Biology students win awards at conference

Twelve students and four faculty members from the University of North Georgia (UNG) attended the Georgia Chapter of The Wildlife Society (GA TWS) annual meeting held March 2-3 in Macon, Georgia.

The event included UNG's Jessy Patterson, a biology lecturer who serves as GA TWS board secretary.

"This meeting is important for students because it tends to be a smaller conference," Patterson said. "It's specific to wildlife, filtering out other sciences’ presentations. It’s more intimate and provides them a chance to network with potential graduate school advisors and future employers in this field."

There were four groups of UNG students and mentors who presented, with three winning awards:

• Phyllip Ramey, Atticus Leithner, Ash Arnold, Jackie Churchman, McKenna Koons, Haley McCaleb, Madeline Russell, and Marcus Tipton's project with Dr. Ashlee McCaskill, professor of biology and Environmental Leadership Center director, "Comparison of Pool Characteristics of Granite Outcrops at Clinton Nature Preserve, Douglas County, Georgia" won first place for undergraduate poster.
• Nick Stoltz's project with Stacie James, program coordinator for the Environmental Leadership Center, "The Effects of Specified Gendered Colonies on Laricobius nigrinus Rearing Efficiency in a Lab Setting," won first place for oral presentation.
• Anna Cronan's project with Patterson and Dr. Erin Barding, professor of biology, "Effects of Chloride Pollution on Germination and Growth of Northern Wild Rice (Zizania palustris)," won second place for oral presentation.
• Atticus Tomcho and McKenna Johnson with Patterson and Barding, "Effects of partial timber harvests on vertebrate community composition."

"It was a good first experience as it was our team's first poster and presentation. This conference reaffirmed what I wanted to do as it was very welcoming and supportive. The people there made us feel like our presentation was useful," Ramey, a senior pursuing a degree in biology, said.

The conference will come to UNG's Dahlonega Campus next spring as it continues to aim to be an affordable and local option for Georgia students interested in the realm of wildlife sciences.