59th Spring Conference & AGM

The Annual Spring Conference is an two-day residential meeting of around 150-200 mammal experts and enthusiasts who meet and network in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, hear about new work, and discuss wide-ranging issues for mammal research and conservation. See quotes below from delegates who recently attended conferences. 

The conference programme is now available to view here.

Conference Packages Available:

To book, choose your package from the drop down menu above, and press Add to Cart. Then, if you need an extra night's accommodation etc, select this and press Add to Cart again.  

• Members' Weekend (inc lunch, Saturday dinner & accommodation): £185 
• Non-member (inc lunch, Saturday dinner & accommodation): £210*
• Add Friday and/or Sunday night accommodation: £40 pppn

• Members' One Day (Saturday or Sunday, including tea, coffee & lunch): £85
• Non Members' One Day (Saturday or Sunday, including tea, coffee & lunch): £100  
• Add Conference Dinner and entertainment: £35 (add to one day attendance)

*Non Members' Weekend price includes 1 year's complementary membership

To pay in other ways, please use this booking form.

Cranbrook Lecture 2013 with Dr Pat Morris

The annual free Cranbrook Lecture will run on the Friday before the conference. (Please note the Weekend Conference Package only includes Saturday and Sunday). Dr Pat Morris will give a talk entitled "50 Years of Mammals and The Mammal Society".

The National and International Perspectives on Red Squirrel Conservation (details) is also taking place on Friday 19th April. Please contact them to book.

Quotes from recent delegates

"I’ve attended a few Mammal Society conferences now, they are hugely enjoyable events and I always leave feeling inspired with improved skills and a greater ecological knowledge. They give me confidence to pursue my own mammal studies, and the national network of mammalogists provide a great source of advice and experience. I'd advise anyone to get involved both with their local group and attend national Mammal Society events."

- Becky Cartwright

BSc Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Conservation (Final Year)

Black Country Biodiversity Group (Secretary) & member of Staffs. Mammal Group

"This conference is a great forum for early career scientists to present their research to a really broad audience, to meet with leaders in the field and share ideas on a friendly and informal basis. Presenting at the conference over the years really helped build my confidence in presenting and networking with colleagues. The social aspects are really fun too – the dinner's a blast and there’s invariably a good crowd of young and not-so-young delegates talking mammals and other things till the wee small hours. I’d recommend it to anyone."

- Dr Phil Wheeler

Lecturer in Ecology & Environmental Science, Head of Dept., University of Hull

"The conference was a brilliant location for my first major presentation. The audience was very supportive and friendly and people were genuinely interested in my research.  It's a fantastic chance to meet experts in mammal ecology in an informal setting and listening to a wide range gave me a real insight into research techniques.  It was great to meet so many other students involved with mammal work and I made some great friends that I'm in touch with regularly!"

- Amanda Wilson

Biology PhD Student, University of St Andrews and the James Hutton Institute

“The society and members are very welcoming and show genuine interest in my PhD research. Attending the conferences has been a great way to discover more about different mammal species as well as meeting like-minded people”

 - David Oakley PhD 

Teaching fellow, University of Southampton

 
Prizes, Bursaries & Awards - The Mammal Society presents a range of prizes to recognise excellence in mammal research.

• The Acorn Ecology Prize for the Best Presentation by a PhD Student - £250
• The Prize for Best Student Poster - £50

If you are a current student or recent graduate presenting a poster, or PhD student offering a paper as the lead author, you are eligible. When you submit your abstract, inform us if you would like to be considered for the prize and ask your supervisor to confirm your student status in an e-mail/letter sent to the Conference Organiser.  You must be a member of The Mammal Society at the time of the conference. Previous winners are not eligible to enter again. Judging is based on scientific quality, clarity and relevance to mammal conservation.

• The Michael Woods Bursaries - 5 x £50

Dedicated to the memory of an outstanding 'amateur professional' mammalogist, the five bursaries are available to current PhD students who present talks at the conference. Please indicate whether you would like to be considered for a bursary when you submit your abstract.

• The Mammal Society Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mammal Conservation

From 2011, the Mammal Society Award for oustanding contributions to mammalogy is a glass award personalised with the recipient's name and unique mammal engraving.

2012 - Ken West, recipient at the 58th Conference in Chatham, with a dormouse engraved.
2011 - Stephanie Wray and (posthumously) Warren Cresswell, with a brown hare engraved.