8th International Swan Symposium

November 23rd - 26nd, 2026 in Hamburg, Germany

ABOUT

The 8th International Swan Symposium of the IUCN SSC Swan Specialist Group will be held in Hamburg, Germany from the afternoon of Monday 23rd November to the evening of Thursday 26th November 2026.

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for submitting abstracts: 1st July
Opening of registration (approximately): 15th July
Acceptance notifications to authors: 1st August
Finalising the programme: 15th August
Closure of early-bird registration: 1st September
Closure of late registration: 1st November
Symposium in Hamburg: 23-26th November

 

 

VENUE
The symposium will take place at the Museum am Rothenbaum – Cultures and Arts of the World, in short: MARKK. Located in central Hamburg on Rothenbaumchausee 64, the museum is easily accessible by public transportation. The nearest underground (Metro) station is Hallerstraße U-Bahn station, and from there it takes a 5 min walk along the Rothenbaumchaussee to the venue for the symposium. At MARKK, we will have access to the large lecture hall, which has retained its charm since its early days. For a visual tour, follow this Link, click on Play and then choose from right Navigation panel e.g. “Large Lecture Hall”.

ACCOMMODATION
Hamburg is a large city offering a wide range of options to accommodate you according to your individual tastes and budgets. Therefore, we recommend using common platforms or apps such as, for example, booking.com as the most convenient way for you to see and compare those many options. Several hotels are located nearby on the same street as the symposium venue, i.e. on Rothenbaumchaussee, mainly within mid to elevated price range. Budget options are likely to be found at somewhat further distance, but still easily reachable by public transport (e.g. by U-Bahn).

PROGRAMME
The programme will start in the (late) afternoon of Monday 23rd November (registration, opening), followed by two full days (Tue-Wed) of inspiring presentations and discussions. Thursday 26th November, we plan to go on excursion, to see swans of course, but also to visit the Christmas market(s) in the beautiful Hanseatic city of Lübeck (which is, noteworthy, the birthplace of marzipan). Back in Hamburg, we will end the conference with a banquet.

REGISTRATION
Registration will open by (approximately) 15th July.

The early bird registration fee will be 270 EUR; the late date registration fee will be 330 EUR. The fee will cover access to the full programme and presentations, usage of facilities, conference lunches and coffee breaks, welcome session, full day excursion and conference banquet (on 26th November).
Registration fee for attending/presenting remotely will be 60 EUR. In case you have a voucher (pre-arranged with organizers) please enter it in the registration form.

Proceed to payment:
Please note that payments are handled via the Eventim.light tool below, which offers a range of secure payment options. Any additional fees associated with using this service are already included in the price of the e-ticket.

 

ABSTRACTS
Please submit your abstract so that we can put together an exciting scientific programme! We would love to see many of you in person in Hamburg. Due to various restrictions, this may not be possible for everyone. Therefore, we will provide the option to contribute remotely with a pre-recorded talk.All presenters are expected to register for the symposium.

Please fill in the form below to submit your abstract. Deadline is the 1st of July.

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING YOUR TALK OR POSTER

• Presentations on any aspects of swan biology, ecology and conservation are welcomed. Topics may include, but are not limited to: habitat use and site selection, foraging ecology, behaviour, natural history, population trends and dynamics, genetics studies, migration and movements, breeding biology and the outcome of conservation initiatives. We would particularly welcome presentations focussed on: (1) Threats to swan species, (2) Effects of climate change (3) Habitat/landscape use (3) Population surveys and monitoring, and (4) Outcomes of conservation action.
• Abstracts should be limited to 300 words. The abstract should be concise and focus on the study’s main aims and findings. Names and affiliations for all authors must be provided. See the Abstract Submission section for details.
• Oral presentations should be prepared as PowerPoint slides and structured to run for 15 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for questions. If, during programme compilation, the SPC determines that a deviation from this structure is necessary, you will be informed.
• Information on potentially preferred PowerPoint aspect ratios and poster dimensions will be provided in due course.

ORGANISERS & CONTACTS
Contact local organisers: Goetz.Eichhorn@NABU.de 
Contact Scientific Programme Committee: B.Nolet@nioo.knaw.nl

LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Götz Eichhorn (chair), Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Frauke Mohrwinkel, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Sabine Urban, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME COMMITEE
Prof. Bart A. Nolet (chair), Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Prof. Kenneth Abraham, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry, Peterborough, Canada
Dr. Preben Clausen, Dept. Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Dr. Götz Eichhorn, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Prof. Cao Lei, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Dr. Eileen Rees, IUCN SSC Swan Specialist Group, Derbyshire, UK
Dr. Radosław Włodarczyk, Dept. Biodiversity Studies and Bioeducation, University of Łódź, Poland