Call for Proposals Symposia, Organized Oral Sessions, and Organized Poster Sessions Deadline for Submission: September 15, 2011
97th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America Portland, Oregon August 5-10, 2012 http://www.esa.org/portland We invite proposals for Symposia, Organized Oral Sessions, and Organized Poster Sessions for ESA's 97th Annual Meeting to be held in Portland, Oregon. The theme for the 2012 meeting is " Life on Earth: Preserving, Utilizing, and Sustaining our Ecosystems." Biodiversity, is generally thought of by most as the number and variety of organisms on earth. Few include the other two aspects of the more comprehensive definition which requires the inclusion and consideration of both genetics and ecosystems. All three aspects are essential for the broadest consideration of life on earth. Species population declines and mass extinctions have always been part of the natural process; however, observations made over the last few decades have made it clear that these dynamics are quite out of the ordinary. Moreover, it now appears that one species, Homo sapiens, is at the center of these changes and massive alteration to natural ecosystems is being felt around the world. Thus, at no other ! time in human history has it become more important than the present to better understand and sustain the ecosystems in which we live. Session proposals related to the meeting's theme are highly encouraged, but any timely and coherent subject of broad 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. All proposals will be peer reviewed. Historical topics are now included as an exemption to the one presentation rule in recognition of the ESA's Centennial in 2015. Symposia are the scientific centerpiece of the meeting. They are limited to half-day sessions (3.5 hours). Time devoted to synthesis, summary, and discussion is strongly encouraged. This meeting will include 24 symposia. For additional information, please visit: http://www.esa.org/portland/symposium.html Organized Oral Sessions are organized around a specific topic with most of the speakers invited by the organizer. Compared to Symposia, there is less emphasis on breadth of appeal and overall synthesis and they may be comprised largely of related case studies. Organized oral sessions are limited to half-day sessions (3.5 hours). There is no set number of accepted Organized Oral Session proposals for the meeting. For additional information, please visit: http://www.esa.org/portland/oral.html Organized Poster Sessions are sets of posters (in multiples of 5) organized around a specific topic. Presenters are invited by the organizer. Organized poster sessions will be scheduled at the same time as regular poster sessions. All posters in each organized poster session will be placed as a group in a designated area of the exhibit hall. For additional information and to begin the submission process, please visit: http://www.esa.org/portland/poster.html If you have any questions, please contact the Program Chair, Brian McCarthy, at [email protected], or the Program Coordinator, Jennifer Riem, at [email protected].
