SCB is now accepting abstracts for contributed oral, poster, and speed presentations and for the SCB Student Awards Competition for the 22nd Annual Meeting, From the Mountains to the Sea, 13-17 July 2008. Abstracts must be submitted electronically by January 23, 2008. The call for proposals for symposia, workshops, organized discussions, and short courses was issued previously; the deadline was October 29 2007.

SCB expects to make decisions by mid February.  Notifications will be sent by email only. Please make sure that the ONE email address you are providing is your primary email address and is entered correctly.  We encourage you to carefully think about the format that best meets your goals (contributed paper, poster, or speed presentation).

The scientific program will include plenary sessions, invited symposia, workshops, organized discussions, short courses, poster sessions, and concurrent sessions of contributed oral presentations and speed presentations. Due to the high level of attendance expected at the meeting and, consequently, limited time and space for oral presentations, poster presentations are strongly encouraged.

Criteria for selection

We encourage proposals from individuals or groups involved in cutting edge conservation science or practice who can demonstrate an alignment with the goals of the SCB, which are

Conservation Science:
The scientific research and knowledge needed to understand and conserve biological diversity is identified, funded, completed, disseminated and applied to research, management and policy.
Conservation Management:
Conservation practitioners and managers are provided the scientific information and recommendations needed to conserve biological diversity at all scales.
Policy:
Policy decisions of major international conventions, governments, organizations, and foundations, are effectively informed and improved by the highest quality scientific counsel, analysis, and recommendations so as to advance the conservation of biological diversity.
Education:
Education, training, and capacity building programs are identified, strengthened, and developed to inform the public, education leaders, and support current and future generations of conservation scientists and practitioners.

Individuals may not submit more than one proposal, and, as a general rule, no individual may give more than one presentation in the following categories: symposium, contributed paper, or poster.
Reviewers have access to the entire abstract except the names of the presenters. To increase the probability that your abstract will be accepted, and in your preferred format, please consider the following criteria carefully:

1. scientific merit
2. application to conservation management or any other goals of the Society
3. clarity of presentation (e.g. abstract begins with a clear statement of an issue and ends with a substantive conclusion)

Author registration for the meeting for oral, speed and poster presentations

Presenting authors must register for the meeting by the early registration deadline of March 19. Because late cancellation excludes others who might have presented, authors who fail to notify the Local Organizing Committee of their withdrawal by May 16 may be excluded from iving a presentation at the next SCB Annual Meeting.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Individuals are limited to presenting only one symposium, oral, speed, or poster presentation. If your name appears on more than one abstract, make sure you are listed as the presenter for only one of them. 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 below. This will help 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 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 to presenters several months before the meeting.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Poster presenters will receive general instructions on poster format in the email notification of acceptance. Posters will be displayed prominently and for the entire meeting; special sessions dedicated to posters will allow in-depth discussion between authors and attendees.

SPEED 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. In the first hour of a speed presentation session, 15 speakers will be given four (4) minutes each to present their key ideas and results. In the second hour, presenters will station themselves at separate tables where they can interact with people who are interested in learning more about their work.
To participate in the speed presentations, simply submit an abstract according to the standard guidelines and indicate that you would like your abstract to be considered for a speed presentation. If your abstract is accepted for a speed presentation, you will be notified by the Local Organizing Committee and asked to prepare a four-minute presentation instead of a traditional (15-minute) presentation. If you abstract is not accepted for a speed presentation, it still will be considered for a traditional oral presentation or poster.

MENTORING PROGRAM
To encourage participation of members whose first language is not English, SCB's Student Affairs Committee offers a mentoring service for students who wish to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations.
If you want to take advantage of this mentoring program, simply submit an abstract according to the standard guidelines; indicate that you are a student, that English is not your first language, and that you would like your abstract to be mentored.
Instructions will be sent to your email address after you submit your abstract online.
A mentor will contact you and provide guidance on grammar and clarity of writing. The mentor also will ensure that the abstract meets the technical criteria for submission. Note that it is NOT the role of the mentor to provide scientific guidance, or to write the abstract.

For more information on the SCB Student Awards Competition, click here.

Instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts