AUG 3, 2015 
LINDSEY THURMAN
The Ecological Society of America is having its 100th Anniversary Conference August 9-14 in Baltimore. The organizers of this year’s centennial meeting have challenged us to put together talks and symposia that celebrate 100 years of advancements in ecological research and peer into the future of 21st Century challenges. This has undoubtedly stimulated substantial interest in climate change as a hot topic.
From the website: “The goal of the opening plenary is to start the meeting by engaging the ecological community in a conversation where we ask ourselves what would a successful environmental agenda look like for the next 5, 10, 50, or 100 years? Along with discussing what a successful environmental agenda might be, panelists and plenary attendees also will consider who needs to be part of the funding picture in the future, what our environmental past—recent and deep time—can tell us about our future, and who needs to be in the “ecology” conversation.”
They have also put together a Centennial Lecture Series, including a presentation by Chris Field, the founding director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, who will speak on “Climate change: mapping the problem space and the solution space”. Included in this lecture series is the Robert H. MacArthur Award Lecture, which will be given by Mercedes Pascual on “Untangling the population dynamic interactions between climate and infectious diseases”.
Attending the annual ESA conference is a massive undertaking and it can be very time consuming to sift through the program and work out a schedule. It can be particularly daunting for early career attendees who have yet to experience a conference of this size. Below you will find a schedule of events throughout the week that highlight climate change research, communication, and strategic planning (click on the links to view a more detailed schedule of talks). There are also plenty of contributed talks and posters that focus on climate change, but are not included in climate change sessions; you can search for those using this link.
Symposia
| SYMP 13 | High-Elevation Ecosystems in a Warmer World: Mechanisms of Change and Interactions Between Abiotic and Biotic ProcessesWednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| SYMP 22 | Ecological Implications of Endemism Hotspots As Climate Change RefugiaFriday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Special Sessions
| SS 4 | Carbon Cycle Science at the Frontier of Global Change: A Coordinated Effort among Federal AgenciesMonday, August 10, 2015: 11:30 AM-1:15 PM |
| SS 29 | Landscape-Scale Scenarios and Projections for Ecosystem Models in a Changing Climate: Research Needs and Capabilities for the National Climate AssessmentThursday, August 13, 2015: 11:30 AM-1:15 PM |
Organized Oral Sessions
| OOS 6 | From Drought to Deluge: Evolutionary Lessons for Natural Resource Management in an Increasingly Variable WorldMonday, August 10, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 7 | Synergies for Food Production, Conservation and Rural Development in a Changing ClimateMonday, August 10, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 13 | New Perspectives for Ecology during the Anthropocene: New Paradigms, Technologies and CollaborationsTuesday, August 11, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 25 | Disrupted Nitrogen Cycling in the Tropics: Tracking the Effects of Global Change Impacts on N Biogeochemistry from Soil to StreamTuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 26 | Climate Change in Wildlands: Pioneering Applications of Science to Management in the Rocky and Appalachian MountainsTuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 27 | Demographic Buffering Beyond the Comfort Zone: Species’ Responses to Anthropogenic DisturbancesTuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 29 | Resilience to Climate Change Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western ScienceTuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 34 | Molecular Insights into Microbial Feedbacks to ClimateTuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 36 | Coastal Plant Range Shifts: Causes and ConsequencesWednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 43 | Effects of Climate Warming on Aboveground-Belowground Feedbacks in Terrestrial EcosystemsWednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 47 | Paleoecological Patterns, Ecological Processes, Modeled Scenarios: Crossing Scales to Understand an Uncertain FutureWednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 54** | The Role of Biotic Interactions in Structuring Species Distributions: Synthesizing Across Ecological Disciplines and Spatial Scales in the Face of Climate ChangeWednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM** http://esasdm.weebly.com |
| OOS 58 | The Ecological Impacts of Drought As Revealed Through Experimental ApproachesThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 63 | Solving Complex Problems in Coupled Natural and Human Systems: Socio-Ecological Research at the Frontier of Global ChangeThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 64 | The Soil Frontier: Understanding How Belowground Processes Drive Ecosystem Responses to Climate ChangeThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 69 | Intraspecific Genetic Adaptation in Forest Trees and Its Ecological Implications Under a Changing ClimateThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 74 | Usable Science: Meeting the Needs of Decision Makers in a Changing WorldThursday, August 13, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 77 | Science at the Frontier of Understanding “Natural Infrastructure”: Societal Benefits of Healthy Coastal EcosystemsThursday, August 13, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 78 | Predicting Range Shifts in Response to Ongoing Environmental Change Using Dynamic Modelling ApproachesThursday, August 13, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| OOS 86 | Coastal Wetlands in a Changing World: Drivers of Carbon Storage and LossFriday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 87 | Creative Approaches for Addressing Ecological Uncertainty in Earth System ModelsFriday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| OOS 89 | Evolutionary Responses to Directional Climate ChangeFriday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Contributed Oral Sessions
| COS 5 | Climate Change IMonday, August 10, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| COS 23 | Climate Change IITuesday, August 11, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 43 | Climate Change: Communities ITuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| COS 60 | Biogeochemistry: Experimental Climate Change Effects On Biogeo ProcessesWednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 63 | Climate Change: Communities IIWednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 64 | Climate Change: Plants IWednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 79 | Climate Change: Plants IIWednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| COS 98 | Climate Change: Biogeochem CyclesThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 99 | Climate Change: Plants IIIThursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
| COS 116 | Climate Change: Ranges and Phenology IThursday, August 13, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM |
| COS 135 | Climate Change: Ranges and Phenology IIFriday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Poster Sessions
| PS 15 | Biogeochemistry: Experimental Climate Change Effects On Biogeo ProcessesMonday, August 10, 2015: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM |
| PS 17 | Effects Of Multiple Global Changes On Communities And EcosystemsMonday, August 10, 2015: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM |
| PS 18 | Climate ChangeMonday, August 10, 2015: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM |
| PS 19 | Climate Change: PlantsMonday, August 10, 2015: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM |
Twitter is always abuzz with discussion during ESA, follow these hashtags and users for more info!
#ESA100 or #ESA2015
@ESA_EarlyCareer
The newly created Science Communication section of ESA! #ESASciComm
Also, I will be tweeting and blogging throughout the week, most often about climate change topics, and specifically on the plenary talks and Centennial Lecture Series. Follow me @ectothurm or #ESASDM (for OOS 54**) and stay tuned for more blogs from ESA 100!
