2022 Meeting of the NC Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Morganton Community House
Morganton, NC – May 31 – June 2, 2022 (updated w/ new schedule)
Morganton Community House
Join us at the 2022 Meeting of the NC Chapter of the AFS in February. Our host will be the Morganton Community House, located at 120 N King St, Morganton, NC, 28655. Email NCAFS President-Elect Andrea Leslie if you have questions or if you are interested in assisting with meeting execution.
Quick Content Links
Schedule And Program
- Tue, May 31st
- 1000 – 1700: North Carolina Mollusk Workgroup Meeting
- 1830: NCAFS Evening Social at Fonta Flora Brewing
- Wed, June 1st
- 0800 – 1200: Registration/Continuing Education Workshop: “Using Social Science to Foster Sound Management/Conservation”
- 1200 – 1330: Lunch (on your own)
- 1330 – 1800: Registration
- 1330 – 1340: Opening Remarks
- 1340 – 1410: Plenary Speaker: Todd Amacker, “Now You See ‘Em: Photography as a Conservation Tool”
- 1410 – 1800: Contributed Papers
- 1900 – 2200: Poster Session/Dinner/Raffle
- Thu, June 2nd
- 0800 – 1300: Contributed Papers
- 1300 – 1430: Lunch (on your own)
- 1430 – 1600: NCAFS Business Meeting/Awards
Click here to view program & abstracts.
COVID Safety Protocols – Revised May 2022
Our safety guidelines for the meeting are provided below:
- We strongly encourage all attendees to be vaccinated.
- We encourage all attendees, regardless of vaccination status, to get a negative Covid test before the meeting.
- If you believe you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for Covid prior to the meeting, please follow CDC quarantine & testing guidelines. Regardless of vaccination status or recent test results, if an individual feels ill or has flu/Covid-like symptoms at the time of the meeting, they should not attend the meeting.
- Each participant will identify their level of comfort with physical contact, which will be clearly noted on their name tag with colored dots or other (e.g., OK with physical contact, fine being within 6-ft but not OK with physical contact, or wish to stay at least 6 ft away from other participants).
- Masks are not mandatory; each participant should use their own judgement as to mask or not mask.
Business Meeting Minutes & Agenda – NEW
Thanks to past Secretary/Treasurer, Kelsey Lincoln:
- Minutes from the 2021 Chapter Business Meeting are available here.
The agenda for the 2022 Chapter Business Meeting can be viewed/downloaded here.
Abstracts
Abstracts accepted for oral, lightning, & poster presentations. Topics addressing any aspect of fisheries and related aquatic sciences are welcomed, including, but not limited to, management, research, conservation, outreach and education. Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes (including a question & answer period).
Lightning Talks
5 minute talks, 2 minute question/answer for each (PowerPoint optional), for students and professionals to present new projects or programs, results from ongoing work, emerging issues, and other research or management briefs.
Poster Presentations
Posters should contain succinct headings that organize & logically display the information. Graphics should be explicit & brief. Elaboration is best done verbally, just as if it were an oral presentation using slides. A short & legible “Introduction” and a “Summary of Conclusions” are essential. The poster display should focus on (1) Hypothesis/Objective, (2) Methods, and (3) Results/Outcomes. Click to view/download detailed poster guidelines.
Submission deadline for all sessions: May 1, 2022.
How to submit an abstract:
- Complete the attached abstract submission form (click here to download).
- Attach the abstract submission form to an email with the subject line “NCAFS Meeting 2022 Abstract”.
- Email the form to both NC Program Committee Members Bryn Tracy at [email protected] and Andrea Leslie at [email protected].
All abstracts are limited to 300 words and should include clearly stated objectives, brief methods, general results, and the basic conclusion. Abstract title should appear in bold, followed by the author name(s), and affiliation(s). Please include contact information with email and phone number. If the presenter is a student, please note this on the submission. Abstracts must be submitted using the official form (example included). Please list several keywords at the end for future search capability.
Program Committee Members: Andrea Leslie, Bryn Tracy, Chris Wood, TR Russ, TJ Johnson, Jake Rash
Judges will be scoring all presentations for awards in both the professional and student categories.
Registration
Meeting early registration is $80 for professionals who are NCAFS members, $100 for non-members, $55 for students & retirees. Workshop registration is $20 for NCAFS members, $25 for non-members. Please note the following reminders:
- You may join or renew your NCAFS membership as part of registration. If you would like to pay your dues separately, visit our online membership form here. Both allow either electronic or mail-in submission & payment.
- Deadline for early registration fees ended May 13, 2022. A late fee of $10 has been added to all registration costs on the registration & payment pages after this date.
Click here to view or complete registration
Continuing Education Course
Topic: Using Social Science to Foster Sound Fisheries Management and Aquatic Conservation
Instructors: Carrie Ruhlman, Kathryn Jewell, and/or Cristina Watkins (NCWRC)
Workshop Fee: $20 for NCAFS members, $25 for non-members
Course Capacity: Unlimited
Social science can help us better understand the motivations that underlie human behavior and decisions. NC Wildlife Resources Commission social scientists will provide a crash course on social science concepts and tools that we can integrate into our work, allowing us to design effective educational messages, make better resource management decisions, and foster environmental stewardship – ultimately, pushing the needle towards a net positive for aquatic conservation.
Lodging and Reservations
We have room blocks at two locations in Morganton. The Fairfield Inn is in walking distance of the meeting location & Monday’s social, and the Hampton Inn is a 5-minute drive. Please note the cut-off dates for the room block rates!
Fairfield Inn – $129/room, rate available through 4/30/2022. Click here to book a room through the NCAFS meeting link. If the link is not working, call the hotel directly at (828) 608-0900 and request a reservation through the “NC Wildlife Commission” room block.
Hampton Inn – $104/room, rate available through 5/14/2022. Book a room by calling the hotel at (828) 432-2000 & identifying yourself as part of the NC American Fisheries Society reservation group.
Sponsors
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Presentation Scoring Criteria
Presenters: To assist you in putting together an award-winning presentation, below are the judging criteria for both professional and student papers. You may also download a .pdf version of the scoresheet.
In a 5-point category, judges award 3 points for average quality (even though average quality may be very good), 4 for above average, and 5 for outstanding.
A. Individual Components (5 points for each)
- Title – Does it accurately describe the subject?
- Introduction – Does it provide adequate background, a historical context, and justification for the study? Were the objectives and purpose clearly stated?
- Methods or Approach – Are they described with sufficient detail?
B. Content
- Structure and Organization (15 points) – Is there logical development and integration of the presentation? Is the presentation comprehensible by members of the audience not engaged in that particular specialty?
- Originality (10 points) – How valuable is the presentation in communicating and presenting unique or innovative methods, concepts, or interpretations? How relevant and significant is it to fisheries science?
- Analytical Merit (10 points) – Are the analytical methods and study design or approach adequate and appropriate?
- Technical Merit (10 points) – Are interpretations consistent with the results or evidence presented? Are limitations identified and evaluated?
C. Physical Presentation
- Delivery (15 points) – Does the presenter employ good voice quality, enthusiasm, grammar, eye contact, posture and body language, pronunciation, and articulation?
- Visual Aids (15 points) – Are the visual aids large enough, simple, understandable, relevant, and attractive?
- Timing (5 points) – Does the presenter complete the talk within the allotted time, and leave time for questions?
D. Other Considerations (5 points)
- Use this category to reward unique or attractive features which do not fit exactly into other criteria (e.g., judicious and effective use of humor). It should be considered an extra and should not be awarded automatically.
E. Comments
- Provide a brief evaluation of your impressions of each presentation. Comments will be used to break ties.