The 71st Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan

Oral and Poster Presentation Sessions

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 ESJ71, 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.
  • Up to 270 applicants for online posters may also present their posters on-site; if there are more than 270 applicants, priority will be given to students, and the missing applicants will be selected by lottery.
  • 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.
    • Sociality, cognitive ecology (ER Symposium 1)
    • Ecology and human culture (ER Symposium 2)
    • 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 2023, 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 400 words in English) via the online registration system by 31st January 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.
  • Panels used for on-site poster display are A0 vertical. On-site speakers are free to use this space.
  • If you choose the ER Symposia “Sociality, cognitive ecology” and “Ecology and human culture” and wish to present on-site, the display location for your poster will be arranged near the symposium venue.

Precautions about the presentation materials

  • All online lectures, oral or posters, are publicly transmitted under copyright laws, so permissions are required. Please be careful not to cause copyright infringements and avoid any defamation in the presentation contents, on the slides shared on-screen, or on the PDF poster you submit. When quoting published work, cite the source appropriately. If the content of the writing (presentation slide or PDF poster) infringes the copyright of a third party or causes damage to a third party, the presenter will take its responsibility.

Oral presentations

Instructions for 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. Presentation files for oral presentations must be uploaded in advance through the conference platform (ONLINE CONF) before the presentation time. 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 three weeks after the end of 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.
  • If you are unable to upload your video files of presentation by the due date, please give your presentation in real-time via Zoom. If you are a real-time speaker and wish to receive on-demand streaming, please either 1) record your own real-time presentation or 2) create a video of your presentation and upload it to ONLINE CONF. Please edit the video so that the session for questions and answers is not included.
  • You can also use the comment function provided on each presentation page of the platform to ask questions. Please use the comment function on the page of each presentation at any time.
  • ESJ71 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. There will be no rehearsal for the Zoom presentation. Please note that we cannot provide refunds or support for issues due to your network environment, devices, or files.
  • The total presentation time is 15 minutes: 12 minutes for presentation and 3 minutes for Q&A. For real-time presentation, the bell will ring once, twice, and three times at 10 minutes, 12 minutes, and 14 minutes and 30 seconds, respectively. For video presentation, the bell will ring three times at 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the start of Q&A.
  • 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.

English Presentation Award

For ESJ71, the 10th English Presentation Award (EPA) will be held. We look forward to your applications. We also welcome oral presentations in English by mid-career/senior 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 ESJ71 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 ESJ71. 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 2024. Time taken off work for parental leave or family leave is not included in this 5-year limitation. Past winners of the Best EPA award are not eligible to apply, but past winners of the Excellent EPA award are eligible to apply. Please note that the eligibility criteria may be revised for ESJ72.

Judging criteria

In each category, the winners are selected based on scoring by the judges. Details will be announced on the official ESJ71 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 ESJ71 website for the latest information. The EPA team group is looking forward to receiving your application.

Poster presentations

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 ESJ71. 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, file size, and paper size

  • Poster presentations may consist of a poster (plus supplementary materials), a graphical abstract, and an explanatory video. The uses of a graphical abstract and an explanatory video are mandatory for poster award applicants, but optional for all other presenters.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Poster upload

  • From 1st March 2024, 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 2024. 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.

On-site Poster Presentation

  • At this conference, among the online poster participants, those selected by lottery will have the right to display physical posters on-site for two days (19th and 20th March 2024). During this poster display period, the core time will, in principle, be the 19th (16:00–18:00) for odd-numbered posters and the 20th (15:30–17:30) for even-numbered posters. However, if it is really difficult for the presenter to be present during the designated core time due to their schedule (for example, if they can only display on one of the days), it is permissible to take core time on another day within the display period. Voluntarily taking core time on both days is also acceptable.
  • The venue opens at 9:00 AM 8:30 AM on both days. Upon arrival, please complete registration and then proceed to put up your poster. At the very least, ensure that your poster is displayed before the core time on the day you are available to present.
  • Posters will be displayed on A0 size vertical boards. Within this size range, presenters are free to use the space as they wish, whether it be displaying a single poster or displaying a split one. However, please ensure that your display does not exceed the size limit and encroach on the neighboring board, so as not to interfere with other presenters.
  • Please bring your own thumbtacks for mounting the poster. Be aware that thumbtacks tend to run out of stock in stores around the venue, so please take note of this.
  • This conference will be one of the first in a long time to feature on-site poster presentations. As we anticipate congestion on the day of the event, we ask that you take appropriate measures for infectious disease prevention at your own responsibility.
  • Please remove your poster by 17:45 on the 20th. Posters which have not been removed will be collected and stored at the conference headquarters (Urban Sciences room 102) so please come and take them. Note that posters not picked by 12:00 on the 21st will be disposed.

Poster Award

ESJ71 will give awards to outstanding poster presentations to encourage the research activities of early career researchers. Details about poster presentations will be posted on the ESJ71 official website too, so please refer to it when preparing posters. From the perspective of securing reviewers, ESJ71 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.

Eligibility criteria

  • Student ESJ members who have not obtained a Ph.D. as of the registration deadline for general sessions (31st October 2023).
  • 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.
  • In order to facilitate efficient judging, applicants for the Poster Award are required to submit a graphical abstract and explanatory video in addition to the poster itself as presentation content. However, the content of the graphical abstract and explanatory video will not affect the judging process.
  • Those who have preferred the ER Symposia “Sociality, cognitive ecology” and “Ecology and human culture” for their presentation cannot apply to the poster award.

Judging criteria

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

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.

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.

Notes

  • For these online poster presentations, it is possible to upload the poster itself plus supplementary materials (PDF and/or video). However, only the online poster itself will be judged (even if a poster is presented also on-site). It is recommended to prepare the online poster in the format of A4 landscape × 4. Please note that the format of the poster is under discussion and we will keep you posted.
  • 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).

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.
  • 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 ESJ71.

“Likes!” 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.

Best Discusser Award

  • ESJ71 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.