Call for Abstracts, Mini-symposia and Workshops

The International Seaweed Symposium 2025 invites the submission of abstracts, proposals for mini-symposia and workshops starting May 5th 2024. Submissions are welcome from all sectors – academia, associations, industry, nonprofits and the broader user community of seaweeds. We will be accepting abstracts, mini-symposia, workshops on themes including:

Applications

Bioactives and human health
Biofuels
Biostimulants
Cosmetics
Extraction and purification
Feed ingredients
Functional foods
New applications of phycocolloids
Rare Earth minerals
Seaweeds as biofilters
Seaweeds as feed
Seaweeds and wastewater treatment
Seaweed extracts in agriculture

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions

Carbon uptake and allocation
Climate-driven changes in seaweed distribution/biogeography
Genomics and breeding to enhance e.g. thermal tolerance
Mechanisms of acclimation and adaptation to global change
Multiple drivers of change
Physiological and molecular responses to global change
Refugia from climate change

Ecology

Chemical ecology
Ecotoxicology
Fertilization and dispersal
Introduced seaweeds
Local environmental change (e.g. eutrophication, pollution)
Macroalgal blooms (green tides, Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt etc)
Microbiome/Holobiome
Ocean acidification
Pathogens/disease in natural and farmed systems
Population and community ecology
Restoration
Seaweed-herbivore interactions

Gastronomy

Best practices to expand seaweed in gastronomy
Seaweed as a source of natural flavours in innovative foods
Seaweed acceptance and introduction into food habits
Seaweed in food cuisines around the world
Showcasing seaweed in markets and restaurants

Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge
Traditional uses of seaweed
Seaweed in Indigenous art
Seaweed in Indigenous gastronomy
Seaweed cultivation, harvesting and aquaculture
Seaweed monitoring, management and stewardship

Seaweed Aquaculture

Breeding, elite strain development, and seedstock production
Diversity of seaweeds in Canada
Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
Impacts of aquaculture on natural seaweed populations/ invasive species
Major farmed seaweeds
Offshore, open ocean and land-based culture
Storage, processing and biorefinery
Sustainable harvesting of wild populations

Regulatory Frameworks for Industry and Restoration

Area-based management, governance and socio-economics
Balancing industrial development with ecosystem protection in regulations
Carbon accounting and forensics
Canada’s mosaic of seaweed regulations
Environmental regulation of reproduction
Permitting practices - the good, the bad, the ugly
Seaweed regulations for carbon dioxide removal
Seaweed standards & regulations
Wild harvest regulations

Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution

Seed banks to protect seaweed diversity
Coralline algae
Biogeography
Ancestral character state reconstruction from multi-gene phylogenies; evolution of novelties in seaweeds
Phylogenomics of the seaweeds, and the evolution of organelles
The diversity and physiological challenges of cryptic seaweed species

Abstract

All abstracts must be submitted through the ISS25 Online Portal no later than the abstract submission deadline of October 8, 2024.
Abstract submissions may be in the form of an oral or poster presentation.
Abstracts must be submitted and presented in English.
Individuals are allowed to submit up to a total of 5 abstracts.
Each abstract submission will be limited to a maximum of 12 authors.
For each presentation type, only one presenter will be allowed.
Length: 250 words, not including title, authors, author affiliation and abstract text.
Standard abbreviations and acronyms may be used without prior definition, but all non-standard terms must be defined where first used in the text.
The submitting author must ensure that all co-authors are aware of the content of the abstract and approve the submission.
All submissions will be acknowledged by email sent from [email protected]. If you do not receive an email, please make sure your abstract is not in “draft” mode and indeed submitted (the status will change to “submitted”) or check your junk mail folder. For any questions related to your submission, please contact the speaker management team by email [email protected].
No changes can be made to abstracts after the October 8, 2024 abstract submission deadline.
Abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee and presenting authors will be notified of presentation type, acceptance, and session theme by email sent from [email protected] in November 2024. Presenting authors will be reminded to register at this time.
All presenting authors of accepted abstracts must be registered participants.
The ISS25 Speaker Management team must receive the presenter’s registration by the Early Registration Deadline (January 13, 2025) to ensure the inclusion of the abstract in the meeting publications and the program schedule.

Mini-Symposia proposals

Mini-symposia will be 2 hours, and includes the chair and 5-6 presenters. Presenters will stay as a panel for discussion at the end of the mini-symposia. The chair will be responsible for submitting the topic and theme. Once the theme has been submitted, the chair will need to notify the presenters to submit their abstracts to the appropriate mini-symposia.

Mini-symposia submissions will close September 8, 2024, after which mini-symposia will be reviewed and notifications of submission sent out by mid-Sept. If the mini-symposia is not accepted, there is an option for abstracts to be considered for an oral or poster session in the theme selected in mini-symposia.
The mini-symposia format is for presenting related papers on a single topic.
Length: 250 words, not including title, authors, and affiliations.
Mini-symposia abstracts must be submitted and presented in English.
The mini-symposia abstract should contain the objective(s) of the mini-symposia and a concise description of each presentation in narrative form.
Standard abbreviations may be used undefined, but non-standard abbreviations must be defined. Arabic numerals should be used for numbers except when beginning a sentence.
The submitting author is required to ensure that all co-authors are aware of the content of the abstract before submission.
Presenting authors of accepted abstracts must be registered and paid participants. Registration must be received by the Secretariat by the Early Registration Deadline (January 13, 2025) to ensure inclusion of the abstract in the meeting publications and in order to be scheduled for presentation.

Workshops

All workshop proposals need to be submitted through the ISS 2025 Online Portal by October 8, 2024.

Workshop proposal should be 250 words should include objectives, learning outcomes and workshop description.
Workshops must be submitted and presented in English.
Workshop proposals will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee and organizers will be notified of by email in November 2024.
All organizers and participants must be registered and paid participants of the International Seaweed Symposium.
Workshop proposals will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee and organizers will be notified by email sent from [email protected] in November 2024.