13 students attend state meeting of The Wildlife Society

Thirteen biology students from Radford University attended the annual conference of the state chapter of The Wildlife Society in Fredericksburg, VA. Four students presented their research in the form of a poster or oral presentation. Senior Kayla McNeilly took home the prize for the best undergraduate student poster.

This was a great opportunity for students to learn about current issues in wildlife management in the Commonwealth and in the region. Students also were paired up for a student-mentor breakfast, which gave them one-on-one time to learn about the jobs of state, federal, and non-governmental careers in wildlife. Feedback from the professional biologists at the meeting was very positive towards RU students – as always, they represented the university well!

All presenters included:

• Shane Brandes – oral presentation - Sex based differences in parental care in response to predation risk in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis)
• Sarah Hebert – poster presentation - Amphibian diversity and the occurence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Las Piedras watershed 
  

• Kayla McNeilly – poster presentation - Estimating ingestible size from native mammal prey species (pictured to the left)
• Keifer Titus – poster presentation – Acoustic monitoring for bats during fall swarm at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Harpers Ferry, WV

Other students who attended included: Heather Custer, Marnesha Jones, Ruth Boylan, Zeb Pike, April Tingle, Shanellie Estrella, Miriam Minich, Megan Collier, and Kristy Clark.