Ecological Society of America

May 7, 2012 - Dry rivers, vibrant with culture and life

WASHINGTON-'When the River Runs Dry' is a familiar song in Australia. Some rivers in the arid center of the continent flow only after a stiff monsoon season, and smaller tributaries all over the country commonly shrink to puddled potholes and dry river beds during the dry season. But rivers also run dry in more temperate climes. Much of the upper reaches and feeder streams of the great rivers of North America, and even the mighty Amazon, dry out seasonally.

ESA's 97th Annual Meeting Explores Life on Earth: Preserving, Utilizing and Sustaining our Ecosystems in Portland, Ore.
Aug. 5-10, 2012

Jane Lubchenco, an Oregon State marine ecologist and head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will open the six day meeting with a keynote address on Sunday, August 5th, at 5:00 p.m. 

"Guru of old growth" Jerry F. Franklin, professor of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, and ethno-botanist Nancy Turner of the University of Victoria will also present plenary lectures.

 The meeting is expected to draw more than 4,300 scientists, policy makers, educators and concerned citizens to share emerging research.

Find registration, program, field trip, and other meeting information is at http://www.esa.org/portland/. Look for symposia and oral presentation titles to be posted in May.

Please note that all abstracts are embargoed until 12:00 a.m. EDT on the day of their presentation.

• Interested press should contact Liza Lester at llester@esa.org or 202-833-8773 #211 to register.
• Access ESA's scientific journals. For free press access, contact Liza Lester.
• Find an expert source on our Rapid Response Team.

ESA provides periodic and invitation-based communications training workshops for scientists. Ecologists learn how to describe their research directly and succinctly and to respond to tough questions from the press.