Program

Program Schedules
Symposia
Contributed Oral and Poster Papers
Presentation Format and Guidelines
Poster Format and Guidelines
Significant Dates

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Program Schedules

Schedule of Oral Presentations
Schedule of Posters
Schedule-at-a-Glance

Symposia

The 2008 WDAFS Planning Committee is pleased to present the following list of 31 Symposia to be held in Portland this coming May. For more information about a specific symposium, please contact the organizer (s) directly. 

We are looking forward to an outstanding program and appreciate everyone’s assistance in bringing this together.

Planned Symposia

Symposia descriptions
Symposia format

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Contributed Oral and Poster Papers

The Program Committee of the 2008 WDAFS Annual Meeting invites abstracts for presentations (oral and poster) at contributed paper sessions. Authors must indicate their preferred presentation format: 1) oral or 2) poster. The program will include a dedicated poster session to encourage discussion between poster authors and attendees.

Oral presentations are limited to 20 minutes (15 minutes for presentation plus 5 minutes for speaker introduction and questions). All oral presenters are expected to deliver PowerPoint presentations. Laptop computers and LCD projectors will be provided and technicians will be available to help.

Abstracts for contributed oral and poster papers must be received by 22 February 2008. All submissions must be made using the WDAFS online abstract sub-mission form, which is available on the WDAFS (www.wdafs.org) and ORAFS (www.orafs.org). The website will automatically format your abstract. When submitting your abstract:

• Use a brief but descriptive title, avoiding acronyms or scientific names in the title unless the common name is not widely known
   

• List all authors, their affiliations, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses; Provide a summary of your findings and restrict your abstract to 300 words

All presenters will receive a prompt email confirmation of their abstract submission and will be notified of acceptance and the designated time and place of their presentation in April 2008.

Please click here for the full version of the Second Call for Papers.

Late submissions will not be accepted. WDAFS does not waive registration fees for presenters at symposia, work-shops, or contributed paper sessions. All presenters and meeting attendees must pay registration fees. Registration forms will be available on the WDAFS and ORAFS websites January 2008; register early for cost savings.

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Presentation Format
 
Microsoft PowerPoint on the PC platform is required. Macintosh users should convert and test their presentations on a PC before the meeting.

Presentation Loading
All speakers must provide a copy of their presentation to the session convener prior to the meeting (contact session convener for directions). All presenters should save/name their file using the following rules: last name, session date/time, and session name (e.g., Fuller_Sept3_1030_Steelhead Cons.ppt). To keep sessions running smoothly and on time, presenters will not be allowed to load presentations onto in-session computers nor will presenters be allowed to use personal laptops.

Projection screens and computers will also be avail-able in the Practice Room for presenters to review their presentations.

Guidelines
General Instructions
1. Oral presentations should contain: introduction, objectives, methods, results, conclusions/implications. Objectives should be clearly stated. Avoid unnecessary detail in methods unless the methodology is the central topic of your talk. Primarily discuss the results and conclusions. Conclusions should relate back to objectives.
2. Presentations are scheduled in 20-minute blocks. Three things must happen during this block: the speaker introduction (1 minute); the talk (15-16 minutes); and the question and answer period (3-4 minutes). The moderator will notify you when your presentation reaches 15 minutes. You will be asked to leave the podium at 20 minutes.
3. Presentations must start and end on time, no exceptions, because they are coordinated with all other concurrent sessions.
4. Rehearse your talk before the meeting to be sure that it does not exceed the allotted time. Have peers evaluate your talk.
5. Podium-mounted computers, lighting, and microphones are not always dependable. Be prepared to give your talk without such aids, if necessary.
6. An excellent article for speakers is “Strategy and checklist of effective scientific talks ” (Ecol. Soc. Am. Bull. 72: 8-12, 1991). See also a recent article (Fisheries 30(5):34-38, 2005 - 5.2 MB PDF) by Michael Fraidenburg on effective use of PowerPoint.

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Poster Format

Poster Size 
The maximum poster size this year is 46" high x 46" wide, which is ½ of one side of a poster board. NO EXCEPTIONS. Presenters are required to assemble and disassemble their own poster. In addition, presenters are required to provide their own push pins or Velcro.  See general guidelines for poster development below.

Poster Set-Up
Poster set-up is on Monday, May 5, 2008, from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Holladay Room. Posters not set up by 5:30 PM will be considered a no-show and a replacement poster from the wait list may be selected. Poster check-in will be inside the Holladay Room. There will be updated map of poster space assignments available at the check-in table.

Author Presence
Authors should be by their posters from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Monday, May 5, 2008, during the Poster Social.

Viewing Times
Posters can be viewed on Monday, May 5, 2008, from 7:00 p.m. - midnight during the Poster Social and from 9:00 a.m.- midnight on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.

Poster Take-Down
The official poster take-down times will be Wednesday, May 7, 2008, from 7:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Unless alternative arrangements are made in advance, posters that are not removed from the display boards by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7 will be discarded. Please contact Christy Fellas you have any questions. Christy Fellas 2008 WDAFS Poster Chair 503-231-2307 christina.fellas@noaa.gov

Poster Guidelines
Posters have become an important mode of presentation at AFS annual meetings in recent years, because some topics are best communicated via posters and the number of requests to make oral presentations has far exceeded the available space and time. Thus, the number of posters has increased each year, and this trend will likely continue. Hundreds of posters may be on display, but the time available for meeting attendees to view them may be limited. When asked about their preferences for poster formats, meeting attendees were strongly in favor of posters that had a minimum of text and could be read in a relatively short time. These observations have prompted AFS to develop these new guidelines, which represent a significant deviation from previously recommended formats.

• The purpose of the poster should be to convey highlights of a study or project in an attractive format that can be easily read and comprehended in a short period of time, i.e., 3 to 5 minutes.

• The body of the poster will have 300 to 400 words. In contrast, delivery of a 15-minute oral presentation may include 1,500 to 2,000 words, and it would include many more images than could be displayed on a poster. Thus, it is likely that a poster will convey less total information than that in an oral presentation. Efficient use of this limited number of words and images is necessary to convey the highlights of the study.

• A key feature of the poster is that is can be easily read at a distance of 2 m.

• Authors will need to minimize the amount of text in the poster, and to do so, use of bulleted phrases rather than complete sentences is best.

• Graphs need to be carefully designed so that they are readily comprehended.

• Details should be kept to a minimum.

• Photographs and color should be used to enhance the attractiveness of the poster and to entice the audience to stop and read it.
  
  Poster Elements
  Title: The title should be short and fit across top of poster on one line.
  Authors’ names and affiliations appear below the title.
  Abstract: This section is optional. See below for additional information.
  Introduction: Keep this section short. Limit it to a few statements. Clearly state the objectives.
  Methods or Experimental Design: Keep text to a minimum. Use graphics where possible.
  Results: This section should take up most of the space.
  Graphs (figures) are preferred over tables. Keep graphs simple. Include captions with graphics. Include credits on photographs taken by someone other than the authors. Tables should not exceed four columns. Keep statements brief.
  Conclusions or Implications: Limit this section to a few bulleted statements.

2008 Poster List
2008 WDAFS Annual Meeting Poster List
 (Information will be available after February 22, 2008)

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Significant Dates

7 December 2007 – Deadline to submit Symposium proposals
28 December 2007 – Notification of Symposium acceptance
18 January 2008 – Deadline for symposia organizers to submit their list of confirmed presentations and titles
22 February 2008 – Deadline to submit abstracts for Contribute papers and Symposia
Early March 2008 – Notification of authors (tentative program)
1 April 2008 – Early registration ends

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