Call for Abstracts for Oral Presentations & Virtual Posters

Submission Deadline Extended: 22 April 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EDT

We invite ornithologists to present their work at the 2021 joint virtual meeting of the American Ornithological Society and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists – Société de Ornithologistes du Canada (AOS & SCO-SOC 2021 Virtual Meeting), 9–14 August 2021. The virtual meeting offers a wonderful opportunity for sharing and discussing scientific research in all areas involving birds. Presentations related to the conference theme “Birds of Many Feathers Flock Together” are particularly encouraged, although any subjects of broad interest in ornithology are welcome. We invite submission of abstracts for consideration as either 15-minute oral presentations or virtual poster presentations. 

All 15-minute oral presentations will be delivered during scheduled paper sessions 11–14 August 2021, using the conference online platform (EventPilot). Presentations should be no more than 12 minutes in duration, allowing for a 2-minute question-and-answer period at the end and a 1-minute speaker transition. Speakers may present in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish, but we strongly encourage them to have slides in English (or vice versa) to help maximize access to their talk. It is the presenter’s  responsibility to translate slides; Google Translate or DeepL Translator provide acceptable translations.

Because traditional large-format scientific posters are difficult to read and navigate on the digital screens that conference attendees will be using, virtual poster presentations will employ a presentation format better suited to an online meeting. Virtual posters will consist of a multi-page PDF document (landscape mode, recommended aspect ratio of 16:9) and a maximum of 5 slides (pages). The first slide of the virtual poster should include the title, authors, and a graphical abstract. The remaining pages of the PDF document should provide traditional poster elements, but broken down into individual slides that are easier to view and navigate on small screens. Presenters are encouraged to include an optional 3-minute audio recording explaining their work in a language of their choice; an audio recording is required for virtual posters being considered for a Student Presentation Award. 

Virtual posters are especially appropriate for smaller, more concise projects or those in an early or intermediate stage of development and will capture many of the advantages of traditional posters at a live in-person meeting. They will be available on demand before, during, and after live conference events, with a virtual chat feature that will allow conference attendees to post questions and interact with presenters asynchronously. During scheduled virtual poster sessions on 11–14 August, presenters will have the opportunity to engage in live virtual chat with attendees, and to post the link to a virtual meeting room of their choice (Zoom recommended) so that interested attendees can drop in and discuss their work face-to-face. 

We anticipate that the number of available slots in the scientific program for 15-minute oral presentations will be limited, and we may not be able to accommodate all authors requesting an oral presentation. This limitation has two consequences. First, attendees are restricted to being the presenting author for only one oral presentation in either the general sessions or in an accepted symposium; however, early professionals who submit an abstract for the Early Professionals Mini-Talk Symposium may submit an additional abstract for an oral presentation in either the general paper sessions or an accepted symposium. Second, based on its blind review of submitted abstracts, the Scientific Program Committee may ask that some authors requesting a 15-minute oral presentation present a virtual poster instead; abstracts providing explicit final results are more likely to be accepted for an oral presentation than those with preliminary or ambiguous findings. We do not anticipate limiting the number of virtual poster abstracts that a single presenting author can submit.

Abstracts are limited to 1,750 characters (including spaces) and must be written in English, put presenting authors are encouraged to also submit the abstract in a second language (French, Portuguese, or Spanish). By submitting an abstract, the presenting author agrees to register for the virtual conference and to deliver the presentation if it is accepted for the scientific program.

All abstracts must be submitted online via the AOS Member Portal. We have extended the deadline for abstract submission to 22 April 2021.

Send questions to Ron Mumme (via email to spc@americanornithology.org), chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the AOS & SCO-SOC 2021 Virtual Meeting, with the subject AOS & SCO-SOC 2021 Abstracts.