Zoological Days 2026

Organizers:
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia; Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, p.r.i.; Czech Zoological Society; Czech Entomological Society

Venue:
University of South Bohemia, Branišovská Street, České Budějovice (directions to the conference venue – see https://www.aphidophaga.org/zoodny)

Registration for participation:

Students register for the conference at:
https://eshop.jcu.cz/simplifyworks/cs/eoc/public/programs/929630991-studenti-zoologicke-dny-2026

Employees of institutions register at:
https://eshop.jcu.cz/simplifyworks/cs/eoc/public/programs/938016852-zamestnanci-zoologicke-dny-2026

After registration, you will receive further payment instructions by e-mail, along with several e-mails confirming your registration and payment. After completing registration and paying for the ordered services, each registered conference participant will receive an invoice and a password by e-mail to access the abstract submission form. The deadline for registration, payment, and abstract submission is Monday, 12 January 2026.

Conference registration fee (incl. VAT):
CZK 1,800; for students CZK 1,400.
The fee covers the operation of lecture rooms, conference materials, refreshments (coffee breaks), and the social banquet. To complete registration, the fee (+ individually ordered lunches or a printed abstract book) must be paid. Please register and pay all fees no later than Monday, 12 January 2026.

Accommodation:
Conference participants arrange accommodation individually. Please book your accommodation as early as possible due to the concurrent large event, the Olympic Festival: https://www.olympijskyfestival.cz/cs.

Meals:
Participants arrange lunches individually or may use the Studentská canteen (approx. 5 minutes from the conference venue). If you wish to have lunches at the canteen, they must be ordered in advance during online registration, and this order is binding. After registration is completed and lunches are paid for, participants will receive meal vouchers for the canteen upon arrival at the conference. The price of one lunch is CZK 146.

On-site registration:
Begins on Thursday, 12 February 2026, from 8:00 a.m. in Building C of the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, and will continue throughout the conference.

Abstracts:
Please submit abstracts of contributions for the conference proceedings via the web form https://www.ivb.cz/vyzkum/zoologicke-dny/me-abstrakty/ no later than Monday, 12 January 2026. Abstracts may be submitted in Czech, Slovak, or English. Please do not include unusual symbols, tables, figures, or references. The length of the abstract text is limited to 2,000 characters. Please follow the specified format. All participants will receive the proceedings in PDF format prior to the conference; a printed abstract book may be ordered during registration, and a limited number of printed copies will be available for purchase on site for CZK 200.

Scientific program:
All presentations addressing various aspects of basic and applied zoological research will be accepted. As every year, lectures will take place in parallel sessions, and a separate time slot will be devoted to a poster session, during which authors should be present at their posters. If lecture capacity is exceeded, the scientific committee may select presentations, and authors may be asked to prepare a poster during January (this usually does not happen). The final conference program will be sent to registered participants in the second half of January 2026 and will also be published on the conference website.

Instructions for presenters:
The maximum time for each presentation is 15 minutes (10 minutes presentation + 5 minutes discussion). A computer and data projector will be available in all parallel sessions. If necessary, it is also possible to present from a personal laptop, but potential unforeseen complications should be taken into account.

Posters:
Poster dimensions should not exceed 90 cm (width) × 120 cm (height). As several types of poster boards will be used, we recommend generally smaller posters (approx. 80 × 90 cm – between A0 and A1). Pins or clips will be provided for mounting posters.

Student competition and other awards:
An expert jury will evaluate the scientifically most valuable and most original student presentations and posters during the conference. Students of undergraduate and full-time postgraduate programs who are first authors of the presentation may enter the competition by registering via the abstract submission web form by 12 January 2026. Awards will be presented to students at the end of the conference. The Czech Entomological Society will award prizes for the best presentation/poster on insects, and the Czech Ornithological Society for the best presentation/poster on birds. At the opening of the conference, the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences will award the Jan Zima Prize for an outstanding contribution to scientific knowledge of vertebrates (see here).

Social evening (banquet):
The social evening will take place on Thursday, 12 February 2026, from 7:00 p.m. at the Studentská canteen, approximately 5 minutes from the conference venue. The cost of refreshments at this event is already included in the conference fee.

Support for work–life balance:
A children’s corner will be available to participants during the conference in Building B of the Faculty of Science.

Inquiries:
Any questions will be answered electronically at nedved@prf.jcu.cz.

On behalf of the organizing committee,
Oldřich Nedvěd, Kateřina Sam, Vojtěch Kubelka, and Martin Volf