The International Statistical Ecology Conference (ISEC) is the most important international gathering of
statistical ecologists, held every two years since 2008. ISEC2022 was the first iteration of the conference held
in Africa. It was hosted by the centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation (SEEC) and
held at the University of Cape Town’s Breakwater Lodge from 25 June to 1 July 2022. The conference was
held as a hybrid event and attracted 516 delegates (152 in-person and 364 online) from 46 different countries.
Talks, posters and workshops at ISEC cover a broad range of themes within statistical ecology such as
abundance estimation, animal movement, big data, biodiversity, capture-recapture, citizen science, community
dynamics, disease ecology, distance sampling, epidemiology, evolutionary ecology, fisheries, individual-based
models, integrated population models, metapopulation dynamics, multispecies models, occupancy models,
population dynamics, spatial ecology, species distribution models, and survey design. ISEC also has a strong
focus on capacity building through a series of pre-conference workshops and ‘skill showcase’ sessions, taught
by world experts.
For many statistical ecologists around the world, ISEC is a highlight where we exchange our latest research
and discuss topics that are important to us. We had round-table discussions on specific methods but also
broader topics like inclusivity, teaching statistics to ecologists and around publishing our research. ISEC2022
has been particularly important for African researchers as we used the event to promote statistical ecology in
Africa. On the one hand, we used our role as hosts to showcase African case studies. We had a special plenary
session on conservation in Africa with black scientists from Kenya, Morocco and South Africa. We also had a
public lecture with two speakers presenting on data needs to address conservation questions in Africa. On the
other hand, we used the opportunity to gather statistical ecologists with an interest in research conducted in
Africa through a round-table discussion.
ISEC2022 was the first ISEC carried out in hybrid format. Our focus was on accessibility and inclusivity. We
learned a lot about organising such hybrid events. Having enough resources (financial and human) to be
able to use a state-of-the art online platform, a mobile app, and high-quality recording in the venue proved
critical. Standard conference procedures had to be re-thought. For example, we felt that having a single
person chairing a session was insufficient because of the need to monitor online questions in addition to the
normal chairing duties. We used this opportunity to assign postgraduate students as co-chairs, thus giving
them early experience in chairing international events and the benefits of the associated exposure to the
community.
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