UNG students present wildlife research

Seven students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) attended the Wildlife Society 30th annual conference, one of the largest gatherings of wildlife professionals in North America, accompanied by three UNG faculty members, including biology lecturer Jessy Patterson.

"Our students did an amazing job representing UNG at The Wildlife Society national conference," Patterson said. "Their presentations were great, and I think they learned a lot from attending sessions, along with meeting a lot of potential grad school advisors or future employers."

The conference took place from Nov. 5-9 in Louisville, Kentucky, where UNG students, all pursuing degrees in biology, were able to present their research on the following:

• UNG senior Anna Cronan presented her research on "Effects of Chronic Dinotefuran and Imidacloprid Exposure on American Toad Growth and Survivorship" as a podium presentation. 
• UNG senior Madison Miller presented her research on "Undergraduate Student Effectiveness in Creating an Avian Teaching Collection Using Freeze-drying Techniques."
• UNG senior Stormy Ramey presented her research findings on "Factors Influencing Minnow Trap Captures."
• UNG senior Gabriel Rodriguez presented a project about "Prevalence of Avian Mycoplasma in Window Killed Birds Based on Diet and Feeding Behaviors."
• UNG senior Jenny Sanchez presented on "Influence of room light exposure to FTA cards used for Avian Disease detection."
• UNG senior Atticus Tomcho presented research about "Comparison of Bait Type Efficacy for Monitoring Wildlife Communities."
• UNG junior Hasten Veal presented his research findings about "The Prevalence of Mycoplasma Disease in a Resident Versus a Migrating Avian Community."

These presentations were the culmination of months of work for these students, like Ramey, who worked on her project for the last three semesters in the hopes of getting closer to a future as a conservation biologist.

"The experience at the conference was amazing. It opened my eyes to the many opportunities I will have after graduating," Ramey, a Gainesville, Georgia, native, said.

Senior lecturer Dawn Drumtra was also able to attend the conference. 

"This was my first The Wildlife Society meeting and I was so glad to have the opportunity to attend. I was very proud of our UNG students who presented their research alongside graduate and professional projects," Drumtra said. "Many conference attendees commented on their surprise that our students were undergraduates — who were holding their own amongst this group of critically thinking, passionate, scientists."