Call for Special Sessions

Important Note

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.

About Special Sessions

We invite proposals for special sessions for the 2026 ESA Annual Meeting. All sessions this year will take place in person. We will not offer virtual or hybrid sessions. Special sessions are 60-minute or 90-minute sessions that complement the formal scientific program, providing an opportunity for presentations or extended dialogue and exchanges beyond what is usually possible in the regular scientific sessions. These sessions are not appropriate for the presentation of formal research talks and do not include presentation abstracts. Special sessions do not conform to any single structure and innovative use of the session is encouraged. They may, for example, involve one presenter, a series of presenters, a panel, a film or video, an open-ended discussion, or some combination of these. You can browse examples of special sessions from the 2025 meeting here.

All special sessions will be open to all registered meeting attendees without any advance signup required. Session organizers should plan for a potential range of attendance numbers since attendees can decide to attend any special session without advance notice.

We encourage potential submitters to also review the calls for workshops and Career Central sessions to consider which session type would be more appropriate for the approach you have in mind.

To propose a session for longer than 90 minutes, please see our call for short courses.

Logistical Considerations

Accepted special sessions will be scheduled in 60-minute or 90-minute slots to minimize topic overlap and as meeting space and logistics allow.  We cannot consider session organizer preferences for scheduling. Please note that scientific presentations are scheduled on Monday through Thursday, and some of the scheduling options would have workshops running concurrently with paper sessions. Friday is dedicated to short courses, workshops, and field trips.

All special session rooms will be set in theater style due to space restrictions. We cannot consider session organizer preferences for room setup.

The standard A/V setup is a screen, LCD projector, and laptop (with sound). Wireless internet will not be available in all session rooms this year. Please let us know in the Equipment Notes if internet connectivity is important for this session. Flip charts and a panel table can be requested in the proposal. Additional equipment other than wireless internet, flip charts, and a panel table will incur a cost for the workshop organizer. We will contact you with an estimate to confirm your request before placing an order.

Proposal Format

The information listed below must be submitted through the online submission form. It is provided here to assist you in planning your submission. The form may differ slightly from the version listed here. You may begin a submission and then return to edit it up until the deadline.

Components of a Proposal

• Session title (50 words max.) A strong session title is short and descriptive.
• One lead organizer (Required; name, institution, and email).
• Co-organizer(s) (Optional; name, institution, and email for each).
• Speaker(s) (Optional; name, institution, and email): This is someone who is planning to give a presentation in the session, in cases where there are presentations by people other than the session organizer. Please note that this session is not a paper session.
• Moderator (Optional; name, institution, and email): The moderator introduces each speaker (if the session has speakers) and manages discussion.
• Session description (200 words max., required). Describe the theme and purpose of this session. The session description should avoid overly specialized language. Any ecologist attending the meeting should be able to understand it. It could include background information, goals, objectives, importance, and interest to the membership of ESA.
• Topical track (Optional; select up to 2): Would you like this session to be considered for inclusion in any of the following tracks? Please only select a track if you think it’s a good fit for this proposal.
  • Career Exploration
  • Education
  • Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)
  • Data Skills Training
  • Traditional Ecological Knowledge
  • Communication and Engagement
• Flip charts: How many flip charts will this session need? (0-3). Please help us minimize costs and only request as many charts as you require. You can tear off pages to share one chart with multiple groups. We pay more than $100 to rent each flip chart per session.
• Panel table(s): Does this session need a panel table at the front of the room? We can provide 1-2 panel tables and each table can seat up to 3 people.
• Equipment notes (Optional; 200 words max.): We will provide a laptop (with sound for videos), screen, and LCD projector. Do you need wireless internet? Is there anything else you anticipate you will need for this session? Additional equipment other than wireless internet, including lavalier microphones, will incur a cost for the workshop organizer. We will contact you with an estimate to confirm your request before placing an order.
• Scheduling notes (Optional; 200 words max.): Is the session intended to be linked to another session or social event? Are there any other sessions proposed for the meeting you are aware of that should not be scheduled at the same time as this one? Are there any other considerations we should know about when scheduling this session? Please note we cannot honor requests to schedule for a specific date or time. These sessions may be scheduled Monday through Thursday. We will do our best to avoid known scheduling conflicts. This will only be seen by the committee. It will not appear in the meeting program.

Demographic Questions about the Session Organizer

The submission form asks a few questions about the session organizer to help ESA improve our services and monitor our efforts towards diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. You will be asked to answer the following questions about the lead session organizer for this proposal.  All information will be shared only in the aggregate to help us assess the diversity of our submissions. Proposal reviewers and the committee will not see this information for individual proposals. It is required that you answer each question, but you can select “Prefer not to answer”.

What best describes your race and/or ethnicity? You can select multiple answers.

• Asian/Asian American
• Black/African American
• Native American / Alaskan Native
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
• Middle Eastern or North African
• Hispanic/Latinx
• White
• Bi/Multiracial
• Other
• Prefer to self describe (free response option)
• Prefer not to answer

Where are you currently in your career? You can only select one.

• Student (undergraduate or graduate, including PhD students)
• Early Career (1-8 years since final degree, including post docs)
• Mid-Career (within 25 years since final degree)
• Senior Professional (more than 25 years since final degree)
• Prefer not to answer

What best describes your gender? You can only select one.

• Female
• Male
• Non-binary
• Prefer to self-describe (free response option)
• Prefer not to answer

Session and Presentation Rules

Sessions are required to have one organizer who will be the point of contact for correspondence with ESA and will be asked to make decisions regarding the session during planning. Co-organizers may also be listed, but the lead organizer is the point of contact.

To promote diversity of sessions and topics, no person will be permitted to serve as the lead organizer for more than two non-paper sessions (workshops, short courses, special sessions, Career Central sessions, field trips) at the 2026 Annual Meeting. A group of organizers may propose multiple linked sessions. Each session should be submitted separately, and it should be made clear which other proposals it is linked to, as well as its intended order in the sequence of the events.

Note that the One Presentation Rule does not apply to non-paper sessions. Anyone presenting in one of these sessions may also present in a scientific session (a formal talk or poster).

Other Important Information to Consider

Acceptance of a proposal does not obligate ESA beyond providing a meeting space and including the session in the program. All session organizers and participants must register for the conference at the applicable one day or full week rate. Organizers are responsible for making this clear to anyone they recruit to help with the session. ESA will not reimburse session organizers for expenses.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

The Program Subcommittee reviews all session proposals and makes acceptance decisions. We require a distinct, fully developed proposal that describes what attendees should expect to experience during the session. Proposals may be from any area of science related to ecology, but those that pertain to the meeting theme, “Ecology in an Era of Uncertainty”, are especially encouraged. We also welcome proposals that explore connections with the social or natural sciences or that are directed to ecological education at any level.

The primary criteria for acceptance include scientific merit, probable interest by meeting attendees, and a clearly written and compelling description. Limits of space and time may make it impossible to accommodate all worthy submissions. The Program Subcommittee has final authority for acceptance and scheduling for any proposed session.

If Your Proposal is Accepted

All submitters will be notified of acceptance decisions in February. At that time, organizers will be provided with instructions to begin preparing the session for the online program in the spring. Finalized information for all accepted non-paper sessions will be available in the online program when registration opens.

Cancellation Policy

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 Subcommittee, cancellation by the session organizer may preclude the acceptance of any sessions proposed by the organizer for the 2027 ESA Annual Meeting.

Important Dates

Dec. 4, 2025	Deadline for submitting a proposal to ESA.
Feb. 5, 2026	Notification of acceptance sent to organizer.
April 2026	Notification of session scheduling.
May 2026	Finalized session information is available in the online program.

Questions?

Contact ESA’s Meetings Team at meetings@esa.org.