The 70th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan

Meeting Information

Table of Contents

The 70th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ70) will be held as follows. The majority of the meeting will be held “online,” with only the awards ceremony and award lectures being “hybrid” (held onsite* + online). By utilizing asynchronous communication, including on-demand viewing for most of the presentations, we aim to make the conference as fruitful as possible despite being an online only format. In addition, we have established two new poster awards to be chosen by “everyone” as a way to stimulate discussion at poster presentations. For details, please refer to the ESJ70 official website.
*We will make further announcements regarding the portion of the event scheduled to be held onsite as soon as details are finalized.

OVERVIEW

Dates: 17th March 2023 to 21st March 2023.
Venues: Online (17th–20th March) and at SENDAI INTERNATIONAL CENTER (21st March; live streaming will be available)
Instructions on how to access the registration system and the platform of ESJ70 will be announced on the official website. Please send your comments or inquiries about ESJ70 via the inquiry form on the ESJ70 official website.
Official website: https://esj-meeting.net/

SCHEDULE

  17 Mar.
Fri		 18 Mar.
Sat		 19 Mar.
Sun		 20 Mar.
Mon		 21 Mar.
Tue
General meeting         ✔
Award lectures*1         ✔
Banquet   ✔      
Online exchange meeting ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Symposia*1     ✔ ✔  
Workshops*1/Forums*1 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔  
Oral presentations*1 ✔ ✔      
Poster presentations*2 ✔ ✔      
Program for high school students*2     ✔    
Ecological lectures for junior and high school student*1     ✔    
Public lectures*1   ✔      

*1 These will be available for viewing for about one month after the ESJ70 meeting. All award lectures, forums, and oral presentations will be available on demand, but other presentations may not be available on demand at the discretion of the presenter.
*2 These will also be available for viewing and discussion (using the text chat function) for about one month after the end of the ESJ70.
NOTE: All committees are expected to hold their meetings via Zoom before the start of the ESJ70 meeting.

IMPORTANT DATES

Registration

  Regular participants and students Audience member for workshops only Undergraduate students who will not give presentations or junior and high school students
Period for registration and payment of registration fee 3rd Oct. 2022 – 17th Mar. 2023 3rd Oct. 2022 – 20th Feb. 2023 1st Mar. 2023 – 17th Mar. 2024
Registration fee Early bird discount price
Regular: 7,000 JPY
Students: 2,500 JPY
Normal price
Regular: 8,000 JPY
Students: 3,000 JPY		 1,000 JPY Free
Number of on-site participants and availability* On-site participants will be limited to the first 50 people (tentative) On-site participation will not be allowed On-site participation will not be allowed

* We start to accept applications about a month before the ESJ70 meeting. Depending on the situation, we may not accept applications. We will inform you of the application procedure later.

Application for presentations

  Deadline
Oral/poster presentations
Poster presentations by high school students		 31st Oct. 2022
23:59 (JST)
Proposals for symposia, workshops, and forums
Membership registration for organizers an and speakers (for those who are not members of ESJ)
Payment of the annual membership fee by organizers and speakers 20th Feb. 2023
23:59 (JST)
Abstract registration (for presentations in symposia, workshops, and forums, oral presentations, poster presentations, and poster presentations by high school students)
  • Organizers of symposia and workshops, speakers in sessions (except the guest speaker), and speakers of general presentations are first required to join our society (ESJ) before submitting a session proposal or applying for a presentation.
  • Please note that we will not respond to any inquiries between 5:00 p.m. (JST) of each due date and 10:00 a.m. (JST) of the next day. Your early confirmation of the registration procedure would be appreciated.

OVERVIEW OF THE HYBRID FORMAT

  • We will use ONLINE CONF https://agri-smile.com/service/online-conf/ as the online platform for ESJ70.
  • Participants will be able to view the schedule and the abstracts for each session on the platform. It will also be possible to access the sessions, oral presentations, and poster presentations.

Presenters of posters, including high school student poster presentations, may also upload a short 3-minute oral presentation video and a graphical abstract. Note that the short video and the graphical abstract are required to apply for the poster award. Graphical abstracts will be used as thumbnails in the list of poster presentations as well as background contents for Spatial Chat, the place for social time after each session and online banquet.

  • During the core time of the poster presentations, participants will be able to discuss the presentation using the video call function available on the platform (ONLINE CONF) (discussion using the chat function is also possible).
  • All talks (oral presentations, symposia, workshops, forums, Ecological lectures for junior and high school student and award lectures) will be conducted using Zoom meetings (https://zoom.us/jp-jp/meetings.html). For award lectures only, speakers are able to choose to either present their talk on-site and its online delivery, or to deliver it online from another location.
  • As a rule, oral presentations require the file upload of pre-recorded lecture videos. At the time of presentation, the uploaded lecture videos will be made available on ONLINE CONF as well as streamed via Zoom. Zoom will allow presenters to conduct a live Q&A session after the lecture videos have finished playing. The lecture videos will remain available to participants on the conference platform for about one month after the ESJ 70. When the presentation video is not uploaded by the time of the presentation, it is possible to conduct the presentation live on Zoom and then prepare and upload the presentation video by yourself.
  • All talks, with the exception of “Oral presentations”, will be recorded and made accessible to participants on the platform until about one month after the ESJ70 meeting (on-demand streaming). The availability of the recordings will be confirmed with the presenter at registration.

FACILITATING INTERACTION AMONG PARTICIPANTS

Online exchange meeting

For ESJ 70, we will be organizing online exchange meetings using Spatial Chat. After each session of oral presentations (symposia and workshops), we will set a 30-minute social time. The participants will be welcomed to join the social spaces of the sessions they have attended. Please enjoy the opportunity to meet other participants in your field. Of course, you may also be able to make other social interactions outside the sessions you have attended. To make ESJ70 a productive meeting, we welcome your active participation.

Online banquet

The banquet of ESJ70 will be held in an online format using Spatial Chat. It will be open to all ESJ70 participants (except high school students and the audience members using a workshop ticket). The banquet will be free of charge. No registration is required. Details will be announced on the official website and the platform of ESJ70.

DEADLINES

Deadlines for new (and renewed) membership registration, and payment of meeting registration fee

Application for membership by a non-member Monday, 31st Oct. 2022, 23:59 (JST)
Payment of membership registration fee by a non-member Monday, 20th Feb. 2023, 23:59 (JST)
Payment of membership registration fee by ESJ members Monday, 20th Feb. 2023, 23:59 (JST)
  • After applying for your membership via the website, the ESJ Member Service Desk will notify you of a temporary member number. Please use this number for the submission of session proposals or presentations as described below.
  • Membership registrations are accepted at any time for participants who are not giving presentations. However, participants who wish to submit proposals and apply for presentations are required to get their temporary membership number and to complete registration by 31st October 2022 (submission of proposals and presentations will not be accepted later than 23:59). Please note that it may take some time between the membership registration and the issue of your temporary membership number. Your early registration would be appreciated. For details about membership, please refer to https://esj.ne.jp/esj/English/join.html.

Deadlines related to organizers and presenters

Registration Forum proposals Thursday, 15th Sep. 2022 23:59 (JST)
Symposia proposals Monday, 31st Oct. 2022 23:59 (JST)
Workshop proposals
General presentations
Poster presentations by high school students
Abstract registration Presentations in symposia, workshops, and forums/general presentations Monday, 20th Feb. 2023 23:59 (JST)
Poster presentations by high school students
  • The schedule may be subject to change, so please check the latest information on the ESJ70 official website.
  • Please note that we will not respond to any inquiries between 5:00 p.m. (JST) of each due date and 10:00 a.m. (JST) of the next day. Your early confirmation of the registration procedure would be appreciated.
  • No additions or corrections will be accepted after the due dates (we will not make corrections using errata).

Deadlines related to audience members

Registration for participation Available until the day of attendance
Registration fee payment Available until the day of attendance
Audience member of workshops only* (Workshop tickets) Monday 20th Feb. 2023 23:59 (JST)
Audience member of the Ecology lecture for high school students*

* Audience members of workshops/ecology courses for high school students only will not be able to enter the ONLINE CONF platform of ESJ70. We will notify the URLs of audible sessions by e-mail up until the day of the meeting.

EXPENSES AND PAYMENT

Membership fees (annual fee)

All applicants who wish to give a presentation or organize a symposium/workshop are required to join ESJ for 2023, before the deadline (31st October 2022). After applying for membership, please pay the membership fee by 20th February 2023 (this includes re-admission for those whose membership was suspended due to non-payment). If you are currently a member and plan to give a presentation or are organizing a workshop/symposium, you will also need to pay the 2023 membership fee by 20th February 2023.

To apply for an ESJ membership, please see: https://esj.ne.jp/esj/English/join.html

ESJ Member Service Desk:
358-5, Academy Center, Yamabuki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0801, Japan.
Email: esj-post@as.bunken.co.jp
Tel.: +81-3-6824-9381; Fax: +81-3-5227-8631
Hours of Operation: 9 AM–12 PM, 1–5 PM. JST (closed on weekends and public holidays in Japan)

Registration and banquet fees

Types of membership Registration Fee Banquet Fee
Early bird discount
Until Feb. 20 2023		 Normal price
After Mar. 1 2023
Regular 7,000 JPY 8,000 JPY Free
Student 2,500 JPY 3,000 JPY Free
Audience member of workshops only (Workshop tickets) 1,000 JPY Not available Unable to participate
Undergraduate students without presentations Not available Free Unable to participate
  • The registration fee is the same for members and non-members. Also, the registration fee is the same for online and on-site participants.
  • The registration fee amount will be applied when the payment procedure is completed by the due date.
  • The registration fee for “young members without fixed income” is equal to that of “Students”. If you have applied in advance to be considered a “young member without fixed income (2023)”, and your application was approved by the ESJ Member Services Office, please indicate this in your registration for the meeting. (See: https://esj.ne.jp/esj/English/Rules/Ad_Fee.html).
  • There are no fees for the Ecology lecture for junior and high school students. If you wish to attend this lecture only, without participating in the other events of the meeting, please apply for your participation by 20th February 2023.
  • The full amount of the registration fee can be refunded until the cancellation due date, on Monday, 20th February 2023. No refunds will be made after this date. Bank transfer fees and other expenses cannot be refunded.
  • Due to a migration of the registration system, we will stop registrations between 21st and 28th February 2023.

How to register

For general participants (including graduate and undergraduate students with presentations)

  • The system that will be used for the meeting registration and payment procedures will differ depending on the date. Please use the ESJ70 registration site until 20th February 2023; after 1st March 2023, please use the meeting platform (ONLINE CONF). The URL of each site will be provided on the ESJ70 official webpage.
  • There is no problem if the registration and payment are made at different times and through different systems.
  • By paying the ESJ70 registration fee, you will be able to use all the functions of the meeting platform. Please make sure to complete the registration and payment procedures before the day of the meeting (Please note that only some functions of the meeting platform, including the payment of the registration fee, will be available when the registration process is completed.).
  • If you cannot log into the meeting platform, you will not be able to upload your poster or check the Zoom URL of each presentation. To reduce problems with your presentation and viewing, we strongly recommend you pay the registration fee and try to log into the meeting platform before the meeting dates
  • When you submit your abstract, you will be asked to select about five keywords of interest.

Participating in the ESJ70 official events as an audience member

  • Non-ESJ members are welcome to attend as an audience member by paying the meeting registration fee.
  • Both ESJ members and non-members are required to apply for their participation in ESJ70 and pay the registration fee on the ESJ70 registration site or the meeting platform. (Please note that the system used for payment will change depending on the date; but it is okay to use different systems for registration and payment.)
  • For the workshops, if you will participate as an audience member only, you can use a Workshop ticket (1,000 yen). Please apply from the ESJ70 registration site and purchase a Workshop ticket by 20th February 2023. Workshop tickets can be used for multiple days during the meeting.
  • There is no registration fee for undergraduate students (as well as junior and senior high school students) who will not give a presentation. Please apply for ESJ7 from the meeting platform after 1st March 2023 (a copy of your student ID will be requested at registration).

PROPOSAL FOR SESSIONS AND REGISTRATION FOR PRESENTATIONS

  • Registration for presentations and session proposals can be made through the ESJ70 registration site, which will be available around the early October. Please check the ESJ70 official website for the latest information.
  • For details about how to apply for presentations and session proposals, please refer to the following sections in “Session proposal guidelines” or “Application for oral and poster presentations”.
  • No submissions will be accepted after the deadline. We cannot correct typos or garbled characters. There will not be corrections as errata for this meeting. Please be careful before you submit your application.

Eligibility for registration

The eligibility for ESJ members and non-members to participate in ESJ70 are as follows. Regarding limits on presentation number, please read “Session proposal guidelines” and “Application for oral and poster presentations” for details.

Session type Membership
ESJ member*1 Non-member
Participating as an audience member ✔ ✔
General sessions (Oral and poster presentations)*2 ✔  
Organizer of a symposium or a workshop*3 ✔  
Speaker in a symposium*2 ✔ ✔*5
Speaker in a workshop*2 ✔  
Commentator in a symposium or workshop*4 ✔ ✔

*1 Regular (general and student) and honorary ESJ members. Supporting members are not included.
*2 Main speakers of the presentations. Co-authors don’t need to be ESJ members.
*3 Co-organizers must also be ESJ members.
*4 Commentator without abstract submission. It is defined as a “presentation” if the participant has registered an abstract.
*5 Non-member speakers are limited to those participants invited by the organizer of the symposium. Please see the sections below about the criteria for symposium proposals.

Session proposal guidelines

  • Symposia and workshops will be conducted using Zoom meetings.
  • All sessions will be recorded and subject to on-demand streaming.
  • We will confirm your request for whether it can be held on-demand when you apply.
  • There are three types of sessions: “Symposia,” “Workshops,” and “Forums.” “Forums” are the sessions proposed by each committee of the society and cannot be proposed by general members.
  • Co-organizers and speakers are required to register on the ESJ70 registration site. If you are a co-organizer or a speaker, please log into the ESJ70 registration site using your membership number (or use your login ID if you are a non-member speaker), and register your information (i.e., e-mail address, affiliation, etc.) as soon as possible.
  • Organizers must apply for a session proposal using the member number registered on the ESJ70 registration site. The member number can also be found by using the member search function on My Page.
  • The information entered at the time of your proposal will be posted directly on the meeting platform. Please note that we will not change any of the information in the session proposal.
  • To deliver the meeting online, a professional company will provide same-day support for operating Zoom.
  • We will have an opportunity to rehearse holding a session via Zoom before the meeting period. The lecture videos will remain available to participants on the conference platform for about one month after the ESJ70.
  Symposium Workshop
Concept Main meetings Free discussion about various topics
Time 3 hours 1.5 hours
Priority Top priority Lottery if too many applicants
Scheduling Time at which audiences easily gather Held mainly in the evening
Presentations by non-ESJ members Encouraged
Invited speakers are exempt from the registration fee		 Not allowed
Comments and opinions with no abstract registration are allowed
Presentations of oral or poster sessions by organizers and speakers Not allowed Allowed
Organization or presentation in other sessions by organizers and speakers Not allowed Not allowed

CALL FOR SYMPOSIA

We invite ESJ members to propose symposia for ESJ70. The symposia are the central sessions of the meeting. Please understand the concept of the symposia (described below) and submit your proposal. Each symposium will be held for three hours. We are planning to hold the symposia completely online. We look forward to receiving enthusiastic proposals from researchers from various positions, genders, and nationalities. Please note that the presentations will be recorded and distributed on-demand during ESJ70 and for about a week afterward. The recording permissions will be confirmed when the proposal is submitted.

About proposals

  • The participants of the meetings usually prefer to join symposia on various subjects. Thus, they expect new topics not yet covered in recent ESJ symposia. To promote interdisciplinary exchange, it is possible to invite non-ESJ members to be symposium speakers (they will not have to pay the registration fee). Please note that the same non-ESJ member cannot be an invited speaker for two years in a row.
  • Due to the unpredictable situation of the new coronavirus, unlike previous meetings, for ESJ70 we will not call for guest speakers sponsored by the journal Ecological Research (ER Invited Speakers). However, to promote international information dissemination and discussion at the symposia, we welcome the online participation of overseas researchers and the active participation of non-ESJ members via the invited speaker system.

Procedures for symposia organizers

  • The deadline for the submission of symposia proposals is 23:59 (JST), Monday, 31st October 2022.
  • From the viewpoint of respecting diversity, organizers should consider the balance of speaker’s positions, gender, etc. when composing the group of speakers.
  • The Annual Meeting Planning Committee will not be involved in the content of the symposia. However, symposium proposals that are judged to contain contents that slander or libel any individual or organization will be declined.
  • When submitting the proposal, organizers are requested to answer whether the entire meeting (including an explanation of the purpose and comments by the commentator) can be distributed on-demand and whether each presentation can be distributed on-demand.
  • Organizers will register all the presentations at once. Before submitting the proposal, organizers should collect information on each presentation (title, names, and affiliations of speakers and co-presenters) in both Japanese and English, as well as the membership numbers of organizers, co-organizers, and speakers (login IDs for invited speakers).
  • Please access the registration site and enter the symposium title, abstract (maximum 800 characters in Japanese, 400 words in English), and information for each presentation. Please note that the information of co-presenters will also be confirmed by this entry and cannot be changed at the time of the abstract submission.

Procedures for symposia speakers

  • Except for non-ESJ member invited speakers, only members who have applied for membership in ESJ by Monday, 31st October 2022 and have paid the annual membership fee by 20th February 2023 (regular and honorary members, hereinafter the same) are eligible to speak at the symposium.
  • All speakers (except invited speakers) are required to pay the meeting registration fee by the day of the meeting. We recommend that you pay the fee as early as possible to log in to the meeting platform smoothly. Please note that the meeting registration fee is eligible for an early bird discount until 20th February 2023.
  • Each speaker is requested to provide the following information, in both Japanese and English, to the symposium organizer by the symposium proposal deadline (31st October 2022): title (maximum 40 characters in Japanese and 150 characters in English), name and affiliation of the speaker and co-presenters, and the speaker’s membership number (login ID for invited speakers). Please also let the organizer know whether you would like your presentation to be distributed on-demand.
  • Each speaker is required to register an abstract (maximum 800 words in Japanese, 400 words in English) on the meeting registration site by Monday, 20th February 2023.

Limitations on submitting proposals

  • Organizers (including co-organizers, hereinafter the same) must be ESJ members (regular and honorary members, hereafter the same). Non-ESJ members are not eligible to be organizers.
  • It is not permitted to be an organizer or a speaker (main explainer of the talk, hereafter the same) of more than one symposium.
  • Symposia organizers/speakers cannot be organizers/speakers of workshops or presenters of general sessions (both oral and poster presentations).
  • Explanation of the purpose, comments, and expressions of opinions without abstract registration are not counted as presentations in the symposia. Therefore, these are not subject to the limitation of overlapping presentations mentioned above.
  • At least two speakers are required to apply for the organization of a symposium. If you have only one speaker, please apply for the organization of a workshop.

Use of English is encouraged

  • ESJ has seen an increase in the number of international students and participants from overseas attending its meetings. To further promote research exchange among participants, we encourage the use of English (including in combination with Japanese) in symposia.
  • For symposia held in Japanese, please try to include English on the slides and prepare a simple English handout, if possible (handouts and bilingual slides are also effective in encouraging non-English speakers to participate in English-language symposia).

CALL FOR WORKSHOPS

ESJ70 is calling for workshops. The ESJ has traditionally considered workshops as important opportunities to discuss unconventional topics and launch new fields in Ecology. Please feel free to apply for the organization of workshops, referring to the following information. The workshops are planned to be around 90 minutes long. We look forward to receiving enthusiastic proposals from researchers of diverse positions, genders, and nationalities. The presentations will be recorded and distributed on-demand during the meeting and about one week after the meeting. We will confirm the recording permissions when the proposal is submitted.

Procedures for organizers of workshops

  • The deadline for applications for workshops is 23:59 (JST), Monday, 31st October 2022.
  • In terms of respecting diversity, organizers are requested to consider the speakers’ positions, gender, etc. when choosing the speakers that will participate in a workshop.
  • The Annual Meeting Planning Committee will not be involved in the contents of the workshop, but workshops that are judged to include content that defames specific persons or organizations will not be accepted.
  • When submitting the proposal, organizers are requested to answer whether the entire workshop (including an explanation of the purpose and comments by the commentator) can be distributed on-demand and whether each presentation can be distributed on-demand.
  • Organizers will register all the presentations at once. Before submitting the proposal, organizers should collect information on each presentation (title, names and affiliations of speakers and co-presenters) in both Japanese and English, as well as the membership numbers of organizers, co-organizers, and speakers (no need to enter the membership numbers for those who make comments and/or express opinions without abstract registration). Please access the registration site and enter the workshop title, abstract (maximum 800 characters in Japanese, 400 words in English), and information for each presentation. Please note that the information of co-presenters will also be confirmed by this entry and cannot be changed at the time of abstract submission.

Acceptance or rejection of a workshop

  • We are planning to secure enough Zoom accounts. However, if the number of proposals exceeds that of previous years, we will hold a lottery to decide whether to accept or reject the proposed workshop.
  • You will be notified by e-mail about three weeks after the deadline.

Notes

  • It is also possible to hold a workshop without abstract registration, such as an opinion session or lightning talk. In this case, you do not need to register for your presentation.
  • Explanation of the purpose of the workshop, comments, and expressions of opinions without abstract registration are not counted as presentations. Therefore, the information of the person who makes comments and opinions without abstract registration should not be registered as a speaker but should be included in the meeting abstract.
  • Those who will make comments and/or express opinions without registering for abstracts must also register for the meeting or purchase a ticket for workshops. Please remind the organizers.

Procedures for workshop speakers

  • Only members who have applied for membership in ESJ by Monday, 31st October 2022 and have paid the annual membership fee by 20th February 2023 are eligible to speak at the workshop. However, non-ESJ members can make comments and/or express opinions without registering an abstract.
  • All speakers are required to pay the meeting registration fee by the day of the meeting. We recommend that you pay the fee as early as possible to log in to the meeting platform smoothly. Please note that the meeting registration fee is eligible for an early bird discount until 20th February 2023.
  • Each speaker is requested to provide the following information, in both Japanese and English, to the workshop organizer by the workshop proposal deadline (31st October 2022): title (maximum 40 characters in Japanese and 150 characters in English), name and affiliation of the speaker and co-presenters, and the speaker’s membership number (login ID for invited speakers). Please also let the organizer know whether you would like your presentation to be distributed on-demand. Each speaker is required to register an abstract (maximum 800 characters in Japanese, 200 words in English) on the meeting registration site by Monday, 20th February 2023. When registering your abstract, you will be asked to select about 5 keywords related to your presentation.

Notes

  • Those who will make comments and/or express opinions without registering for abstracts must also register for the meeting or purchase a Workshop ticket. Please make sure to register and pay the meeting registration fee or the ticket fee.
  • Explanation of the purpose, comments, and expressions of opinions without abstract registration are not counted as presentations. Therefore, these are not subject to the limitation of overlapping presentations.
  • Please note that we cannot accept requests to re-arrange the schedule of workshops and symposia to avoid the overlapping schedule of commentators.

Concept and application limits for workshops

  • The ESJ has traditionally considered workshops as important opportunities to discuss unconventional topics and launch new fields in Ecology.
  • For the workshop, the explanation of the purpose, registered overview, and the abstracts of individual presentations will be posted on the meeting webpage and meeting platform.
  • Organizers (including co-organizers, hereafter the same) need to be ESJ members (regular and honorary members, hereafter the same). Non-ESJ members cannot become organizers.
  • Speakers (main explainer of the talk, hereafter the same) need to be ESJ members. Non-ESJ members cannot become invited speakers. However, non-ESJ members can make comments and/or express opinions without registering an abstract.
  • Workshop speakers and organizers can be speakers at either oral or poster sessions.
  • Workshop speakers and organizers cannot be organizers or speakers of symposia and/or other workshops.

APPLICATION FOR FORUMS

Forums are organized by the committees of ESJ and are aimed at inviting broad opinions of ESJ members on ecology-related issues in which ESJ is engaged. The ESJ addresses, promotes, and shares information among ESJ members and develops agreement within ESJ via widespread discussion. Ecological Society of Japan members (regular and honorary members, hereafter the same) can attend forums for free regardless of registration for attendance. Organizing and providing topics for forums are exempted from the “one presentation rule.” Representatives of each committee can register for forums. Applications for forum proposals closed on 15th September 2022. The proposals will be considered by the Board of Directors and the final decision will be made for each proposal after an adjustment between the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and the Organizing Committee of ESJ70. Organizers may be asked to revise the proposal or style of the forums. For forums that have been accepted, organizers will be invited to apply for a full proposal via the online registration system. Each forum will be held for 90 minutes.

Notes

  • ESJ members will receive an email prior to ESJ70 with the Zoom URL for attending the forums.
  • Non-member meeting participants (those who pay the registration fee) can attend the forums.
  • Non-members who have workshop tickets cannot attend the forums.
  • Non-member speakers invited to the forums can attend forums for free. To attend other sessions (e.g., symposia, oral, and poster sessions), they are required to pay the registration fee.

APPLICATION FOR ORAL AND POSTER SESSIONS

  • ESJ members are invited to give a presentation during either oral or poster sessions. Please see the description below for details of each presentation type. Applicants can choose the preferred presentation type (oral or poster) at the time of application; however, due to limitations in the number of system accounts and time, we might ask you to change your presentation type.
  • For ESJ70, we decided to limit the number of applications for the Poster Presentation Award to 500 to ensure enough judges. The number of general poster presentations is not limited.
  • Oral presentations consist of sessions in both Japanese and English. The sessions in English include presentations entered for the English Presentation Award. Oral presentations can be given in English during Japanese oral sessions.
  • We also encourage speakers in Japanese to include English along with Japanese, even if only in some parts of their presentation files, to improve scientific communication with participants who are less proficient in Japanese.
  • Applicants will be asked to select preferred sections for their presentation at the time of registration. A list of available sections (see below) will be shown on the application form. Please select up to three. Please note that depending on the number of the applications, some sections may be combined or eliminated.
Plant communities Plant populations Plant reproduction Plant ecophysiology
Life history of plants Microbial ecology Landscape ecology Succession and regeneration
Animal–plant interactions Evolution Biodiversity Mathematical ecology
Animal communities Animal reproduction Animal populations Life history of animals
Behavior Conservation Ecosystem management Invasive species
Material cycling Education and popularization of ecology    

Notes

  • Speakers (i.e., the main presenter at oral or poster presentations) must be ESJ members (co-authors do not need to be ESJ members).
  • Speakers should register their presentations by 31st October 2022, and complete payment via the online registration system.
  • Speakers should provide the presentation title (within 40 characters in Japanese, within 150 characters in English) and author names when applying for a presentation.
  • Speakers should submit an abstract (within 800 characters in Japanese, within 200 words in English) via the online registration system by 20th February 2023.
  • Each ESJ member is allowed to serve as the speaker for only one oral or poster presentation (but can co-present more than one).
  • Organizers and speakers of symposia cannot give oral and poster presentations.

PREPARING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

  • Oral presentations will be held using Zoom Meetings. When the presentation time comes, the video files uploaded in advance will be played, and the real-time session for questions and answers will follow the presentation.
  • Please note that the deadline for uploading presentation video files in advance is currently under consideration. Please keep the file size within 500MB. Only MP4 file format is supported. Uploaded presentation videos will be made available on the conference platform (ONLINE CONF) on the day of presentation. The videos will remain available until the end of the conference, which can be extended until up to one month after the conference. Please select whether your presentation remains available after the conference at the time of application.
  • The video playback and screen sharing will be handled by a professional company.
  • The sessions of questions and answers will be conducted verbally via Zoom. In addition, speakers and audience members can use the comment function on each presentation page of the meeting portal site to share questions and answers in text form. Please use this opportunity on the meeting portal site appropriately if audience members are unable to ask a question during the presentation.
  • ESJ70 will be held online, thus, before the first meeting day, please do a thorough test on how to use Zoom, and test the stability of the internet connection you will use. For the optimal operation of oral presentations, we plan to set up rehearsal opportunities with professional support staff before ESJ70 begins. Detailed information will be announced on the official meeting website.
  • If you are worried about any aspect of your real-time presentation on the appointed day, such as your internet connection or the operation method, please consider choosing a poster presentation instead. Please note that we will not be able to provide refunds, even if there is a problem with your presentation due to your environment and preparation status.
  • In oral sessions, including those held in English, the presenter of the preceding talk will serve as the chairperson of the next talk. The staff will serve as the chairperson of the first talk. （2023/1/18 updated）

English Presentation Award

  • For ESJ70, the 9th English Presentation Award (EPA) will be held. We look forward to your applications. We also welcome oral presentations in English by “non-young researchers” who are not eligible for the award.

Purpose of the Award

  • The English Presentation Award (EPA) aims to promote English presentations at the ESJ annual meetings and to offer all participants more opportunities to interact with international students and visiting researchers in Japan. The EPA sessions are also meant for students and early career researchers to improve their scientific communication skills, which are particularly useful in international meetings. The EPA in ESJ70 takes over these missions and intentions. The EPA is not a competition for language skills such as English fluency. Rather, the applicants are meant to compete in the research contents and the skills and attitudes about presenting their work. The winners are selected by the EPA working group in each section.

Eligibility criteria

  • The previous EPA eligibility will also be followed in ESJ70. Namely, eligibility is limited to ESJ members who are undergraduate or graduate students or early-career researchers who have received a Ph.D. degree within 5 years, as of March 2023. Time taken off work for parental leave or family leave is not included in this 5-year limitation. Past EPA and EPAA winners are also eligible to apply. Please note that the eligibility criteria may be revised for ESJ70

Judging criteria

  • In each category, the winners are selected based on scoring by the judges. Details will be announced on the official ESJ70 website. Participants will be able to apply for the EPA through our online registration system. The system is expected to open around the early of October. Please visit our official ESJ70 website for the latest information. The EPA team group is looking forward to receiving your application.  (2023/1/18 deleted)
  • Each EPA-eligible presentation will be scored by three to five judges based on the following five criteria: (1) Is the research significant and novel, and does it have great potential to make progress in the future? (2) Are the methods used in the study appropriate and are the results correctly interpreted? (3) Is the discussion of the research logically clear and coherent? (4) Does the presentation slide effectively convey the research content (clarity of figures, font size, slide design, etc.)? and (5) In the Q&A, does the presenter effectively answer the question(s) being asked (in an adequate length of time)? (2023/1/18 updated)
  • Each criterion is evaluated on a scale of Excellent (5 points), Good (4 points), Average (3 points), Fair (2 points), and Poor (1 point), such that the total score per judge will range from 5 to 25.  (2023/1/18 updated)
  • The evaluations will be held on a basis of each research field. In order to ensure that the percentage of presentations to be awarded in each research field is approximately 20%, only the “Best Presentation Award” (first place) will be selected if there are six or fewer EPA-eligible presenters, and the “Excellent Presentation Award” (second place) will also be selected if there are seven or more EPA-eligible presenters. (2023/1/18 updated)

PREPARING POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Abstract

Poster presentations will be conducted using poster files uploaded to the platform (ONLINE CONF), which participants will be free to browse during ESJ70. The platform provides video conferencing (during core hours only) and a text chat function. During core time, presenters can use video conferencing to explain their poster and answer questions to the audience. The text chat function includes notifications when audience members comment on posters. If the presenter and audience members would like to have further discussion outside of core hours, they need to arrange their video meeting using external tools such as Zoom. However, they can also use the text chat function to announce the URL of such external meetings.

File format, size, and paper size

  • Poster presentations may consist of a poster (plus supplementary materials), a graphical abstract, and an explanatory video.
  • Poster files must be prepared in PDF format (without embedded audio and video); PDF files of up to 5MB can be uploaded (it is recommended that the size of the PDF file is no larger than 1MB or 500KB per page because larger files will take longer to be displayed on the platform). To ensure visibility and readability on the platform, we recommend “A4-size, approximately four sheets, horizontally” format. The A4 version with normal font size (e.g., 12 point) will provide good visibility and readability on the platform without enlargement. Please ensure that the research can be understood without the need for an oral explanation.
  • The Ecological Society of Japan is committed to international exchange. For this reason, we welcome any accommodations for audiences who do not understand Japanese. For example, the presenter can write the main points of the poster in both Japanese and English or prepare an English poster separately. If the presenter provides a separate poster in English, we recommend that the presenter prepares two versions of the same poster (two sets of four sheets for the A4 version).
  • The presenter may choose to display supplementary material (e.g., additional figures, data, and/or documents) to complement the content of the main poster and help the audience to understand it better. These materials must be contained in the pages following the main sheet(s) of the poster and uploaded as a single PDF file to the system. Please note that the maximum file size is 5MB, even with the English poster and these additional materials.
  • Graphical abstracts will be used as thumbnail images for the list of poster presentations, as the first poster image displayed on the platform, and as background contents for Spatial Chat, the place for social time after each session and online banquet. Please create your graphical abstract as a JPG image of 1200 pixels high x 1200 pixels wide. It does not necessarily have to be an image that summarizes your research. For example, a photograph of the studied organism is also acceptable. It should be eye-catching. The use of a graphical abstract is mandatory for poster award applicants, but optional for all other presenters.
  • In addition to the poster file (PDF), the presenter may also upload a video explaining the content of the poster or supplementing the content of the poster (only one file, MP4 format only, no more than 500 MB, no more than 5 minutes). This video will be displayed separately from the poster on the platform. The audience will be able to watch the video while viewing the poster or listen only to the audio contained in the video file while viewing the poster. The use of an explanatory video is mandatory for poster award applicants, but optional for all other presenters.

Poster upload

  • From 1st March 2023, you will be able to upload poster files and video files. The upload will be done by the applicants themselves.
  • Applicants of presentations applying for the Poster Award should upload the poster files (including graphical abstracts) by 23:59 on 15th March 2023. This is because we need time to paste your graphical abstract on Spatial Chat. Please upload your file by the deadline, even for presentations that have not applied for a poster award.
  • In addition, the deadline for uploading graphical abstracts is under consideration. If you do not upload the files by the core time, they may be treated as unpublished, so please prepare early.

Others

  • Uploaded posters are set so that they cannot be downloaded or copied.
  • The posters will continue to be available on the platform for about a week after the meeting, during which you can continue to have discussions using text chat. Please use it as a place for interactions even after the meeting.

Poster Award

  • ESJ70 will give awards to outstanding poster presentations to encourage the research activities of young researchers. Details about poster presentations will be posted on the ESJ70 official website too, so please refer to it when preparing posters.
  • From the perspective of securing reviewers, ESJ70 set a limit of 500 applications for the Poster Award. Applications will be made on a “first- come, first-served” basis, and if the limit is reached, we will ask applicants to have presentations in general sessions (both oral and poster presentations) instead. There is no limit to the number of applications for the poster presentation session.
  • In addition to the usual poster awards, two new awards will be established at ESJ70. These are the Online Poster Award and the Best Discussion Award, and they will be selected by all participants (i.e., audience choice awards). These awards will be separate from the usual Poster Awards with the intention to facilitate communication among participants through the comment function. This is not an official award of the Ecological Society of Japan, as it will be awarded independently by ESJ70.

Poster Award eligibility criteria

  • Student ESJ members who have not obtained a Ph.D. as of the registration deadline for general sessions (31st October 2022).
  • Those who have won the poster “Best Award” or “Excellence Award” in poster sessions of past ESJ meetings cannot apply even if they meet the above condition. Past ESJ meetings include ones held jointly with EAFES.
  • A graphical abstract and explanatory video are posted as presentation content in addition to the poster itself.

Key points of Poster Award evaluation

Poster Award applicants are requested to consider following points when preparing posters.

  1. Transmission ability of poster information
    In poster presentations, it is important that the research content is displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. For example, it is necessary to provide the following: (1) a good title, (2) an easy-to-understand abstract, (3) ingenuities to attract lines of sight, and (4) ingenuities to convey rough contents in a short time. For that purpose, it is important that the characters and figures/tables are easy to read, that there is not too much information, and that the main points can be understood without explanations. For the sake of fairness, please refrain from changing the title after registration.
  2. Quality of research
    Judges will consider the following points: (1) novelty and originality, (2) quality and quantity of data, (3) validity of analyses and methods, and (4) validity of discussion and conclusion.

Supplementary information about the Poster Award

  • For these online poster presentations, it is possible to upload the poster itself plus supplementary materials (PDF and/or video). However, only the poster itself will be judged. In addition, it is recommended to create the poster body in one of the formats described above (A4 portrait × 4).
  • The presentation technique (e.g., the skills shown by the presenter when explaining their poster) was subject to evaluation in the past, but it will not be considered at this meeting. This is because a good poster is thought to be understood just by reading it. Another reason is that the workload for the reviewers is significantly decreased by this. However, for posters that are difficult to evaluate just by looking at the poster, the reviewers may ask questions using the text chat or video-conferencing function during core time, and evaluate the poster based on the presenters’ responses.
  • Consideration of researchers who do not fluently understand Japanese is also taken into account. During evaluation, only the contents of the poster will be evaluated regardless of the language used, but for posters that receive the same score following evaluation, the one that can be understood in English will be ranked higher. A poster that can be understood in English is one in which the title, introduction, and conclusion are written in English in addition to Japanese, so that the outline of the research can be understood just by reading the English parts. Alternatively, presenters may choose to provide a poster translated into English (English version poster) on a separate page.
  • If you select “English” or “Bilingual” as the language used, please include explanations in English on the poster, or prepare a poster which is translated into English (English version poster).
  • Graphical abstracts of the posters selected for the Best Poster Award will also be displayed in a special space on Spatial Chat.

Additional Awards for Poster Presentations

  • In addition to the usual Poster Award, the “Likes!” Award and the Best Discusser Award, which will be selected by all participants, will be newly established for poster presentations at ESJ70.
  • This award will be separate from the usual Poster Awards with the intention to facilitate communication among the participants through the comment function. This is not an official award of the Ecological Society of Japan, as it will be awarded independently by ESJ70.

Online Poster Award

  • The selection of winners will be based on the number of votes cast (“Likes!”) for each poster presentation. All participants, including high school students, are eligible to vote, but only votes cast by those who post comments on the poster presentation will be counted as valid votes.
  • In the selection process for this award, the poster that receives a large number of viewers will have the advantage. Therefore, due to the characteristics of the browsing system, the lower numbered posters will tend to have an advantage. The presentation numbers will be assigned in the order in which they are submitted, so we recommend your early submission.

Best Discusser Award

  • ESJ70 will present this award to participants who have contributed to the excitement of poster by posting good comments.
  • The selection of winners will be based on the number of “Likes!” pressed on the comments. All participants including high school students are eligible to press “Likes!” on the comments.

ECOCUP 2023: PHOTO CONTEST

ESJ70 Satellite Project “ECOCUP 2023 Photo Contest: The World as Seen by Ecologists” will be held. This contest aims to share the diversity and depth of ecology and to promote interaction among participants by sharing the views that ecologists see in their field and in their laboratory.

Requirements

Any participant in ESJ70 or any member of the Ecological Society of Japan may apply and vote. The submission period will be from 1st February 2023 to 14th March 2023. The entries will be open from noon on 16th March 2023 and voting will continue until 20th March 2023.

Please submit your entries with an introductory text via the form on the website. We are planning that the entries will be open on the website, including to the public. Details on how to submit, view, and vote will be posted on the website and SNS as soon as they are finalized.

Divisions

We are calling for entries in the following four divisions: Moe Lives, My Field, Moment of Impression, and Ecological Bad Photography Championship. Because we wish to mirror the diversity and interactive nature of ESJ researchers, entries can be made to any division regardless of the taxonomic group of the photo subject. Each person may submit only one photo per division (e.g., one photo for the “Moe Lives Division”, one for the “My Field Division”, one for the “Ecological Bad Photography Championships”, etc.).

  • “Moe Lives” Division:
    As the result of adaptations to their respective niches, each organism is attractive (moe) in its own way. We are looking for photos of organisms that you feel “moe!”. Of course, any taxonomic group of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, etc. is welcome.
  • “My Field” Division
    We are looking for photos of the field that is your pride. For many ecologists, the “field” is an inseparable part of their research. From tropical forests to urban areas, and even in non-outdoor locations such as laboratories and computational spaces. Please tell us what you think of the various “my fields” and what attracts you to them.
  • “Moment of Impression” Division
    We are looking for photos that capture a moment in which you were “impressed”. It may be an ecologically important moment, such as a pollinator’s visit to a flower or a reproductive event, or it may be a photo that you suddenly took during your research. Please submit a photo that captures an unforgettable moment, along with the emotion you felt at the time.
  • “Ecological Bad Photography Championship” Division:
    Just as there are countless trials and errors behind excellent research, there are surely countless failures behind a beautiful photograph. The number of “bad” photos is a measure of your passion dedicated to the research. Please share your beloved “bad” photos that make us chuckle.

We look forward to your submissions!

OTHER INFORMATION

Programs and abstract books

ESJ70 will not create conventional meeting programs (PDF version and booklet) or abstract books. From around the end of December 2022, information such as meeting schedules and presentation information for each session (information previously published in the meeting programs) will be released on the ESJ70 official website, so please keep checking it. The abstracts of the presentations will be available on the official website (https://esj.ne.jp/meeting/abst/) from the end of February 2023. They will also be available on the meeting platform (ONLINE CONF) from around 1st March 2023.

Receipts

Receipts can be issued online from the ESJ70 official website. Please note that there is no conventional delivery.

Using the meeting platform

  • ESJ70 will use ONLINE CONF as the meeting platform. Please check https://agri-smile.com/service/online-conf/ for details.
  • To log in to the platform, each participant will need an ID and password. When you apply for participation and payment of the registration fee is completed, you will be notified of your login ID and password by email.
  • The platform will be fully functional around 1st March 2023. Please log in and check the operation methods.

Abolition of errata

ESJ70 will not accept corrections with errata after the submission of presentations or proposals for symposia/workshops. When applying or submitting the abstract of presentations, please make sure that the contents are correct. Especially for students who have little experience in attending academic meetings, please consult with your supervisors regarding titles and presenter information before applying.

Cancellation policy

Registration fee

If there are requests to cancel participation before the refund deadline (20th February 2023 for this meeting), refunds will be made. Bank transfer fees and other expenses cannot be refunded. As a rule, no refund will be given after the refund deadline is announced.

Handling of research achievements when presentations cannot be given at ESJ70

For applicants who have registered abstracts of presentations and paid the registration fee by the deadline, ESJ will approve the presentation information and abstracts as achievements, even if presentations cannot be given due to the following reasons:

  • Cancellation of the meeting due to fires, earthquakes, weather disasters, man-made disasters, infectious diseases, etc.
  • Failures of the meeting platform or large networks.

If an applicant does not pay the registration fee by the deadline, their presentation information and abstract will be deleted from the ESJ70 abstract webpage and the presentation will not be approved as an academic achievement.

Childcare Fee Assistance for ESJ70 participants

After the conference, if you provide receipts or a statement showing your local use of childcare systems (e.g., use of a nanny or temporary care at a daycare center in your area), we will partially reimburse the costs. The assistance period is from Friday, 17th March 2023 to Tuesday, 21st March 2023. The subsidy amount is half of your total expenditure, but the maximum amount per child is 5,000 yen per day. There is no limit on the number of children. However, in case the number of applicants exceeds our budget, then the subsidy amount may be reduced.

Please see the official website for details.

Display of Career Explorer images

If a student/postdoc speaker wishes, they can display a Career Explorer (CE) image indicating that they are looking for a job at the time of the oral or poster presentations. Please download the image from The Japan Society of Applied Physics website (https://www.jsap.or.jp/jsap-meeting/career-explorer) and display it near the title page of the oral presentations or the title of the posters. Permission to use CE images has been obtained.

Consideration for color vision variation and comfortable online materials

About 5% of Japanese men and 0.2% of Japanese women have a visual characteristic in which it is difficult to distinguish the difference between some colors, such as red and green (color-impaired people). At the last meeting, which was completely online, we heard many comments that the presentations could not be understood due to color-use issues. Given this situation, it is necessary to give more consideration to the use of color in online presentations. To put it simply, it is important to use orange and blue instead of red and green and to have layouts that do not rely too much on color.

Keeping eyes on a screen for a long time puts a heavy burden on the audience. To reduce eye strain, it is recommended to reduce the contrast between the background and the text color. If the background is white, it is effective to use slightly lighter black (gray) characters. You can also reduce eye strain by using a light color for the background to reduce the contrast with black characters. Reducing the contrast between the text and the background also makes it easier for people with visual hypersensitivity.

Consideration for people with disabilities

Based on the “Act for Eliminating Discrimination Against People with Disabilities”, consideration will be given to participants requiring assistance. Please contact us from the inquiry page on the ESJ70 official website. If you would like to give a presentation, please contact us by 31st October 2022, or as soon as possible.

OPINION

The Annual Meeting Planning Committee is always accepting opinions on the meeting management. Please use the inquiry page on the ESJ official website.

https://esj-meeting.net/

ANNUAL MEETING PLANNING COMMITTEE

Chair Masaki Hoso (Waseda Univ.)
Vice Chair Takeshi Osawa (Tokyo Metropolitan Univ.)
Steering subcommittee Shin-Taro Saiki, Takuya Kobayashi, Kohei Takenaka Takano, Daisuke Kyogoku, Koya Hashimoto, Masaru Sakai, Shunsuke Matsuoka, Ryosuke Iritani, Yuuya Tachiki, Akifumi S Tanabe, Masayuki Ushio
Symposium subcommittee Satoshi D Ohdachi, Asuka Koyama, Makoto Tokuda,　Yosuke Kurihara, Shuntaro Watanabe, Hibiki M Noda, Wakana Azuma, Yuichi Isaka, Nobuo Imai, Yosuke Kojima, Chisato Kobayashi
Poster subcommittee Mitsuru Hattori, Takahiro Hirano, Kimiko Hirayama, Saeko Matsuhashi, Shigeaki Hasegawa, Akira Yamawo, Chika Egawa, Nozomi Nakanishi, Takahiro Hosokawa, Satoshi Yamashita, Naoaki Shimada, Yumiko Higuchi, Akari Shibata, Dai Koide, Mitsutoshi Tomotsune
Subcommittee of high school student poster presentations Ko Mochizuki, Koki Katsuhara, Teppei Jono, Yusuke Miyazaki, Tatsuya Saga, Yuzu Sakata, Satoki Sakai, Maiko Kagami, Naoyuki Nakahama, Toru Nakahara, Rie Miyata, Yo Yamasaki, Hirotaka Komine, Ryo Sakurai
Presentation composition subcommittee Hajime Tomimatsu, Shin-Ichiro Matsuzaki, Takumi Akasaka, Toshifumi Minamoto, Hideki Mori, Tsutomu Enoki
English session subcommittee Shinichi Tatsumi, Mayuko Jomura, Ryosuke Iritani, Yuta Morii, Kayoko Fukumori, Nobuaki Mizumoto, Komei Kadowaki, Hiroki Hata, Kaori Shiojiri, Kobayashi Makoto

ANNUAL MEETING ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Chair Masakado Kawata (Tohoku Univ.)
Secretary General Kouki Hikosaka (Tohoku Univ.)
Members Jotaro Urabe, Michio Kondoh, Yoshihisa Suyama, Yu Fukasawa, Wataru Makino, Takashi Makino, Kazutaka Kawatsu, Yukari Ohno, Hiroshi Tomimatsu, Satoshi Chiba, Masakado Kawata, Akifumi S Tababe, Takahiro Hirano, Satoki Sakai, Hajime Tomimatsu