Have a question for AOS 2025 organizers? Check out the answers to our frequently asked questions (FAQ) below for a possible answer. If your question isn’t answered in the FAQ, please reach out to us using the Help Desk form below.


AOS 2025 FAQ

Q: What amenities does the Hyatt Regency offer?

A: The hotel features:

  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Fitness center
  • On-site dining options
  • Business center
  • Walking distance to restaurants, the Gateway Arch, and attractions

Q: Where will the keynote, sessions, and plenaries be held?

A: All sessions, plenaries, and networking events will take place at the Hyatt Regency’s conference and ballroom spaces. A full schedule with room assignments will be provided in the program before the meeting.


Q: Is there Wi-Fi available in the meeting spaces?

A: Yes, complimentary wi-fi will be available in Guestrooms and Public Spaces. 


Q: Will materials be provided for hanging posters?

A: Yes, push pins will be provided at the poster sessions.
Posters should be no larger than 4 feet by 4 feet (48 inches by 48 inches).


Q: I’m planning to share a room with multiple people, how will the hotel handle splitting up the costs?

A: If you’re looking for a roommate to share the cost of lodging at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch, please first register for the meeting before booking your lodging. Upon registration, we will provide a link to the AOS 2025 meeting Slack in your confirmation email, where you can join the #room_ride_sharing channel to connect and coordinate with other meeting registrants to try to find a roommate. 

For guests wanting to share a room, the hotel will require each guest to provide a major credit card upon check-in. The hotel will hold $75 per person, per night. Each guest will receive their own folio.


Q: Will food be provided as part of the Annual Meeting?

A: AM & PM Snack Breaks will be provided Tuesday through Friday. The Opening Reception will provide light refreshments. The Closing Ceremony will include refreshments. 


Q: Will we be provided drink tickets?

A: We will not be providing drink tickets. There may be a cash bar available at some events.


Q: Will there be organized birding trips?

A: Yes! There will be organized morning bird walks (with volunteer bird guides), as well as field trips before and after the meeting (several of which will be bird-focused). The list of field trips, along with sign-ups, and morning bird walk schedule will be posted closer to the meeting date.


Q: Is the venue wheelchair accessible?

A: Yes, the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch is fully accessible. If you need additional accommodations, please contact the organizers in advance.


Q: How can I ensure that my dietary restrictions will be accommodated in the food provided?

A: We strive to offer meal options that accommodate a wide range of dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and more. While we do our best to provide suitable choices, please note that availability may vary.


Q: How many abstracts / presentations can I submit? 

A: Attendees who have been invited to present in an accepted symposium have the option to additionally submit an abstract for a contributed oral presentation. However, if we have more oral presentation submissions than we can support, those who are already presenting in a symposium will be asked to give a poster. 


Q: Can I submit a pre-recorded or virtual presentation for AOS 2025?

A: AOS 2025 will be an exclusively in-person meeting and we will not have the capacity to support pre-recorded or virtual presentations.


Q: My original abstract in English is under 250 words; however, when I translated this abstract to Spanish, I just can’t get it down to 250 words without changing the meaning. Is it ok if the Spanish translation of my abstract is over the word limit if my English abstract is under? 

A: We increased the Spanish abstract text box to 2,000 characters for this reason.


Q: What should I know about the timing and format of an oral presentation?

A: Oral presentations in general and symposia sessions will be 12 minutes long with an additional 2 minutes for Q&A. There will be a 1-minute transition period between talks to allow time for attendees to move between rooms.

Only Microsoft PowerPoint or PDF files not exceeding 450 MB will be accepted for oral presentations. If you made your presentation using Google Slides or Keynote, we recommend you save these files as PDFs to retain their layout. If your file exceeds the storage limit or if you have a video as part of your presentation, please contact meeting@americanornithology.org at least 24 hours in advance of your presentation to receive instructions.

If you are making your presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, the slides should be in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. To set up this aspect ratio in PowerPoint, click on the “Design” tab in the ribbon menu at the top of the screen and under the “Slide Size” Option select “Widescreen (16:9)” from the dropdown menu.

All video files embedded in presentations must be saved in a .mp4 format. If you are making your presentations in PowerPoint for Mac and are including video files, make sure that the videos are saved in a .mp4 format for compatibility with a PC. Click here for more detailed instructions.


Q: Where and when should I upload my oral presentation?

A: AOS 2025 presentations will be submitted through the Speaker Portal (please note that the option to upload your presentation will be available by July 28). Login using your AOS Member Portal username and password (same as what you used when submitting your abstract). 

Presentations must be uploaded no later than the day before your presentation by 23:59 CDT (GMT -5). For example, all presentations on 12 August need to be uploaded by 23:59 CDT on 11 August. Note that speakers will NOT be allowed to upload updated versions of their presentation directly onto the laptop before their session. Just in case there is an issue with the submitted file, please have a copy of your presentation available on a USB flash drive at the conference. 

Files will need to use the following name format

[Date of Presentation]_[Session Time]_[Last Name]

Example: 120825_A_Walsh for a presentation in the morning session on 12 August 2025 by Walsh

  • Date of Presentation: DDMMYY (day month year ex: 12 August 2025 is 120825)
  • Session Time: A = Morning (10:30-12:00), B = Early afternoon (13:30-15:00), C = Late afternoon (15:30-17:00)
  • Last Name: Last Name as written in the scientific program

Note that no spaces should be included in the presentation names. Name the file using this format prior to uploading and then also enter this name in the ‘Title’ field when you upload. Failure to use this naming format runs the risk of your file not being on the computer in your session when you arrive to give your talk. Please use these instructions to help make sure this does not happen.


Q: Is there a place at the conference where I can practice my oral presentation?

A: All conference presentations will be conducted on PCs running Microsoft Windows. It is recommended that you test your presentation on a PC before the conference. We will also have some PCs located at the Registration Desk for this purpose.


Q: What should I know about the format of my poster presentation?

A: The poster boards at the conference can accommodate posters with a maximum size of 121 x 121 cm (4’ x 4’), so please design and print your poster accordingly. AOS will not print out posters for presenters. Push pins for mounting posters will be available at the conference venue. We encourage the use of English for your posters; however, if presentations are in a language other than English, bilingual posters are strongly encouraged.

Poster sessions take place in the Grand Ballroom B. You will need your poster number to find your assigned location. Posters can be set up starting at 12:00 on Monday, 11 August. We ask that presenters hang their posters as soon as possible and keep them up throughout the meeting. That way attendees can stop by between sessions and during breaks, in addition to the poster sessions. Posters should be removed on the morning of the last day of the meeting, before 13:30 on Friday 15 August. Presenting authors scheduled for Poster Session 1 are expected to be present at their poster on Tuesday, 12 August, 19:00–21:00 pm. Presenting authors scheduled for Poster Session 2 are expected to be present at their poster on Wednesday, 13 August, 19:00–21:00 pm.


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