eDSBS

 

Welcome to eDSBS – the Deep-Sea Biology Society’s first ever online conference!

#eDSBS2020
19-21 August 2020

 

For Schedule click here

For Abstracts click here

 
About

eDSBS was the first online meeting organised by the Deep-Sea Biology Society. Due to Covid19 global pandemic preventing the normal conference cycle of 2020, the trustees of the Society decided that priority would be given to early-career researchers who needed to present their work as part of their career milestones.

eDSBS was not a replacement for the normal deep-sea biology in-person meetings (e.g the Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, the Deep-Sea Coral Symposium or the Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems meetings). The cycle of these physical meetings is planned to continue from 2021.

eDSBS hosted the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society, where Trustees presented the Society’s financial reports and overview of activities for 2019/2020, award prizes, and plans for 2020/2021.


The Meeting in Numbers
  • +350 attendees
  • 82 Talks
  • 67 Posters
eDSBS group photo taken during the 2020 AGM

Meeting Format

The format for the online meeting was semi-synchronous. Presenters were able to present their talk during live events (using Zoom) scheduled at the best times for each session, depending on participant composition, to enable people to have live questions and discussion, just like in a normal conference. All talks were recorded and subsequently uploaded on the main meeting website (hosted in Thinkific), where they were available for up to 14 days after the live presentation. Therefore, no matter the time zone of the participants or the speed of their internet connection, they could login to the main meeting website, open the sessions, go through the talks (recorded videos) in order and participate in text-based discussion chat to ask questions. Poster presentations were not presented live, however, all posters were available in poster halls on the main meeting website for the whole duration of the conference, each supported by text-based discussion chat, in addition to an online poster browsing session (using Zoom).


Virtual Platforms

The eDSBS virtual infrastructure was shared between three main platforms: Thinkific, Zoom and Slack. The Society website and Twitter #eDSBS2020 were used as complementary communications.


Q&A Protocol

In the absence of face-to-face interaction, we wanted to encourage participants’ interactions as if they were happening in a physical venue. Knowing questions were really important, three main ways for the Q&A interactions were set up:

  • Live on Zoom: Each presentation was followed by a 5-minute Q&A period, where the Chair selected specific questions that participants submitted through the Zoom Chat.
  • Chat-based on Thinkific: Each presentation and poster had their own virtual room where participants could start a conversation with the author or engage in other threads.
  • Chat-based on Slack: Participants could post general questions to the main channel or write a Direct Message to the presenter.

Code of Conduct

The meeting observed a strict code of conduct to ensure that participants were comfortable sharing their slides and posters. Note that only logged-in registered members of the Society were  able to see these talks, and it was not possible to download video files.

Access the code of conduct of meeting here.

All uploaded content was deleted following the end of the meeting.


Scientific Committee

Malcolm Clark, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand

Erin Easton, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA

Adrian Glover, Natural History Museum, London, UK

Steve Haddock, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA

Santiago Herrera, Lehigh University, USA

Ily Iglesias, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Andrea Quattrini, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, USA

Julia Sigwart, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

Paris Stefanoudis, University of Oxford, UK

Chris Yesson, Zoological Society of London, UK


Meeting Coordinators

Sergio Cambronero, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

Leann Biancani, University of Maryland College Park & Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Franziska Elmer


Sponsors

The eDSBS meeting was generously supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Gordon and Betty Moore established the foundation to create positive outcomes for future generations. In pursuit of that vision, we foster path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.

 


Logo credits

eDSBS logo design by Giacomo Moggioli (Queen Mary University of London). See www.instagram.com/kelp_art for more examples of his artwork and https://www.martinduranlab.com for research updates.

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