Thank you for your interest in submitting an abstract to present at ESA2021. We welcome abstracts for consideration as one of the symposia, or for inclusion in the open forum.

Please note that ESA2021 will now be held online. While plenaries and keynote speakers will be streamed live, presenters will be asked to pre-record their presentations.

Abstract submission

GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

ONE PRESENTATION RULE

Delegates may submit only one abstract as the presenting author – regardless of presentation format (i.e. poster, speed talk or oral presentation) or whether the presentation is part of a symposium or open forum. Delegates are free to serve as a non-presenting author on multiple abstracts. Delegates are encouraged to present recent research (e.g. typically, work that has not been published in print or electronic media at the time of abstract submission).

PRESENTATION TYPES

ESA2021 will feature the following presentation types. All are equally valued contributions, and different presentation formats may be best suited to different kinds of content. Delegates are encouraged to select the presentation format that best suits the material to be presented.

Speed talk – (5 minutes: 4-minute talk + 1-minute changeover)

Speed talks allow you to present your research in a short, concise, and energetic format. This format will enable you to showcase your science in addition to showcasing your presentation and communication skills – an increasingly important ability for modern ecologist. Speed talks are the best choice for research with one main idea or result.

Poster

Because they are on show for the entire conference, poster presentations allow you to showcase your work to a broader audience and provide opportunities for discussion with your peers one-on-one or in small groups. Traditionally, poster presenters have used the opportunity to present works in progress, preliminary results, new methods and techniques, or detailed proposals for future research.

Poster AND Speed talk

To combine the best of both worlds, presenters may elect to present a speed talk as well as a poster. Speed talks will be scheduled during the day on Monday 29 November to allow presenters to showcase their poster before the dedicated Barbara Rice Memorial Poster Session.

Oral Presentation- (15 minutes: 12 minute talk + 3 minute Q&A)

Oral presentations are ideal for presenting research projects that are close to completion, with emerging conclusions. This style of performance allows the author to place their work in a broader ecological context, and to discuss hypotheses, study design, and outcomes in detail. Oral presentations may be part of an open forum or a symposium.

ABSTRACT SELECTION CRITERIA

The Scientific Committee will attempt to accommodate the preferred presentation type for all delegates, but inevitably the number of oral presentations (15 min) that can be adjusted in the program is limited. In some recent years, the number of delegates requesting oral presentations has exceeded the places available, and this trend may continue.

The criteria used to assess abstracts may include:

• relevance to the objectives of the Ecological Society of Australia
• scientific merit, originality and interest
• compliance with the word count and format requirements for abstracts

Abstracts for 15 min oral presentations may be submitted before all analyses and interpretations of the results have been finalised, but authors MUST report some specific preliminary results. Vague statements such as ‘results will be discussed’ are not acceptable.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

When submitting an abstract, you will be required to provide the following information:

• Abstract title: a brief, interesting and explicit description of the presentation (<15words)
• An indication of the selected symposium, or general session
• Name and contact details of lead presenting author
• Preferred presentation type (oral presentation, speed talk, poster)
• Authors’ names (lead author is normally expected to present the material)
• Authors’ affiliations
• Abstract (max. length 250 words)
• Biography of presenting author (max. length 40 words), i.e. name, present role, area of research interest
• Acknowledgement that you intend registering and participating in attending ESA2021 if your abstract is accepted

Early submission of abstracts is encouraged. The last-minute rush has been known to crash the system, so please submit your abstract well before the closing date of 31 August to avoid frustration.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

It is a requirement of ESA that presenters acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land the field research was done on or place based research was undertaken. Please include this information, including the name of the Traditional Lands, on presentation slides (such as your sponsorship slide)

ABSTRACT NOTIFICATION

Abstract notifications will be sent to submitting authors in late September 2021. Authors who submit their papers for a symposium will be informed whether their paper has been accepted for inclusion. Sometimes there are more relevant papers that can be included in the time allocated for symposia. To their best ability, the scientific committee will schedule these papers to follow directly after the relevant symposium so that the symposium can continue into a thematic session.

Organisers of symposia are responsible for organising and chairing their sessions. The final allocation of presentations to each symposium will be at the discretion of the Scientific Committee. Symposium organisers will be requested to consider the make-up of abstracts for their Symposium between Monday 24 – 31 July 2021, taking account also of submitted abstracts that might be relevant to their topic.

If you have any queries with the submission process, please contact the Conference Secretariat on +61 2 6198 3218, or by email to esa@kaigi.com.au