Note: Some information on this page is no longer current due to the COVID-19 situation. An update is in progress.
Coral reefs are at a critical junction due to a variety of stressors, casting doubts on the future of reef health globally. It is becoming increasingly clear that by the end of this century the structure, function, and services of most coral reef ecosystems will be drastically altered from their current state. Research over the past decades has been dedicated to developing predictive models of reefs and their environments. This involves responses of coral reefs, from the microbial to the ecosystem level, to projected changes and interactions with human societies. It is therefore timely to systematically take stock of the accumulated knowledge on coral reef composition and function with an eye towards the future. This outlook has to consider the socio‐economic and governance aspects in decisions that need to be taken for effective reef management.
The ICRS 2021 scientific program will therefore cover a wide range of subject areas and disciplines concerning coral reefs of the past, the present, and the future. ICRS 2021 will feature contributions ranging from geological, palaeontological, and geobiological subjects to contemporary descriptions of reef status, processes and changes including mechanisms of coral bleaching and diseases. Predictive models of reef functions, emerging technologies, conservation, restoration, and management of novel reef ecosystems are also in the thematic focus of ICRS 2021.
The overarching theme of ICRS 2021 is “Tackling the Challenging Future of Coral Reefs”.
Under this umbrella, ICRS 2021 aims to address key scientific questions, such as:
The ICRS 2021 session program is divided into 15 overarching themes, composed of specialised and open sessions, which will form the framework of the scientific program.
The scientific program comprises 97 selected sessions aimed at covering the broad spectrum of topics and disciplines of the global coral reef community.
Please take a look at the many sessions proposed and submit your abstract!
Due to the new hybrid strategy, we extend the deadline for abstract submission until October 15th. This provides the opportunity to participate on-site, online, or both – and gives the necessary time to prepare new abstracts. We now particularly invite abstracts from people that want to join online only, but of course also abstracts from people that want to join on-site can be submitted until the new deadline. During the submission process, people are now asked to indicate if their submission should be presented online only. We have introduced this in order to get more quantitative information about the interest for the online component of ICRS 2021 Hybrid. As with the on-site submissions, all new abstracts will be evaluated for quality in a double-blind mode, and abstract submitters will be notified of acceptance beginning of 2021.
Only during registration (opens in early 2021), participants decide whether they want to present and register for the on-site event, online only, or both components of ICRS 2021 Hybrid. This means that participants who have already submitted their abstracts can switch to the online presentation later during registration, if the development of the pandemic makes this necessary. Registration fees for the online only option will be approximately 50 % of the rate for the on-site event.
For all queries, please contact: office@icrs2021.de
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