The local conference organizing committee is now accepting abstracts for the 68th International Wildlife Disease Association Annual Conference. The conference theme is “Connecting Wildlife Health, Conservation, and Management in a Changing World.”

The Scientific Program Committee encourages abstracts that address the provisional themes listed below. General and concurrent themed oral sessions will be developed based on the scientific quality of the contributions and the number of abstracts submitted on each topic.

Provisional Themes

• AAWV/AAZV: Veterinary Challenges in Field Conservation
• Animal Handling and Immobilization
• Climate Changes and Wildlife Disease
• Conservation Medicine
• Effects of Catastrophic Events on Wildlife (e.g. fires, drought, floods, environmental contaminants, oil spills, hurricanes and algal blooms)
• Emerging Diseases and Conservation of Herpetofauna
• Freshwater and Marine Fish Health
• Interface of Wildlife, Humans, Livestock and Companion Animals
• Information Technology for Wildlife Management (e.g. citizen science, remote sensing, mobile apps, web reporting)
• Pathogen Pollution from Invasive Species
• Ocean/Marine Health
• Outbreak Investigation and Response
• Rehabilitation Centers as Sentinels for Wildlife Population Health
• Technological Advances (e.g. diagnostics, field techniques, vaccines, imaging, anesthesia and drug administration)
• Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
• Wildlife Diseases on Island Communities

AAWV/AAZV: Veterinary Challenges in Field Conservation

The American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians (AAWV) and American Association for Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) are pleased to announce a jointly sponsored session. The theme of the session is "Veterinary Challenges in Field Conservation". The session will emphasize projects that highlight veterinary work and the collaboration among veterinarians working in field and zoo environments, biologists, researchers and conservationists. The session will highlight important work by veterinarians and critical partnerships with other wildlife and health professionals. This is the first-ever WDA-session to be co-sponsored by AAWV and AAZV.

Oral Presentations

Abstract submissions will be grouped to form thematic sessions. These sessions will be used to prepare the program agenda of scheduled presentations. To allow as many people as possible to give a talk, all authors are limited to giving a maximum of one oral presentation, however, you may be a co-author on other presentations or submit multiple abstracts for poster presentation.

Poster Presentations

Posters will be on display throughout the conference inside the Exhibit Hall where all networking functions will be held, allowing plenty of time for poster viewing, discussion and presenter interaction.

Registration Required to Participate

All presenters (both poster and oral) need to register for the conference no later than [dd/mm/yyyy] to confirm participation.

Abstract Preparation and Formatting Instructions

Click the sample abstract linked below to access the pre-formatted template to prepare your abstract.

NOTE: Students who are WDA members and would like to be considered for the Student Awards Competition must follow these abstract guidelines and criteria. Select the "Student" Submission Category on the abstract submission form. All others should follow the guidelines below.

• Abstracts should be one paragraph without subheadings
• The main body (excludes title, authors, etc.) should not exceed 300 words and should include:
  • An introductory statement that outlines the background and significance of the study
  • A succinct description of the basic methodologies
  • A clear indication of the major findings of the study
  • A concluding statement
• Do not incorporate graphs or figures
• Use italics for scientific terms, subscript for scientific formulas and superscript for mathematic equations and affiliations
• List the senior author first and BOLD the presenting author’s name
• Do not include professional titles for authors. For affiliations, do not include the mailing address or zip code
• For all other formatting, we recommend you use the abstract template provided
• When completing the online submission form, provide contact information for the presenting author only

After you successfully complete the submission process, a confirmation form is instantly generated on your screen.

A copy of this confirmation is also emailed to you. Keep a copy on file for your records.