Call for abstracts – 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Malaysia (24-29 June, 2018)

The 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Making Marine Science Matter, will be held from 24 June – 29 June 2018 at the Waterfront Hotel Kuching, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. We welcome your abstracts for Oral, Speed, and Poster Presentations, and OceansOnline sessions until 23:59NDT on 16 March 2018.

Congress Theme

The overall theme of the Congress is Making Marine Science Matter. For marine conservation to be effective, marine conservation science must matter to stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioners. To accomplish this, the Congress will be organized around specific topics of interest for marine conservation in general, as well as the local geographic region. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but merely a guide for those submitting abstracts. Others topics of interest are absolutely welcomed.

  • Communicating marine conservation
  • Fisheries, aquaculture, and the oceans
  • Marine food security
  • Conservation and management of the Arctic and Antarctic
  • Conservation and management of tropical marine ecosystems
  • Conservation engineering
  • Ocean science technology
  • Marine energy
  • Marine policy
  • Climate, ocean acidification, and the changing oceans
  • Culture and the marine environment
  • Advancing marine conservation through international treaties
  • Effective marine conservation planning
  • Participation in marine conservation science (e.g. citizen and indigenous science)
  • Marine tourism
  • Estuary and coastal restoration
  • Conservation at the land-sea interface
  • The marine conservation community

In addition, the Society for Conservation Biology Marine Section developed a list of 71 research questions critical to the advancement of marine conservation. We encourage submissions that address one or more of these questions.

OceansOnline proposals should be relevant to marine conservation communication, online tools, and resources for marine conservation and science. Proposals for OceansOnline should select the “OceansOnline” category and sub-category of workshop, tool demonstration or facilitated discussion.

Criteria for Selection

We strongly encourage submissions from individuals and in cutting-edge marine conservation science or practice that can demonstrate how their presentation “makes marine science matter.” We also encourage submissions that align with a specific topic(s) of interest and/or addresses one or more of the 71 research questions. We will review, however, all marine science and marine conservation submissions. Our key criterion for prioritizing submissions is proposals that “make marine science matter.”

Limits on number of presentations per presenter
No individual may give more than one presentation in each of the following IMCC5 categories: symposium presentation, oral presentation, speed presentation, or poster presentation. However, an individual may organize a symposium in which they do not present and then present in another category. Workshop and focus group organizers are free to also submit an abstract. Additionally, individuals may make a submission to OceansOnline in addition to any they have made to IMCC5.

Reviews
Reviewers have access to all information contained in a submission (with the exception of personal identifiers). Submissions are blind reviewed by at least three individuals. To increase the probability that your submission will be selected for presentation, please consider the following criteria carefully:

  • Relevance to the overall theme of the Congress (Making Marine Science Matter) and the specific topics of interest and/or 71 research questions
  • Application to marine conservation / clear connection to conservation science, policy, management, practice
  • Quality of the Abstract
  • Novelty of the topic (topic addresses a new question or problem, or approaches traditional questions from a novel perspective or in a new region. This is not a strict requirement but may give your proposal an advantage when all other criteria are met)

Author registration rule
All organizers of accepted submissions must register and be paid in full by the early registration deadline of 13 May 2018. Authors failing to comply with this rule will not be included in the Congress.

Format for Presentations

Oral (spoken) presentations
To participate in the oral presentations, simply submit an abstract according to the standard guidelines and indicate that you would like your abstract to be considered for an oral presentation. Instructions for abstract preparation can be found below. Oral presentations will be limited to 15 minutes: 12 minutes for presentation and 3 minutes for questions.  Contributed oral presentations will be grouped by topic. Please choose from the list of general topic areas when you submit your abstract.  If accepted, this will assist us in selecting an appropriate session for your presentation.  If your abstract is accepted but cannot be accommodated as an oral presentation, we may offer you the opportunity to present a speed talk or poster.  All oral presentation rooms will be equipped with a computer and a data projector. Detailed information and instructions on presentations at the meeting will be available HERE.

**Submitting symposia presentations
If you are submitting an oral presentation for a symposia, the symposia organizer will provide you with a unique symposia code, when submitting, please make sure to select that the oral presentation is for a symposia, and give the symposia code in the appropriate section of the submission form.

Speed (short spoken) presentations
If your paper topic would be of interest to a wide range of people and you would like your presentation to lead to an extended conversation with colleagues who are specifically interested in your work, you may wish to submit an abstract for a speed presentation. Presenters have four (4) minutes each to present their key ideas and results. This time limit will be strictly enforced.

To participate in the speed presentations, submit an abstract according to the standard guidelines and indicate that you would like your abstract to be considered for a speed presentation. Instructions for abstract preparation can be found below. If your abstract is accepted but cannot be accommodated as a speed presentation, we may offer you the opportunity to present a poster.

Poster presentations
Posters are a visual, concise way to showcase research and projects, exhibited for informal browsing. They are provide presenters the opportunity to interact with their audience. Text should be limited to brief statements. Each poster should make a unified, coherent explanation of your work. Materials, both textual and visual, should be of professional quality and clearly legible from a distance. Good tips for your poster design can be found HERE

To participate in the poster presentations, submit an abstract according to the standard guidelines and indicate that you would like your abstract to be considered for a poster presentation. Poster presenters can find general instructions on poster format HERE.

Student Awards

Student awards will be given FOR EACH presentation format. For students submitting Oral Presentations, you are able to attach an extended abstract of up to 500 words here. Extended abstracts should describe a study as a traditional abstract would, but also focus on how their work ‘makes marine science matter”.  Extended abstracts must be submitted in either .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Students submitting Speed and Poster Presentations need not submit an extended abstract.

Oceans Online

OceansOnline proposals should be relevant to marine conservation communication and online tools and resources for marine conservation and marine science. Proposals for OceansOnline should select the “OceansOnline” category and sub-category of workshop, tool demonstration or facilitated discussion. You will be asked at submission to provide details on the outputs of your OceansOnline session and the potential benefiting agencies. You will also be asked about your plans for funding organiser/presenter attendance at the session (e.g. through institutional funding, private finance, IMCC travel grants, etc.).
OceansOnline Workshops
Workshops are one hour in length, and focus on hands-on teaching of an online tool. Proposals for workshop sessions must be submitted in abstract format, including: (1) a synopsis of the session’s goals, purpose, and justification, (2) organizational structure including format, expected number of participants, and technical requirements.

OceansOnline Tools Demonstration
Demonstrations are 15 minutes in length, and are similar in style to a standard conference presentation, but focusing on introducing an online tool. Proposals for tool demonstrations should be submitted in standard abstract format.

OceansOnline Facilitated Discussion
Facilitated discussions are the heart of OceansOnline. In these informal discussion-based events, a group of experts will moderate a discussion with the audience. Audience participation is strongly encouraged, and work off the assumption that the collective wisdom and experience of the room is greater than that of the moderators. Anyone can propose a facilitated discussion panel, which can include any number of co-moderators. These are one hour in length. Facilitated discussion organizers must submit a symposium abstract explaining the topic of the discussion and list the expected contributing experts. Please contact the OceansOnline Program Committee with any questions.