Nga mai ki Rotorua. Welcome to Rotorua and the 2024 New Zealand Ecological Society conference.

We invite our community with an interest in Ecology and all of its aspects to come together in Rotorua, Aotearoa New Zealand from 25 - 29 November for the 2024 New Zealand Ecological Society Conference.

The 2024 Conference theme 'How Ecology Shapes our World' recognises the importance of ecology in all facets of our lives. We welcome all delegates from wherever you have come from within Aotearoa, or around the world. We hope you enjoy your time in our unique city and region.

The conference will begin with a student only day at Toi Ohomai on Monday 25 November. The conference officially starts for all delegates on Tuesday 26 November and runs through until Thursday 28 November at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre. We have eight keynote speakers, with 170 oral presentations and about 40 posters, as well as three workshops. On the Friday 29 November we have two field trips. One is to a geothermal site at Waimangu Valley and Lake Rotomahana. The second field trip is to Lake Ōkataina and Tauranganui, a journey through Ngā Tarāwhai ancestral lands.

We have a diverse range of symposia, and we are grateful for all of the leads in helping put these together. The symposia represent many parts of ecology within Aotearoa, and beyond.

Symposia:

Tākiri te atu – Mangauranga Māori and Ecology
Ecological impacts of Tropical Cyclones
Ecology in a post-truth world
Ecology in an urban environment
Environmental change in below ground ecosystems
How invasions misshape our world
Indigenous forest restoration and protection, lessons from Aotearoa New Zealand’s long conservation movement to address emerging threats
Harnessing ecological sciences to improve primary industry sustainability, productivity and resilience
Measuring and managing carbon in New Zealand’s ecosystems
Pekapeka, how they shape our world and they shape ours
Plant ecology in a changing climate

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During the development of the programme a number of themes have also developed from the submitted abstracts including:

Invertebrates
Lizards
Ecosystems and plant ecology
Plant development and morphology
Plant-animal interactions
Biodiversity and modelling
Freshwater ecology
Marine ecology
Invasive species

There will also be three workshops:

Hitchhikers Guide to writing compelling scientific papers quickly and easily (Part 1)
Hitchhiker’s guide to the publishing process (Part 2)
Acoustic Localisation Workshop

We would like to thank the contribution of our organising committee and to thank the many sponsors and exhibitors supporting the conference. The sponsors and exhibitors have helped make the conference possible, and have reduced the cost of hosting this conference and registration fees in this challenging economic time. At the time of updating this welcome note, the sponsors are as follows - Event partners: Waikato Regional Council and Wildland Consultants. Major Sponsors: Scion, Timberlands, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, New Zealand Ecological Society Kauri Fund. Supporting sponsors: University of Auckland, Department of Conservation, Te Uru Rākau/New Zealand Forest Service, Red Stag, People+Cities+Nature, and the Journal of Applied Ecology. Event supporters: Toi Ohomai. Please visit and talk to the exhibitors at the conference including Frontier Labs, Faunatech, Ruru, Pathfinder, Bushcast, Altitude Conservation, and NZ Autotraps.

The New Zealand Ecological Society last held a conference in Rotorua in 2011. We are very excited to bring the conference back to our place in 2024. With our unique geothermal habitats, beautiful lakes, indigenous and plantation forests, special flora and fauna, and rich culture in the first bilingual city in Aotearoa, there will be something for everyone.

We look forward to welcoming you to Rotorua.

Your 2024 Conference Convenors,

Chris Bycroft & Jo McQueen (Wildland Consultants Ltd)

The New Zealand Ecological Society (NZES) promotes the study of ecology and the application of ecological knowledge in all its aspects since 1951. The peak professional body for ecologists in NZ, representing 490 members from academia, Crown Research Institutes, government, consultancies and industry.