Florida Chapter of
The Wildlife Society
2026 Spring Conference
cocoa beach, fl
april 15-17, 2026
Call for papers and posters
The Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society will hold its annual Spring Meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cocoa Beach, FL, on April 15-17, 2026. The theme for this year’s meeting is: Resilience in a rapidly changing world: Acknowledging the urgency of conservation and restoration in the face of biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation. The Meeting will include a symposium, business meeting, networking socials, student interaction activities, keynote speakers, technical sessions, poster session, banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and several field trips.
This meeting provides an excellent opportunity for students and professionals working on wildlife research or habitat management in Florida to present results of recent research, discuss ongoing monitoring efforts, create collaborations, network and share ideas. Students will have special incentives to attend, such as reduced registration and lodging, professional interactions, a chance to win awards for best student presenter and poster, as well as networking opportunities throughout. Oral presentations and posters dealing with any wildlife-related topic are encouraged, including but not limited to ecology, economics, management, restoration, risk assessment, policy and regulation, evolutionary biology, and interdisciplinary projects. Abstracts will be included in a meeting program booklet; proceedings will not be published.
Instructions for submitting abstracts (Papers and Posters)
Abstracts should be a single paragraph with 350 words or less, with no embedded citations. It should conform to the general style of Journal of Wildlife Management abstracts (keywords not necessary; see sample abstract below). The full name, affiliation, and email of all authors should be provided with the abstract. The name of the author presenting at the conference should be underlined. Student abstracts should be clearly identified as such, as well as type of presentation (paper or poster). An abbreviated heading including the title and author name(s) should also appear before the abstract body (see example below). Use standard abbreviations for units of measure. Other abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out in full at first mention, followed by the abbreviation/acronym in parentheses.
Abstracts should be submitted via email in MSWord format to abstracts@fltws.org. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday, February 27, 2026.
A notification of acceptance will be emailed to the corresponding author no later than Friday, March 6, 2026.
Guidelines for paper presentations
Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes, including 3-5 minutes for questions. A laptop and LCD projector will be provided. Please bring your presentation on a USB flash drive; name the presentation file with your last name and title of the talk. An AV assistant will be on hand in each meeting room for 15 minutes prior to the start of each technical session. Give your USB flash drive to the AV assistant before the start of your technical session. There will not be time to copy files once a session has begun. LCD presentations must be made using MS PowerPoint software. Macintosh users should ensure that their presentations will function properly in a Windows environment. DO NOT bring presentations on a CD or any other medium.
Guidelines for poster presentations
Posters should be no larger than 100 cm (40 in) tall by 150 cm (60 in) wide. Posters are welcome in both traditional format or in #betterposter format (see YouTube_BetterPoster and links within). Poster stations will be provided and include a foam-core display board, easel, push pins, binder clips, and tape. If you require a table for pamphlets, brochures, or other display items, please indicate this on your abstract submission. We ask that posters be put in place the first day of the event and stay up for the duration of the conference. Poster authors are required to be present at their stations for one hour during the designated Poster Social to answer questions.
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Sample Abstract Submission
Corresponding Author Toobee R. Estord
South Florida Water Management District testord@sfwmd.gov
Student or nonstudent (select one), paper or poster (select one)
The effects of fish size on net energy intake of snowy egrets. T. R. Estord and M. Ritters
THE EFFECTS OF FISH SIZE ON NET ENERGY INTAKE OF SNOWY EGRETS
TOOBEE R. ESTORD, South Florida Water Management District, testord@sfwmd.gov; MORK RITTERS, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, mork.ritters@myfwc.com
Draining wetlands reduces their hydroperiod and causes a shift in the size structure of the fish community toward smaller and younger fish. Reduced fish size could potentially impact snowy egrets (Egretta thula) if it reduced their net energy intake. We tested the hypothesis...
MAXIMUM 350 WORDS
SINGLE PARAGRAPH
NO CITATIONS
UNDERLINE THE NAME OF THE PRESENTING AUTHOR