Abstract submission

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION 
 

*** CAUTION, please read the following instructions BEFORE submitting your abstract  ***

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

• The abstract submission deadline is December 9th, 2025 (23:45 Central European Time, GMT+1). IT WILL NOT BE EXTENDED.
• Registration is not required at the time of abstract submission; however if the abstract is accepted, the first author must be registered by the early registration deadline on March 5th, 2026 (23:45 CET) for the oral or poster presentation to be confirmed and included in the scientific programme. 

ABSTRACT LIMIT

• You can submit only ONE abstract as the first author.
• You can be the “Primary Presenter” ONLY ONCE for any presentation (i.e. oral, short talk or poster) as the first author.
• For an abstract to be included in the scientific program (once accepted through the review process) the first author must be registered for the conference by the early registration deadline (independently of coming or not).

There is NO limit on how many abstracts a co-author can be listed on.

ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATIONS

• All authors of submitted abstracts will be notified by February 15th, 2026, as to whether their abstract has been accepted for presentation at the ECS conference. Please respect the review process, individual requests before this date will not be considered.

If you encounter any issue with the submission process, please first read the instructions below and check the step-by-step manual [here]. If the issue persists, contact the ECS webeditors.

BEST PRACTICES FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

The ECS strongly believes that all marine mammal research should strive to minimise its impact on animals. Some studies are more intrusive or invasive than others. Any potential impacts should have been weighed against the likely conservation benefits. Therefore, the ECS expects that work reported in conferences uses best practices, adheres to relevant national legislation, and is conducted under permits and licenses where required. For more information about best practices, please read the Guideline for Treatment of Marine Mammals from the Society of Marine Mammalogy endorsed by the ECS Science Advisory Committee (SAC).

Each author of an abstract submitted must have contributed significantly to the research and assume responsibility for the abstract's content.

Every abstract should contain the following components:

• a sentence stating the study objective and/or hypothesis,
• a brief statement of methods, including sample size, study period, study area
• a summary of the results
• a statement explaining the significance of your work to the field
   

Not all abstracts will follow a traditional scientific structure. Abstracts addressing management, policy, ethics, education, historical analyses, or conceptual/theoretical topics will be evaluated on their clarity, originality, and contribution to understanding or improving marine mammal science, conservation and welfare. The abstract should present a coherent argument supported by appropriate evidence or reasoning, even if it does not include a hypothesis, research methods, or quantitative results.
 

Abstracts considered to be presenting future or on-going projects without presenting any results, or describing what will be carried out may not be accepted.
 

REVIEW PROCESS

There is NO hierarchy between posters and oral presentations. All abstracts will be subject to anonymous review and selected on merit. The type of presentation is not considered a reflection of the quality and/or value of the research. However, some types of research and results are better communicated by a poster presentation while others by an oral presentation. The conference aims to present research in the most appropriate way to the maximum number of people. 

Each submitted abstract will be peer-reviewed and scored by a minimum of two independent reviewers with expertise in the specific subject area. The abstract review process will be conducted double-blind, i.e. all authors’ names will be removed before the abstract is reviewed.

Each abstract will be reviewed on 1) Scientific Rigour and Reproducibility [application of the scientific method providing a robust and unbiased approach in the design, analysis, reporting, and interpretation of results], 2) Importance/Significance [importance of the research in terms of advancing the field of marine mammal science, or the conservation and management of marine mammals], 3) Originality/Innovation [new findings or new approaches vs. updates, modifications to older findings, or routine applications of well-established research methods]. Please take this into consideration when writing your abstract. 

Abstracts rated with poor Scientific Rigour and Reproducibility may be rejected.

Reviewers might flag abstracts for which they have best practice concerns (more info here), and these will be reviewed by the SAC. If you believe that providing more detail may help the reviewer in deciding whether to flag your abstract to the SAC, please use the designated text box during abstract submission.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION PROCESS

All abstracts need to be submitted via the “Submit an abstract” button at the top of this page. This will open a form that includes the following sections. 

If you have not completed all required sections you will not be able to submit the abstract. Please check that your abstract follows the “Best Practices for Abstract Submission” and "Review process" above before starting the submission.
 

   1. Authors names and affiliations

Please provide the authors’ names, surnames and affiliations. Multiple first names must be separated by a space. Add authors sequentially from first to last author. 

   2. Abstract title and text

Abstract title: Provide the title of the presentation. Do not capitalise the title and refrain from using special characters. The maximum number of characters is 180, otherwise the title will be truncated.

Abstract text: Enter the abstract text as one continuous paragraph. Do not include title, authors, or affiliations. Do not indent the first line of the paragraph. 
The word limit for the abstract text is 300 words. As the abstract is typed or pasted, a word count box will show the number of words. If your abstract has more than 300 words, the system will block the submission. 

   3. Topics, keywords and taxonomy

Topic: You will need to identify a main topic for your abstract submission. Each topic is accompanied by a brief description to help you decide which is most relevant for your submission. There are 9 major topics from which to choose, and ‘Other’ should you feel it does not fall within the bounds of the other nine. Topics are not all mutually exclusive, so please submit your abstract under that topic which you feel best suits your research. You will also have the option to choose a secondary topic. Here are the topics:

• Ecology: A broad topic of empirical and applied research in marine mammal ecology, including studies relating to diet, trophic and foraging ecology, predator-prey interactions, and ecosystem function.
• Abundance and distribution: Studies focusing on the distribution and abundance of marine mammals, including how these change through space and time. Studies on the ecological determinants of distribution (e.g. ecological niche modelling) should also be submitted to this topic. This may include studies based on visual, acoustic or telemetry methods, and photo-identification surveys.
• Anatomy & Physiology: Research on the study of the form, function and structure of marine mammals and their features, including aspects of outward appearance.
• Health & Welfare: Research relating to the health and welfare of both captive and wild animals. This may include studies investigating stranding, mortality events and causes, diseases, toxicology, and other health and welfare investigations. Additionally, we encourage submissions on standard operating procedures on health assessments and incident responses that ensure good animal welfare outcomes.
• Human interactions and climate change effects: Research on human activities and climate change effects on marine mammal populations, species and their habitats. Studies may relate to movements, vital rates, polar ecology, or changes in metocean conditions and physical habitat alteration, as well as direct and indirect marine mammal interactions with fisheries, marine traffic, pollution, whale-watching, etc.
• Conservation and management: Research on the status, conservation, and management of marine mammals, their habitats and ecosystems, including management measures, law and policy, industrial activity and impact assessments. Studies on other topics (e.g. ecology; behaviour) that have conservation implications are best submitted to their respective scientific topics.
• Genetics and evolution: Studies making use of molecular methods to understand marine mammal ecology and evolution. This includes studies focusing on population genetics, genomics, eDNA, phylogenetics and evolution of marine mammals. Studies on molecular ecology should also be submitted under this topic.
• Behaviour: Studies of behaviour in an ecological context and as an evolutionarily adaptive trait, or in the context of anthropogenic influences and of culture in marine mammals. This may include studies closely tied to behaviour, cognition, and psychology.
• Emerging topics: Studies focused on the development and application of emerging technologies. Novel and creative uses of existing technologies to the field of marine mammal science can also be submitted to this topic. Studies analysing emerging trends in research, new areas of research focus, or new problems that are of emerging relevance.
• Other: If your research does not fit into any of the broadly defined major topics.

Keywords: You will need to select some keywords relevant to your abstract to help assign reviewers. You will be able to select keywords from the following list:

• Conservation and Management: Marine Protected Areas ; Policy, regulations
• Human interactions and climate change effects: Bycatch & Fisheries interactions ; Climate change ; Pollution (chemical pollution, marine litter, noise) ; Historical Perspectives and Natural history ; Ship collisions ; Marine renewable energy ; Whale watching ; Strandings
• Ecology : Acoustic monitoring ; Feeding/Foraging ; Life history ; Habitat use
• Abundance and distribution: Abundance estimates ; Remote sensing ; Assessment of distribution ranges ; Population dynamics ; Ecological niche modelling ; Movements
• Behaviour: Atypical behaviours ; Breeding/Reproduction ; Communication ; Natural behaviour ; Social interactions
• Genetics and Evolution: Population structure ; Molecular Ecology; Phylogenetic relationships; Phylogeography ; Functional genomics ; Natural selection and adaptation ; Epigenetics ; Environmental DNA
• Anatomy and physiology: Anatomy ; Physiology ; Comparative morphology ; Developmental anatomy ; Energetics ; Biomarkers
• Health and Welfare: Microbiology ; Parasitology ; Toxicology ; Pathology ; Immunology ; Captivity & Rehabilitation ; Strandings ; Unusual Mortality events ; Ethics
• Emerging topics: New technologies/methods ; New topic ; New regulation ; Novel application of existing technology

    4. Presentation type

Presentation type: Here you will select your preferred presentation type (poster, short or long talk). 

The author can indicate their preferred presentation type. However, the Scientific Committee can consider that another format is most appropriate. The available options are:

• Poster presentation: offers a more intimate forum for information exchange among the audience than an oral presentation.
• Oral presentation: 12 minutes for your presentation, two minutes for questions and one minute for transition.
• Short talk: 4 minutes for your presentation during which you may present key ideas, results and their meaning/implication, followed by 1 minute for transition.

Language support for non-native English speakers: We now have a language support system for non-native English speakers! 

If English is not your first language and you would like assistance during the Q&A session to feel more confident presenting your work orally, please indicate this at abstract submission. If your work is chosen for an oral presentation, we will contact you to provide assistance. We will then pair you with a fellow speaker of your native language who is also fluent in English to support you during the Q&A (e.g. ensuring you understand the questions or help formulating your answer).
If you need more information, please contact our language support coordinator here: language.support@europeancetaceansociety.eu

   5. Finish and submit

Once all sections have been filled, you will need to PREVIEW your abstract, and then SUBMIT it for the submission to be effective.

Student award eligibility

If you are eligible for a student award (i.e. currently enrolled as a student, or have been enrolled within 12 months of the conference), you will be able to apply at Registration once your abstract has been reviewed and accepted. Applicants must have a valid student ID card which they will need to present at the conference. If the student is the first author, a supervisor will need to sign a declaration form stating that “I the undersigned, affirm that the work presented in this abstract is primarily that of the first (student) author” when registering at the conference.

Student grant

Limited funds are available to provide grants towards travel/subsistence costs for students (and occasionally others). If you wish to be considered please select as appropriate. If you are earning a salary you are not eligible. The grants are intended for cases of genuine hardship. Please think carefully before applying for a grant. 

Guidelines for Presenters

Guidelines for Presenters will include indications for the poster dimensions and printing option as well as a 11:9 slide template for conference talks. They will be available later.