Conference 2023
69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society
Dates: The 18th to the 22nd of September
Location: Adelaide
The 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society will be held at the University of Adelaide North Terrace Campus from Monday the 18th to Friday the 22nd of September, 2023. The conference will commence with a Student and ECR workshop at the Braggs Theatre on the afternoon of the 18th of September, followed by a Welcome Drinks mixer at the UniBar. The conference proper will start on the morning of Tuesday the 19th of September, and conclude at lunchtime on Friday the 22nd of September. Wednesday afternoon will be a rest break from presentations to enable you to either relax and take in the sights of Adelaide, join a ‘formal’ conference tour, or enjoy yourself on an ‘informal’ tour to the Barossa Valley or one of the other interesting locations that Adelaide has to offer.
Click here for the full conference schedule
There have been some last-minute updates to the conference program. Please note that you can pick up your name tag and conference merch from either the Unibar during welcome drinks or from Braggs Theatre during the conference, not Ingkani Wardli atrium as originally posted.
Conference Registration
Be sure to grab yourself a conference t-shirt when you register, designed by Adelaide University student, Kahli Gifford.
Click here to register for the 2023 AMS conference through Humanitix
Conference Venues
The main sessions on Tuesday through Friday will be held in the Braggs Theatre, with conference registration, lunches, morning and afternoon teas, and the poster session, to be held in the Ingkarni Wardli atrium next door to the theatre.
The Braggs Building at the University of Adelaide.
The Braggs Theatre.
The Ingkarni Wardli atrium.
Map of conference venues at the University of Adelaide.
Conference Dinner
The conference dinner will be held on Thursday Evening at Rooftop Bar, The Gallery, 30 Weymouth St Adelaide, following the Society AGM.
The Gallery Rooftop Bar.
Conference Program
| Date | Activity |
|
Monday 18th Sept |
Student and ECR workshop Welcome drinks at the UniBar |
|
Tuesday 19th Sept |
Day 1 of the conference Pre-lunch plenary session: Managing and measuring the impact of invasive predators for mammal conservation. Student dinner (TBA) Old Fart’s dinner (TBA) |
|
Wednesday 20th Sept |
Day 2 of the conference (morning) Pre-lunch plenary session: The role of DNA analysis in the conservation and management of mammal species Rest afternoon, with formal and informal tours available |
|
Thursday 21st Sept |
Day 3 of the conference, followed by the AGM Pre-lunch plenary session: Management of human-wildlife interactions, especially the control of over-abundant species Conference dinner at ‘The Gallery Rooftop Bar’ |
|
Friday 22nd Sept |
Day 4 of the conference (concludes at lunchtime) Pre-lunch plenary session: The role of First Nations in the conservation and management of native mammals, including the cultural significance of mammals Student and presentation awards |
Student & ECR Workshop
So you want to work with wildlife: The processes, pitfalls and benefits of getting a job after you graduate
Date/Time: Monday 18th of September, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: Braggs Theatre
Registration: Coming soon
Graduates in the early stages of their careers at four different agencies will share their experiences, and guide you through the processes involved, in developing a career working with wildlife. You will have the opportunity to ‘pick their brains’ and learn from what they went through in order to be successful in their fields. If you want to have a career in conservation or wildlife, this workshop is a must.
Speakers
Bush Heritage Australia
Patrick Taggart
Adelaide Zoo
Claire Hartvigsen-Power
Claire Hartvigsen-Power is a Conservation Ecologist with Zoos SA, born and raised on Peramangk land in South Australia. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Wildlife Conservation Biology) at the University of Adelaide, including studying migratory shorebirds for her Honours in Ecology. She has a background in field ecology and research, collaborating on conservation projects in a range of locations including Kangaroo Island, southern Yorke Peninsula, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, and the Murray Mallee. In her work with Zoos SA Claire has been responsible for managing local and regional conservation programs and overseeing a number of ex situ husbandry trials and breed-for-release projects.
SA Department of Environment and Water
Matthew Heard
South Australian Research and Development Institute
Dr Alyce Swinbourne
Dr Alyce Swinbourne is a Senior Research Scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute, specialising in reproductive biology, physiology and behaviour. She completed her Bachelor of Animal Science with Honours in Livestock production, before undertaking her Ph.D. in wombat reproduction and behaviour. Her Post Doctoral research includes both wildlife and livestock production, supervising over 20 Honours, Ph.D., Vet students and international and domestic scholarship students. As an early career researcher, Alyce has authored /co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed papers, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences for both wildlife and production animals. Alyce is always a student of life, as she has also completed a Bachelor of Teaching and is currently undertaking a Masters of Data Science.
Conference Tours
Pre-Conference Tour: Arid Recovery
Max. Capacity: 20 people
A pre-conference tour of Arid Recovery, in the north of South Australia is available for anyone who would like to go and see the work they are doing. The tour is being organised by Katherin Tuft of Arid Recovery and Jason Higham of South Australia’s Department of Environment and Water.
Details: Email expressions of interest to admin@aridrecovery.org.au by the 16th of August to reserve a spot (although, feel free to contact us after this date to be added to the waiting list).
Mid-Conference Tour #1: Tour of the SA Museum Cetacean and Skeleton Preparation Facility
Day/Time: Wednesday 20th September 1:00 PM (4 hours)
Max. Capacity: 40 people
Cost: $50
Click this link to register for Tour#1 through Humanitix
Working with the skeleton of an animal that is 20m long isn't easy. The SA Museum has the largest collection of cetaceans in Australia, most of which is stored at a facility at Bolivar just to the north of Adelaide. This facility is purpose-built for large skeleton preparation and is one of the best-equipped facilities for this work in the world. The Bolivar facility includes a five-tonne overhead gantry crane for moving specimens as well as six stainless steel heated macerating vats. Outside there is a 35,000 litre concrete tank big enough to hold the skeletons of large whales. Up to 40 marine mammals and many other vertebrate skeletons are processed for the Museum each year.
Mid-Conference Tour #2: Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year at the SA Museum
Day/Time: Any time during the conference (museum hours 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
Max. Capacity: N/A
Cost: Free
Click this link to register for Tour #2 through Humanitix
The winner of the Australian Geographic Photographer of the Year will be announced on 24 August 2023. The SA Museum is hosting an exhibition of photographs from the competition and has generously offered a free ticket to the exhibition for all conference delegates.
Mid-Conference Tour #3: Brookfield Conservation Park
The founding of the Australian Mammal Society, southern hairy-nosed wombat sanctuary, and the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve
Day/Time: Wednesday 20th September 3:00 PM
Max. Capacity: 50 people
Cost: $80
Click this link to register for Tour #3 through Humanitix
Take a trip to where it all began, Brookfield Conservation Park in the Murraylands. It was at Brookfield where the idea for the Australian Mammal Society was first born. Inspect the landscape of the southern hairy-nosed wombat and see some of the research which is currently being conducted. After a walk around the park, relax with a light meal, followed by a talk about the night sky and the world’s darkest Dark Sky Reserve.
Mid-Conference Tour #4: Barossa Valley
Day/Time: Wednesday 20th September 1:00 PM (5 hours)
Max. Capacity: 40 people
Cost: $90
Click this link to register for Tour #4 through Humanitix
Take a break from conferencing and explore the Barossa Valley, Australia’s premier wine region. You will be transported by coach to the Barossa and visit some of our best-known wineries. The tour will include wine tastings and light nibbles.
Keynote Speaker
Dr Faith Walker is an Associate Research Professor at Northern Arizona University. She is the Director of Genetics of the Species from Faeces Team, Bat Ecology & Genetics Lab, and Ancient DNA Lab, and an associate director of NAU’s Pathogen and Microbiome Institute. Her team employs a variety of tools in genetics and ecology to understand population biology and the natural and evolutionary history of organisms. She enjoys pairing degraded DNA (faeces, ancient, environmental) with emerging technologies to answer difficult questions, and her favourite questions have a management component and involve species that are scientifically intractable because they are cryptic, rare, or endangered. She started studying the southern hairy-nosed wombat in 1992 and has since performed research on bats and now anything that poops. Her team is excited about scientific discovery, innovation, and translation, and she works with many excellent collaborators.
Abstract & Presentation Guidelines
ABSTRACT GUIDELINES
The abstract submission deadline has been extended to the 25th of August!
Please submit your abstract as a Microsoft Word file to:
austmamsoc2023[at]gmail.com
Please indicate if your abstract is for a presentation, speed talk, or poster, and if you are attending in person or sending a presentation remotely.
To aid in file management please start all file names with the presentation type (presentation, speed talk or poster), the primary author's last name and initials, e.g., for John Doe, use presentation_doej.doc or speedtalk_doej.doc or poster_doej.doc.
Please use the following template to prepare your abstract: Abstract word template.
Abstracts must be written in Arial and set out according to the following guidelines:
- Title (12 point), CAPITAL letters and centred.
- Authors (12 point), please indicate the presenter in bold e.g., Smith1, Peter and Doe2, John.
- Addresses (10 point), if more than one address please use Arabic numerals as identifiers e.g., 1School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia. Please include the email address of the presenter and Twitter handle if you have one.
- Text (12 point), the body of the text should address the following: the context for the research, the research aims, a brief statement of materials and methods, results, and conclusions and significance.
- Abstracts are to be a maximum of 200 words*.
- Do not include references.
PRESENTER GUIDELINES
Please include with your abstract a short bio (no more than one paragraph) of the presenter, with a small picture, for inclusion in the online presentation handbook.
Oral presentations
All papers must be presented in person or pre-recorded, as per last year's online conference. As a general rule, only one spoken paper may be presented by each person. Standard talks will be of 15 minutes duration (12 min talk, 3 min questions). Speed talks of 5 minutes duration (4 min talk, 1 min questions).
Recordings will need to be sent as an mp4 file, strictly no longer than the allocated time for either a standard (12 minutes) or speed talk (4 minutes). To ensure the conference program is able to stick to schedule, any part of the presentation that goes beyond the time limit will be cut, including for in-person presentations.
We recommend using Zoom to record your presentation, which can be freely downloaded from https://zoom.us/. Have your presentation open on the screen, start a meeting in Zoom, share screen, select presentation, hit record and start talking. Other software, e.g. PowerPoint, can be used if preferred.
Directions on how to submit your video will be given closer to the conference.
Audio-visual facilities will include projection for PowerPoint presentations (Windows preferred, Mac available, USB possible).
Posters
The space allotted for each poster is 120cm high by 90cm wide.
Student Awards
There are several awards available to AMS student members at this year's conference. Follow the links below for nomination forms and other details. Be sure to submit nominations for the following awards with your abstract, before the closing date for abstract submissions.
The Adolph Bolliger Award is given to the best spoken presentation by a student member at the conference.
The A.G. Lyne Award is given to the best poster presentation by a student member at the conference.
Student Travel Awards are given to eligible students to assist with transport to and from the conference.
The John Seebeck Travel Award is given to a student member who has received a Travel Award and has presented the best-spoken paper or poster.
Other Awards
A number of awards are available to all AMS members. Nominations are now open and will be presented at the Annual General Meeting or conference dinner. Follow the links below for nomination forms and other details. Be sure to submit nominations before the conference.
The Ellis Troughton Memorial Award is given in recognition of the significant contribution of a member of the Society to Australian mammalogy.
The President's Early Researcher Award is made on the basis of significant research conducted during the post-doctoral period (not necessarily within a formal post-doctoral position) up to a maximum of 5 years after being awarded a PhD.
The Ronald Strahan Memorial Award is given in recognition of significant contributions to the popular understanding of Australian mammals.
For any further questions about the conference, please contact conference organisers Mike Swinbourne or Chloe Frick
With thanks to our 2023 Conference Sponsors
We are delighted to acknowledge and thank the following groups for sponsoring the conference. Their early and generous sponsorship has helped us greatly to prepare for the conference.
National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department for Environment and Water
As the leading public organisation managing and conserving wildlife in South Australia, the National Parks and Wildlife Service is sponsoring the conference and contributing to developing a better understanding of our wildlife, especially in the areas of;
- Mammal translocation and reintroduction.
- Managing and measuring the impact of invasive predators for mammal conservation.
- The role of safe havens (national priorities; islands vs mainland; fenced versus unfenced protection of introduced predator susceptible mammals).
- Bushfire impacts and recovery on mammals.
- The role of First Nations in the conservation and management of native mammals, including the cultural significance of mammals.
- Management of human-wildlife interactions (e.g., kangaroos, wombats, koalas, flying foxes)
The Field Naturalists Society of South Australia
Advanced Telemetry Systems
Advanced Telemetry Systems provides a vast range of tracking system solutions to meet the needs of a wide range of species. A comprehensive range of VHF transmitters, receivers, and antennas. GPS tracking systems such as cellular, UHF download, and Iridium satellite communications. Quality and performance at the best price.
The Australian Museum
The Australian Museum, Australia’s first museum, aims to be a leading voice for the richness of life, the Earth and culture in Australia and the Pacific. We commit to transforming the conversation around climate change, the environment and wildlife conservation; being a strong advocate for First Nations’ culture; and continuing to develop world-leading science, collections, exhibitions and education programs.
The Australian Museum is a dynamic source of reliable scientific information and a touchstone for informed debate about some of the most pressing environmental and social challenges facing our region: the loss of biodiversity, a changing climate and the search for cultural identity.
Underpinning our research is an irreplaceable collection of international standing: over 22 million objects and specimens representing a timeline of the environmental and cultural histories of the Australian and Pacific regions.
