2016 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America comes to Southern Florida
Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene, Fort Lauderdale, Fl. 7–12 August 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, 21 April 2016
Contact: Liza Lester, 202-833-8773 ext. 211, gro.asenull@retseLL
Environmental scientists gather in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this August for the 101st Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Two thousand scientific presentations on breaking research and new ecological concepts fill the program at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center on the 7th through the 12th of August, 2016.
ESA invites press and institutional public information officers to attend for free (see credential policy below). To apply, please contact ESA Communications Officer Liza Lester directly at gro.asenull@retsell. Walk-in registration will be available during the meeting.
Geologists have proposed a new epoch, the Anthropocene, to describe our present time, in which the pervasive presence of humans and the products of human invention have altered the atmosphere, oceans, and ecosystems of the world. Ecologists documenting profound changes to living systems have embraced the concept. The meeting theme “Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene” invites a focus on the new relationships between species arising under the influence of global change.
Meeting field trips will explore the meeting’s theme outside the convention center, visiting the nearby Everglades and the walking the streets of Fort Lauderdale to learn about sea level rise management.
A preliminary conference program is online. A full schedule, including abstracts for individual oral and poster presentations, will be available online in June, with a downloadable app to follow in summer 2016. Meeting abstracts are not embargoed. Reporters who would like help locating presenters and outside sources for in person or phone interviews should contact Liza Lester at gro.asenull@retsell or (202) 833-8773 x211.
Plenary Sessions
*open to the public
- Opening Plenary: Lynn Scarlett, worldwide managing director for public policy at The Nature Conservancy.
- Scientific Plenary: Peter M. Groffman, microbial ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, investigates the big role of tiny microorganisms in the function of ecosystems and how they affect water and air quality.
- New Phytologist Lecture: Jeannine Cavender-Bares, professor at the University of Minnesota links evolutionary history to current ecological processes, exploring stress tolerance in plant species in our present time of global change.
- Recent Advances Lecture: John W. Williams, a professor of geography and director of the Nelson Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, digs 20,000 years into the past to understand the future of ecosystems under climate change.
ESA Policy on Press Credentials
ESA’s press office provides complimentary registration for professional journalists attending to gather news and information to produce media coverage of the Annual Meeting. Credentials considered for press eligibility include a recognized press card or current membership in the National Association of Science Writers, the Canadian Science Writers Association, the International Science Writers Association, and the Society of Environmental Journalists. Freelancers must be currently active in journalism and able to present recent bylined news stories in the natural sciences.
We do not offer press registration for editors of peer-reviewed journals, ad sales representatives, publishers, program officers, or marketing professionals.
Members of the press may attend all research presentations but some events, workshops, and field trips may not be open to press without prior arrangement.
We offer complimentary registration for press officers and public information officers. Press officers who cannot attend, but would like to promote presenters from their institutions, are welcome to prearrange distribution of press releases and other author materials on the meeting website in the on-site Press Room. Press officers may request copies of all abstracts related to their institution. For registration, more information, or help finding scientists in our meeting program, please contact Liza Lester at gro.asenull@retsell or (202) 833-8773 x211.
Pre-registered press may pick up their credentials in the Press Room and enjoy coffee, tea, internet access, a printer, telephones, and an interview area. Journalists may also register on site in the Press Room.
Location: Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, room 119
Phone number: (954) 762-4954
Press Room hours:
- Sunday, 7 August: 1:00 pm-5:00 pm
- Monday, 8 August – Thursday, 11 August: 7:30 am-5:30 pm
- Friday, 12 August: 7:30 am-Noon
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The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 10,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://ecologicalsocietyofamerica.org.