The SSAR student poster awards honor Victor Hutchison for his extensive contributions to herpetology and the development of future herpetologists. The seventh annual SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Awards were presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the SSAR and the Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology in Austin, Texas, 12-16 July 2016. This year there were 32 eligible poster submissions. In recognition of outstanding student poster presentations at the annual meeting, a single award was given in each of the following categories: Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics (5 presentations), Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior (15 presentations), Physiology & Morphology (7 presentations), and Conservation & Management (6 presentations). All awardees received a check for US $200 and a book from CRC Press.
This year’s judges were Tiffany Doan (Chair, New College of Florida), Marina Gerson (California State University, Stanislaus), Peter Uetz (Virginia Commonwealth University), Hardin Waddle (United States Geological Service), Melissa Youngquist (University of Minnesota), Anthony Barley (University of Hawaii at Manoa), Christopher Thigpen (Arkansas State University), Gerardo Carfagno (Manhattan College), and Ralph Saporito (John Carroll University).
The Winners – Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior: Harrison Goldspiel (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry), “Spatial and Historical Drivers of Pool-Breeding Amphibian Abundances in a Central New York Forest.” Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics: Daniel Hughes (University of Texas at El Paso), “From the Floor, to the Canopy: Comparative Phylogeography of Two Sympatric Chameleon Species in Central Africa’s Albertine Rift.” Physiology & Morphology: Drew Davis (University of South Dakota), “Morphological Variation Between Two Widely Distributed Populations of Plethodon albagula (Caudata: Plethodontidae).” Conservation & Management:Jillian Josimovich (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne), “First Assessment of Soft-release Translocation of Wild-caught Snakes.”
You can view the winning posters below: