Submit your abstract and share your work with the global tropical biology community!
We are excited to announce that the call for abstract submissions for the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) is now open!
ATBC2026, taking place in Xishuangbanna, China, invites researchers, practitioners, and students to submit abstracts that resonate with our theme, "Achieving a Shared Ecological Civilization for Long-Term Resilience". This is your opportunity to present your work to a global audience, meet with leading experts, and contribute to critical issues in tropical biology and conservation.
We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions and to seeing you in Xishuangbanna, China for an enriching exchange of findings, ideas, and experiences at ATBC2026 with impacts beyond 2026!
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Oral Presentations (for Symposia and Oral Sessions): An opportunity to present your research findings to a wider audience in a formal setting. Each presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A session, providing an opportunity for audience engagement. Oral presentations in symposia or open format sessions will have the option of being delivered remotely (online), when invited by the session organizer.
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Poster Presentations: An opportunity for more personalized and interactive discussions about your research. Posters will be displayed during designated sessions, where presenters can engage directly with attendees, receive feedback, and network with peers interested in similar topics.
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Presentations in Open Format Sessions (optional): Abstract submission is not mandatory for Open Format Sessions. You only need to submit an abstract if you will deliver a short talk or structured presentation as part of an Open Format Session. In that case, your abstract will be included in the conference program and integrated into the Book of Abstracts.
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We welcome abstracts covering a diverse range of topics, including but not limited to:
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Spatial and Temporal Patterns, Processes, and Mechanisms of Biodiversity in the Tropics
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Biodiversity Inventories and Monitoring in Tropical Ecosystems
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Biotic Interactions in Tropical Ecosystems
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Ecosystem Services/Contributions and Values of Tropical Ecosystems to People
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Impacts of Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances on Tropical Ecosystems
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Ecology and Social-Ecology of Aquatic Systems in the Tropics
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Social-Ecological Drivers and Solutions for Managing Invasive Species
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Global Change: Adaptation and Resilience in Tropical Ecosystems
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Conservation Policy and Practice in the Tropics
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Structure and Functioning of Tropical Ecosystems
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Community and Population Ecology of Tropical Species
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Genetics and Evolutionary Processes in Tropical Systems
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Ecophysiological and Functional Traits Research in Tropical Systems
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Phylogenetics and genomics in tropical biology and conservation
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Long-Term Dynamics of Tropical Forests
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Multi-Actor Inter- and Transdisciplinary Approaches to Tropical Conservation and Human Well-Being
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Ecological Restoration in Tropical Ecosystems and Productive Landscapes
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Sustainable Management of Tropical Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products
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Wildlife Conservation and Management in the Tropics
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Community Engagement, Local Knowledge, and Social-ecological Approaches for Tropical Conservation
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Cutting-Edge Methodologies and Tools for Tropical Biology and Conservation
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Sustainable and Socially-Just Agroecological Land Uses in the Tropics
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Drivers of Change in Tropical Social-Ecological Systems
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Soil Ecology in Tropical Ecosystems
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Social-ecological Effects of Land Cover and Land Use Change on Tropical Forests
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Urbanization and Ecology of Tropical Ecosystems
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Climate Change Effects and “One Health” in the Tropics
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Ethics and Environmental Justice in Tropical Conservation
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Citizen Science and Participatory Monitoring in Tropical Ecosystems
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Microbial Biodiversity and Its Role in Tropical Ecosystems
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Sustainable Ecotourism and Its Impact on Tropical Conservation
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Water Security and Tropical Ecosystems
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Education and Capacity Building for Tropical Ecosystem Conservation
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Empowering Local Communities
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Conservation and Human Well-Being initiatives in the Tropics
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Transformations Towards More Sustainable Future Pathways for Tropical Ecosystems
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Tradeoffs and Nexus Between Food, Water, Energy and Climate Mitigation Goals in the Tropics
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Business Options for the Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity
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Indigenous and Local Knowledge, Values and World View on Tropical Biodiversity
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Decolonizing Tropical Ecology: Epistemic Justice and Reciprocity
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Gender Studies of Tropical Systems
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Data analysis and interpretation in ecology
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Conservation techniques and sustainable practices
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Advocacy and policy-making in biodiversity conservation
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Professional development and mentorship in tropical biology
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Abstracts must be submitted exclusively through the submission platform by March 6th, 2026. Submissions sent through any other channels or means will not be eligible for consideration.
Each session proposal should include:
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Title (max. 15 words): The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the work you intend to present.
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Abstract (max. 300 words): Abstracts must provide a clear and concise overview of your work. Please ensure your abstract is well-structured and, if applies, includes the following sections: Introduction / Background / Justification, Objective(s) / Hypothesis(es), Methods, Results, and Implications / Conclusions.
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Keywords: Up to 5 keywords that best represent the focus of your work.
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One sentence summary (max 30 words): A short version of your abstract.
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We welcome abstract submissions in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese as part of our commitment to celebrating diversity and fostering inclusivity in science. This initiative aims to elevate the voices of diverse communities and perspectives, providing presenters the opportunity to deliver their talks in any of these languages. To ensure accessibility for all attendees, presenters are required to prepare bilingual slides featuring both the original language of the abstract and English. This approach promotes broader understanding and engagement across the global audience.
Submission Deadline: March 6th, 2026
Notification of Acceptance: Mid April, 2026
Abstracts will be assessed using the following criteria:
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Scientific merit: Likelihood of promoting a significant advancement in our understanding of tropical biology and conservation, innovative or interdisciplinary approaches, or likelihood of novel conceptual synthesis.
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Broader impacts: Integration of science with conservation issues, impact on policy, and potential utility for conservation, among others.
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Appeal to participants of ATBC2026: Abstract should target topics that will be of interest to the ATBC community.
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Relevance to the meeting's theme: We encourage submission of abstracts that are relevant to the meeting’s theme.
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A clearly written and compelling abstract.
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To ensure a diverse range of voices and ideas, ATBC enforces the 'one presentation' rule for all speakers. This rule stipulates that each presenter is limited to only one presentation during the conference. This rule is limited to oral sessions, posters, and symposia. This policy is designed to maximize the variety of perspectives and topics covered, and to give a wider array of delegates the opportunity to showcase their work.
*The one-presentation rule does not apply for delegates that are presenting in workshops, open format sessions, field courses, or that are invited to participate in debates or as keynote speakers.
It is disruptive for the meeting program to have accepted sessions cancelled. Accordingly, please submit an abstract only if you are certain to attend the meeting and are willing to fulfill your responsibility as a presenter.
If a speaker in an oral/poster session is faced with unforeseen circumstances and needs to cancel their participation, they should notify the Organizing Committee at atbc2026@tropicalbiology.org
ATBC does not provide special financial assistance, stipends or free registration to individual speakers/participants of the conference.
For any questions related to this call, please write to us at atbc2026@tropicalbiology.org
