Meetings

A general meeting of the society members is held every two years at the biennial meeting of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology.

These minutes are published in the society's newsletter in the fall following the meeting. An archive of the Newsletters can be found on the newsletter's webpage. Minutes from past meetings are posted below.

1986 - Albany, USA (Planning Meeting; Jerram Brown, Thomas Caraco, Christopher Barkam, David Steadman; 367 participants) - Meeting minutes
1988 - Vancouver, Canada (Mart Gross, Ron Ydenberg; 460 participants) - Meeting minutes
1990 - Uppsala, Sweden (Staffan Ulfstrand; 468 participants) - Meeting minutes
1992 - Princeton, USA (Dan Rubenstein, Peter Grant; 766 participants) - Meeting minutes
1994 - Nottingham, UK (Chris Barnard; 521 participants) - Meeting minutes
1996 - Canberra, Australia (Andrew Cockburn, Mark Elgar; 565 participants) - Meeting minutes
1998 - Asilomar, USA (Walt Koenig, Janis Dickinson; 588 participants) - Meeting minutes
2000 - Zurich, Switzerland (Paul Ward, Barbara Konig, Wolf Blanckenhorn, Paul Schmid-Hempel; 676 participants) - Meeting minutes
2002 - Montreal, Canada (Luc-Alain Giraldeau, Donald Kramer; 701 participants) - Meeting minutes
2004 - Jyväskylä, Finland (Rauno Alatalo, Taru-Maija Heilala, Janne Kotiaho, Johanna Mappes and Hannu Ylönen; 910 participants) - Meeting minutes
2006 - Tours, France (Marc Thery and Jerome Casas; 929 participants) - Meeting minutes
2008 - Cornell, USA (Sandra Vehrencamp, Jack Bradbury; 1095 participants) - Meeting minutes
2010 - Perth, Australia (Leigh Simmons; 736 participants) - Meeting minutes
2012 - Lund, Sweden (Anders Brodin; 876 participants) - Meeting minutes
2014 - New York, USA (Mark Hauber; 1065 participants) - Meeting minutes
2016 - Exeter, UK (Sasha Dall; 1205 participants) - Meeting minutes
2018 - Minneapolis, USA (Marlene Zuk; 569 participants) - Meeting minutes
2022 - Stockholm, Sweden (John Fitzpatrick; 714 in person and 61 online only participants) - Meeting minutes (see Newsletter Vol 34, issue 2, page 5)
2024 - Melbourne, Australia (Bob Wong, Devi Stuart-Fox, Andy Bennett; 849 in person) - Meeting minutes (see Newsletter Vol 36, issue 2)

Conferences

ISBE conferences are held every two years and attract a lively mix of behavioral ecologists at all career stages from around the globe, offering excellent networking opportunities.

There is an exciting mixture of top-notch plenaries, topical symposia and great poster sessions presenting the latest research. An important event is the WD Hamilton Memorial Lecture, established by ISBE in 2000, and given by a particularly influential figure in the field of behavioural ecology. Blind (with respect to authorship!) reviewing of talk abstracts and help with travel for those in need - especially students - ensure the widest participation in the conference program. And as a break from the science, attendees can participate in a range of conference excursions and social events.

Upcoming conferences

ISBE 2026

The 20th International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress will take place in Turin, Italy from July 20th to 26th 2026.

The organizing team welcomes behavioral ecologists from across the world and of all career stages to enjoy a five-day meeting rich in top-notch science and ample networking opportunities.

The conference will be held at the Lingotto Congress Centre, an iconic building tied to the city’s industrial legacy. This venue is well-connected to the historic city center, a true gem in the heart of Italy, renowned for its stunning art and culture.

More info soon!

Past conferences

Featured
ISBE 2024 Conference
ISBE 2024 Conference

29 September – 4 October August 2024

The 19th International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Hamilton Lectures were delivered by both the recipient of the postponed 2020 conference, John Endler (Deakin University), and the 2024 awardee, Kavita Isvaran (Indian Institute of Science).

Plenary lectures were presented by Ashley Griffin (Oxford University), Florian Schietstl (University of Zurich), Schinichi Nakagawa (University of New South Wales and University of Alberta),  Claire Spottiswoode (University of Cape Town), Roxana Torres (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), and Maren Vitousek (Cornell University).

ISBE 2022 Conference
ISBE 2022 Conference

28 July – 2 August 2022

The 18th International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress was hosted in 2022 by Stockholm University.

The conference was held at the Waterfront Congress Centre in the heart of central Stockholm and was the first conference in ISBE history to have both in-person and online only options.

The Hamilton Lecture was awarded to Prof Hanna Kokko (University of Zurich), with plenary lectures by Redouan Bshary (University of Neuchâtel), Mariella Herberstein (Macquarie University), Toshitaka Suzuki (Kyoto University), Jenny Tung (Duke University) and Yossi Yovel (Tel Aviv University).

ISBE 2018 Conference
ISBE 2018 Conference

11th – 16th August 2018

The 17th International Behavioral Ecology Congress was hosted in 2018 by the University of Minnesota.

Invited speakers included David Queller (Hamilton Lecture; Washington University), Rui Oliveira (Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida), Johanna Mappes (University of Jyväskylä), Karen Warkentin (Boston University), Regina Macedo (Universidade de Brasilia), Gene Robinson (University of Illinois), and Simon Laughlin (University of Cambridge). 

ISBE 2016 Conference
ISBE 2016 Conference

28th July – 3rd August 2014

The 16th International Behavioral Ecology Congress was hosted in 2016 by the University of Exeter.

The meeting was opened by Richard Dawkins, with plenaries by Malte Andersson, Dorothy Cheney, Tim Clutton-Brock, Rosemary Grant, Hopi Hoekstra, Naomi Pierce & Trevor Price.

ISBE 2014 Conference
ISBE 2014 Conference

31 July - 5 August 2014

The 15th Internation Behavioral Ecology Congress was hosted in 2014 by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and the behavioral ecology research community based at various CUNY campuses and New York University.

ISBE 2012 Conference
ISBE 2012 Conference

12-17 August 2012

The 14th International Behavioral Ecology Congress was hosted in 2012 by the Department of Biology at Lund University, Sweden.

A review of ISBE 2012 is available in Vol 24 Issue 2 of the society newsletter.

ISBE 2010 Conference
ISBE 2010 Conference

26 September - 1 October 2010

The 13th Congress of the ISBE was held at the University of Western Australia. The Perth Organising Committee prepared a stimulating programme with a difference, and the meeting was memorable for both its social and scientific content. 

A review of ISBE 2010 is available in Vol 22 Issue 2 of the society newsletter.

ISBE 2008 Conference
ISBE 2008 Conference

9 – 15 August 2008

The 12th Congress of the ISBE was held in 2008 at Cornell University, NY, USA.

A review of the conference appears in the Fall 2008 ISBE Newsletter.

ISBE 2006 Conference
ISBE 2006 Conference

 23 - 28 July 2006

The 11th Congress of the ISBE was held in 2008 at Tours, France. A warm thank you to the organizers for an excellent congress!

A review of the conference appears in the Fall 2006 ISBE Newsletter.

ISBE 2004 Conference
ISBE 2004 Conference

10 - 15 July 2004

The 10th Jubilee Congress of the ISBE was held in 2004 in Jyväskylä, Finland. 

A review of the conference appears in the Winter 2004 ISBE Newsletter.