you share with other ecologists? What would you most like to learn from your colleagues?
Possible session themes include, but are not limited to:
The links in this section are highly recommended reading and viewing for anyone considering submitting an Inspire session, as well as any speakers they invite to participate. Inspire talks will require different preparation than typical ESA presentations. Some differences to keep in mind:
Some helpful videos:
Some example of effective talks on various subjects:
All speakers who submit an abstract for an accepted session will be required to pay a non-refundable abstract fee of $60 USD at the time of abstract submission (January-February). ESA will offer an opt-out mechanism for those that lack funding to cover the fee.
All proposals will be peer reviewed and scored by reviewers selected by the ESA Program Committee. The Program Committee may accept, decline, or offer an opportunity to present the proposed work in a more appropriate format (organized oral session, Inspire, workshop, special session). Session organizers will be notified of decisions by December 12, 2019. Proposals will be assessed using the following criteria. The weight of particular criteria may vary depending on the nature of proposals.
Criteria for a strong Inspire proposal:
Scientific strength
Structure and organization
Speakers
In the interest of broadening participation, an individual can be the lead organizer for only one invited paper session (symposium, organized oral session, Inspire session).
One presentation rule
The one presentation rule does not apply to participants speaking in Inspire sessions. We do ask that Inspire presenters limit themselves to one Inspire presentation. They may present something else (a poster, or a different type of talk) as their second presentation.
Meeting registration
Please note that meeting registration is not waived or reduced for anyone participating in any capacity in a symposium. This includes the session organizer(s), moderator, and speakers, all of whom must register at the one day or full week rate. Organizers are responsible for making this clear to everyone they recruit to help with the session. No ESA funds are available for honoraria or to support participant travel.
If Your Proposal is Accepted
After acceptance decisions have been made and the scheduling for the meeting is underway, cancellations and schedule changes are very disruptive to meeting planning. It is therefore very important that symposium organizers obtain firm commitments from their invited speakers before submitting their proposal. If a proposal is accepted, the organizer will be required to submit an up to date version of the session details and confirmed speaker list in January. Organizers will be informed of their session’s time and date in mid February. Symposia may be scheduled for any oral session timeslot between Monday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. The program committee will attempt to avoid any overt conflicts between sessions and will give organizers an opportunity to notify us of known scheduling conflicts (strictly defined as conflicts between accepted sessions).
Communication with speakers
If a proposal is accepted as a session, it is very important that the organizer communicates with speakers between December and August about the acceptance status of the session, the confirmation status of speakers, abstract requirements and deadlines, session scheduling information, and expectations for participation in the conference.
Here are a few details that all speakers should know up front. Miscommunication about them can disrupt session planning later in the process.
For session organizers
Once a session has been accepted and listed online, cancellation imposes a serious burden. Do not submit a proposal if you are uncertain that you will be able to fulfill your obligation to organize and conduct the session. Once a session is accepted by the Program Chair, cancellation by the session organizers will preclude the organizers from being allowed to submit any proposals for sessions for the 2021 ESA Annual Meeting.
For presenters
Instructions for how to cancel are included in all notification emails sent to presenters. Presenters should reply to any of those emails to cancel. For more detailed information, see our Cancellation Policy.
Important Dates
September 19, 2019 Deadline for submitting a proposal to ESA.
December 12, 2019 Notification of acceptance sent to organizer.
January 6, 2020 Deadline to submit session revisions and reaffirm speaker lists.
February 13, 2020 Notification of scheduling (session date and time) sent to organizer.
February 20, 2020 Deadline for speakers to submit abstracts.
Dr. Kiona Ogle
Program Chair
School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ
Phone: (928) 523-6200
E-mail: Kiona.Ogle@nau.edu
Jennifer Riem
Meeting Program Associate
Ecological Society of America
1990 M Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Phone: (202) 833-8773 x 218
Email: jennifer@esa.org