Guide for AAVAC presenters

Your presentation and abstract are a valuable contribution to the field of avian medicine and surgery and a great resource for avian vets, veterinary residents and students in their ongoing professional learning and research. While your presentation will benefit the learning of delegates at the conference, we make your abstract  available on the AAVAC website to be an ongoing resource for avian veterinarians.

Scope and audience of the AAVAC Conference

At the AAVAC conference, delegates are mostly veterinarians caring for pet, aviary and wild birds in general practice, specialist avian/exotic practice, academia, zoos and wildlife/conservation. Veterinary students interested in avian medicine also attend and participate in the conference. Presentations relevant to this audience such as avian case reports, research on bird health and disease, behaviour, captive management and conservation and reviews of topics in avian medicine and surgery are welcome.

If you wish to present, please first contact the AAVAC secretary (admin@aavac.com.au) or president (anthony.chamings@dpi.nsw.gov.au) with your proposed title and talk length (e.g. 15,30 mins) and they can let you know about speaker availability or if any similar talks are in the program.

Conference Abstracts

Your presentation and abstract are compiled into the digital conference proceedings and distributed to delegates at the start of the conference. After the conference, the abstracts are made publicly available as an ongoing learning resource on the AAVAC website. We therefore ask speakers to produce an extended abstract where possible. The format is flexible depending on the presentation topic. Below are some basic guidelines and some previous examples to assist your preparation.

Title: Please use a short relevant title which clearly summarizes your topic

Author(s): Please use the preferred name of each author with credentials and their current affiliation/place of work.

Summary: Provide a short 50-200 word summary of your talk

Body text: The sections within will vary depending on your talk type. A case study for example may have sections including Introduction, Clinical Report or Case History/Signalment and Discussion whereas a research project might use the more tradition section headings Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. In both cases the discussion is an opportunity to discuss findings in the context of other published results. There is no word limit, however we ask authors to write succinctly. Here are a couple of examples of abstracts from previous conferences:

References: Please use American Psychological Association style citations. A guide can be found here: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide/. An easy way to automatically organise and format references is to use reference management software such as EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley. The last two software packages have free versions to use, and EndNote is commonly available through University software libraries. Use inline citations after each referenced statement and a section titled References at the end of your abstract.

Figures and tables: Can be included in your abstract. Please ensure any figures are not pixelated after being inserted into your Word document. Figures can be supplied as separate image files in formats such as .jpg,. tif or .png if you find images are becoming pixelated in your document. Please ensure any identifying details such as patient names in radiographs are removed from images. Please ensure text in tables is legible and can fit on an A4 page (portrait or landscape).

Formatting:Please prepare your documents using a font such as Verdana or Calibri in 11pt. Please bold heading text on separate lines. Final formatting for the proceedings will be done by the editor.

Peer Review: Each abstract will be subject to peer review to ensure clarity for a veterinary audience, accuracy and consideration of the relevant literature. Authors will have an opportunity to amend abstracts post review.

Abstract Examples

Some examples of abstracts from past AAVAC conferences can be found below.

Topic review abstract examples:

Initial assessment and treatment of psittacine paediatric emergencies

Review of Isosporosis in Passerine Birds

Making a scientific presentation: You can do it!

Case study/Case Series abstract examples:

Treatment of bilateral mandibular fractures in a goose

Lead Levels in Backyard Chickens

Use of topical colchicine to treat squamous cell carcinoma in a Little Corella

Research abstract examples:

Avian Lumps and Bumps: Clinical and Histological Findings Associated with Avian Tumours, a Preliminary Review

Ringneck Pheasant Sedation Trial

Evidence of an emerging Lorikeet-associated beak and feather disease virus

Presentation Slideshows

At the conference a laptop will be setup at the lectern at the front of the room. Please bring your presentation  on a thumb drive on the day of your talk to the session chair to upload on the laptop before the start of the session in which you are presenting. The laptop will be connected to the room audio system and will be able to display videos and play audio. Presentations will be recorded so please let the session chair know if you do not wish for this to happen with your presentation.