Call for Abstracts

The Society for Conservation Biology’s LACA section is currently reviewing abstracts for oral, poster, and speed presentations for LACCCB 2018 in Trinidad & Tobago. The scientific programme will include plenary sessions, invited symposia, workshops, talking circles, short courses, poster sessions, and concurrent sessions of oral presentations and speed presentations.

The Scientific Committee will review abstracts. Acceptance will be based on scientific accuracy and arrangement with the conference themes.  

Our goal is to maximize participation. So, if there is oversubscription for 15-minute oral presentations, the Scientific Committee may assign some presentations to the speed talk + poster sessions. Reassignment will target authors' second abstracts and those presentations deemed more suitable for a shorter oral presentation and a more relaxed poster session. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING ABSTRACTS

The Abstract submission form is sectioned. Before you begin entering your submission, we recommend previewing the entire content and required fields using the Abstract submission worksheet

Abstracts should be submitted for all presentation types (included invited talks for symposia). Abstracts for symposium presentations are by invitation only. Please follow the instructions carefully, including all requested information and formatting. After you submit your abstract, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive an email, your abstract has not been received. It is your responsibility to verify that ALL information submitted is complete and correct. If you notice errors or omissions, please contact the Steering Committee at LACCCB2018@conbio.org. No changes will be made after the abstract submission deadline and the abstract will be printed in the Congress programme as submitted. Early notification of acceptance will give you ample time to take advantage of the early registration rate. Early registration is mandatory ensure inclusion in the Congress programme. For advice on writing a good abstract, visit https://conbio.org/professional-development/advice-for-students/advice-for-abstracts/

Abstract submission closes April 12, 2018. Please make sure that the ONE email address you are providing is your primary email address is entered correctly.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
All presentations at the Congress will undergo an initial review by two reviewers to check for consistency with the meeting’s theme. Reviewers have access to the entire abstract except the names of the presenters. Reviewers will check for:

1. Application to conservation science, management, policy and education

2. Clarity of presentation (e.g. abstract begins with a clear statement of an issue and ends with a substantive conclusion).

Once this initial review has been done, speakers will either be given a poster presentation (if they indicate that they wish to only be considered for a poster) or be entered into a draw for one of three formats (oral, speed or poster presentations). The number of oral and speed presentations allocated will be pre-determined by the number of available spots. We have slots for roughly 400 presentations, with a mix of symposia, oral presentations, speed talks and poster presentations.  

AUTHOR REGISTRATION
In order to be included in the programme of the LACCCB 2018, all presenters of accepted presentations must be registered and paid in full by the early deadline of April 25, 2018.  Authors failing to comply with this rule are not guaranteed inclusion in the Congress programme.

FULL ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Oral presentations will be grouped by topic and limited to fifteen (15) minutes: 12 (12) minutes for presentation and three (3) minutes for questions. Please choose from the list of general topic areas below; this will assist us in selecting an appropriate session for your presentation. 

SPEED PRESENTATIONS
In the first hour of a speed presentation session, 15 speakers will be given five (5) minutes each to present their key ideas and results. In the final half hour, presenters will station themselves at separate tables where they can interact with people who are interested in learning more about their work.

The 5-minute time limit will be strictly observed. You will be given warnings when you have 30 seconds and 10 seconds left. If the presentation is significantly shorter than 5 minutes, there will be the opportunity for one question. Some presenters ask a question as a starter for the discussion hour to their audience i.e. "my question to you is … ". If you like this idea, please do ask a question, however it is not a requirement of the format of the speed presentation.

SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATIONS
All individual symposium speakers need to submit an abstract following the instructions of the oral presentation format. You can state the symposium your abstract belongs to on the abstract submission form.  Please be sure to contact the organiser of your symposium. It is the responsibility of the symposium organiser to make sure that all speakers register within the deadline and according to the instructions provided.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Poster presenters will receive general instructions on poster format in the email notification of acceptance. Advice on designing conservation science posters is available at https://conbio.org/professional-development/advice-for-students/help-designing-posters/. Each presenter will be provided with a surface to mount their poster. Each poster is limited to a rectangle 0.6 m (~2ft) wide by 1.2 m (~4ft) tall (portrait orientation). Poster materials must be legible from a distance of 2 meters. Lettering in text and figures should be at least 5 mm, and headings should be at least 10 mm. The title of the paper, the authors and their affiliations should appear near the top of the poster in letters approximately 25 mm high. Posters will be displayed during the poster session and icebreaker evening. Presenting authors are requested to attend the poster session to take advantage of opportunities to discuss their work with Congress participants. Please note that your poster should be printed in portrait orientation in order to fit appropriately on the poster board.

Abstract submission forms are sectioned. Before you begin entering your submission, we recommend previewing the entire content and required fields using the Abstract Submission Worksheet

Carefully read the Call for Proposals and the Participation Policies page prior to submitting.