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PLOS Ecology Reporting Fellowships Program – new for #ESA2016

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PLOS Ecology is excited to announce the PLOS Ecology Reporting Fellowships Program that will provide five, $500 grants to PLOS Ecology community members to help us provide in-depth coverage of the 2016 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 7-12. Applications are due by July 11, 2016 with more information below.

 

In a recent survey, PLOS Community blog readers indicated the high value of timely conference coverage as presented in blog posts and live-tweeting by their peers. Through these fellowships, PLOS hopes to utilize the PLOS Ecology Community to provide in-depth coverage of a key disciplinary conference for ecologists who are present and also those unable to attend. We also seek to provide a channel for scientists to further develop their communication skills and to interact with both the scientific and broader communities.

 

The theme for this year’s ESA meeting is “Novel Ecosystem in the Anthropocene.” This topic has been near-and-dear to many of the PLOS Ecology community editors and bloggers. In just the past couple of months we have posted articles on restoring semi-natural grasslands in Sweden following decades of livestock disturbance, how LED lights are affecting ecological systems, and how human activity is intensifying wildfire occurrence—just to name a few. These stories only scratch the surface. We are living in a world where climate is rapidly changing and few if any places exist that are not affected by humanity. As a society, the importance of understanding how the structure and function or our ecosystems have changed, and are changing, is increasingly apparent. There are many, many stories to tell.

 

In total, five (5) fellowships of $500 will be awarded to selected individuals. To be eligible, one must be/have:

  • a PLOS Ecology Community Member (on the Community opt-in email list)—though one does not have to have published previously in a PLOS journal.
  • attend the 2016 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 7-12, 2016.
  • a practicing ecologist at any career-level, with minimum qualification being current enrollment in a graduate program at either the master’s or doctoral level.
  • proven experience as a science communicator.
  • demonstrated facility using social media (e.g. Twitter or some other social media outlet)

 

During your time at ESA 2016, we expect that you would:

  • write three (3) blog posts for PLOS Ecology; one of these to cover a PLOS paper included in the PLOS Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Collection or be a recent PLOS paper fitting this theme; two remaining posts to cover individual sessions or events at ESA 2016—with final choice of topics to be approved by PLOS Ecology lead CE, Jeff Atkins and PLOS Senior Social Media & Community Editor Victoria Costello – both of whom will be present at ESA 16.
  • live Tweet a minimum of one ESA session using the @PLOSEcology Twitter Feed.
  • participate in brief logistics planning sessions before and during ESA 2016.
  • provide receipts for travel/lodging during their attendance at ESA 2016 to PLOS.

 

Fellowship recipients will receive:

  • $500 in cash to offset travel/lodging for ESA 2016.
  • PLOS Ecology T-shirt
  • Recognition as a PLOS Ecology Reporting Fellowship recipient.

Fellowship recipients will get a 2016 PLOS Ecology t-shirt featuring everyone's favorite charismatic primate.
Fellowship recipients will get a 2016 PLOS Ecology t-shirt featuring everyone’s favorite charismatic primate.

To enter, send a writing sample (e.g. blog post, non-academic article), CV or resume, and a brief statement on which specific sessions or sub-topics of ecology at ESA 16 that you would be interested in covering to ecologycommunity@plos.org. The scientific program for ESA 2016 can be found here. The deadline for applications is July 11, 2016. Winners will be notified by July 18, 2016. Final selections will be made by the PLOS Ecology Community Editors and PLOS, taking into account the need for diversity among recipients (i.e. gender, geography, disciplinary specialty, career level, etc.).

We look forward to hearing from you!

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