The SSAR offers several resources to support students and postdoctoral researchers in attending and presenting research at annual meetings.

• The SSAR Student Travel Awards received 36 applicants this year, with ten individuals randomly selected to receive $500 towards travel to attend the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in New Orleans.
• This year, the Metallinou Postdoctoral Travel Award funded two individuals to attend JMIH: Drs. Analisa Shields-Estrada and Aaron Griffing.
• The Carl Gans Travelling Fellowship also helped fund an impressive 33 applicants to attend and present their research at JMIH.

Congratulations to all travel award and fellowship recipients, some of whom are featured in the photos below taken at the SSAR Business Meeting in New Orleans!

Committee Chairs Ethan Livingston and Dr. Natasha Stepanova with the recipients of the 2026 SSAR Student Travel Awards.

Committee Chair Dr. Rayna Bell and one of the Metallinou Postdoctoral Travel Award recipients, Dr. Aaron Griffing.

2026 Carl Gans Fellows attending the SSAR Business Meeting at JMIH in New Orleans.

The SSAR’s George & Mary Rabb Undergraduate Poster Award is sponsored by the George and Mary Rabb Foundation. It honors Mary Rabb who achieved much in the realm of amphibian research and conservation of all species, and George Rabb, who was a former Director of the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and a highly respected leader of many global wildlife conservation initiatives. The award recipients received a check for $250 and a book. We thank Chuck Crumly for book donations this year. To learn more about this award, visit: https://ssarherps.org/ssar-awards/georgerabbaward/.

This year’s judges were Anne Sabol (Memphis Zoo), Samuel Robinson (Texas State University), Michael F. Benard (Case Western Reserve University), Christopher Distel (Schreiner University), Michael Yuan (Texas Christian University), Leroy P. Núñez (Stony Brook University), Rayna C. Bell (California Academy of Sciences), & Aaron Griffing (Princeton University).

Congratulations to this year’s award recipients: 

Behavior, Conservation & General Herpetology: Kylie A Dowd (Moravian University), “Munchies and Microplastics: The Effects of Microplastic Exposure on Tadpole Feeding Behavior”

Ecology: Abigail Clark (University of Central Florida), “Determining the Impact of Anthropogenic Habitat Alteration on the Effectiveness of Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Burrows for Commensal Species”

Evolution & Genetics: Katelyn Arrizon (California Polytechnic State University), De Novo Genome Assembly of Sceloporus arenicolus, an endemic and endangered Lizard”

Development, Reproduction & Physiology: Nicholas Canfield (University of Dayton), “Tadpole Teeth: Development of Keratodonts in Anuran Larvae”

From left to right: Tony Gamble (Committee Chair), Kylie A Dowd, Abigail Clark, Nicholas Canfield

The SSAR graduate student poster awards honor Victor Hutchison for his extensive contributions to herpetology and the development of future herpetologists. We held the 16th annual SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster competition at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 10, 2026. Awardees received a check for $250 and a book. We thank Chuck Crumly for book donations this year. For more information about this award, click here.

This year’s judges were Ed Basham (The University of Texas at Austin), Arik Hartmann (Virginia Tech University), Analisa Shields-Estrada (Texas State University), Steven J. Hromada (Fresno Chaffee Zoo), Jennifer Deitloff (Lock Haven University), Lauren Chan (California Polytechnic State University), Sara J McClelland (Moravian University), & Juan D. Daza (Sam Houston State University).

Congratulations to this year’s recipients:

Behavior & Ecology: Cara Giordano (Florida International University), “Investigating Thermal Physiological Traits of a Nonnative Amphibian, the Rio Cauca Caecilian (Typhlonectes natans)”

Conservation & Management: Kale B. Humphries (Arkansas State University), “Population Ecology and Disease Prevalence Among American Bullfrogs in the Upper Gulf Coastal Plain”

Evolution: Madelyn N. Albritton (University of Arkansas), “Character Displacement in Body Size of Cooccurring Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus group) in the Ouachita Mountains”

Development, Physiology & Morphology: Andrew Capitosti (University of Dayton), “Evaluating the Developmental Genetic Basis of a Novel Epithelial Appendage: The Keratinized Mouthparts of Tadpoles”

From left to right: Tony Gamble (Committee Chair), Andrew Capitosti, Cara Giordano, and Kale B. Humphries

The 34th annual Seibert Awards were presented at the 2026 Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology (JMIH) in New Orleans, Louisiana. These awards are named in honor of Henri C. Seibert, an early and endless supporter of the SSAR (having served as an officer for over 20 years). To learn more about the award, click here.

In recognition of outstanding student presentations at the annual meeting, two awards were given in each of four categories: Ecology, Conservation, Physiology & Morphology, and Evolution & Systematics. Congratulations to the award recipients!

Ecology

Winner: Maddisyn Braun (University of Georgia) – Climate-Driven Variation in Size at Maturity of Southern Appalachian Plethodon

Honorable Mention: Olivia Weklar (New York University) – Untangling the impacts of climate and urbanization on the gut microbiome of the crested anole (Anolis cristatellus)

Conservation

Winner: L. Caden Comsa (Rutgers University-Camden) – Read Between the Snakes: Investigating the Conservation Genomics of Bahamian Bank Boas

Honorable Mention: Ferris Eric-Hisham Zughaiyir (Texas State University) – Measuring interspecific admixture in endangered Houston toads (Bufo [=Anaxyrus] houstonensis): The limitations of phenotype

Physiology & Morphology

Winner: Alyssa Head (San Diego State University) – Lizards in the hot seat: examining changes of thermal traits in an introduced population of Podarcis siculus

Honorable Mention: Stella Raymond (California Polytechnic State University – SLO) – Urban Oases: City Microhabitats and the Hydric Physiology of a Widespread Ectotherm

Evolution & Systematics

Winner: Benjamin W. Genter (Florida Museum of Natural History) – Rangewide Phylogenomics Reveal Taxonomic Discordance and Drivers of Diversification in the Southeastern Crowned Snakes (Colubridae: Tantilla)

Honorable Mention: Amanda Fleming (Texas State University) – Phylogenetic assessment of Salvadora species of the grahamiae group

From left to right: Justin Bernstein (Committee Chair), Maddisyn Braun, Olivia Weklar, Ferris Eric-Hisham Zughaiyir, Alyssa Head, Stella Raymond, Benjamin W. Genter, Amanda Fleming

Caden Comsa and Justin Bernstein (Committee Chair)

As the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists approaches, this is a final reminder to bring donations for the SSAR Live and Silent Auctions in New Orleans, Louisiana (July 8–12th, 2026).

We are glad to accept any herp-related donations, including but not limited to: frameable art (photographs, paintings, and line illustrations), books, music, glassware, jewelry, clothing, and gift certificates for New Orleans area services/events during the meeting week. No live animals or products made from herps (e.g., books bound in snakeskin). The SSAR Student Travel Committee organizes the Annual Silent Auction to raise money to fund the student travel awards to attend the annual meeting. Increasing travel costs each year makes it more difficult for students to attend meetings and become involved in societies. However, your continued support through donations to the silent auction helps offset these costs and enables students to attend, network, and present their research. The SSAR Live Auction Committee organizes the live auction, which also helps support student travel and provides additional support to the organization.

If you have any questions about donating items to either auction (tax deductible for U.S. residents), please contact Griffin Nicholson (gnicholson@tamu.edu) or Jennifer Deitloff (jmd240@lockhaven.edu) for more information. Ideally, donated items will be brought to the meeting directly. However, if transporting the item(s) is not possible, they may be shipped to a local host (Steven Whitfield; swhitfield@auduboninstitute.org). Please e-mail Stephen Whitfield, Griffin Nicholson, and Jennifer Deitloff before sending any items to the address below.

JMIH 2026 Conference Auction
c/o Steven Whitfield, Director of Terrestrial and Wetlands Conservation
Audubon Zoo
6500 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA 70118

We are now accepting applications for the 2026-27 SSAR Graduate Student Mentorship Program (GSMP)! Applications are due August 20, 2026.

Note: The Graduate Student Mentorship Program is year-long mentorship program for graduate students, and it is different from the Conference Mentorship Program. For more information on the conference program, check out this page: https://ssarherps.org/conference-mentorship-program/

Program overview:

Healthy mentorship relationships and strong professional networks help mentees excel academically and reach their career goals, while also increasing their sense of belonging in an institution or profession. Mentors can also benefit from a successful mentor/mentee relationship. However, many mentors have never received formal mentorship training, leaving them to learn through trial and error.

The SSAR Graduate Student Mentorship Program (GSMP) aims to serve both mentees and early-career mentors through two major aims: 1) to provide new grad students (master’s students plus 1^st and 2^nd year Ph.D. students) in the field of herpetology with near-peer mentors in the same field who can help them reach their academic and career goals while building connections within the herpetological scientific community, and 2) to provide mentorship training and experience to their peer mentors, who are Ph.D. students in herpetology who have advanced to candidacy or postdocs (and others in temporary positions, like visiting assistant professors) within two years of finishing their Ph.D.

In this program, each peer mentor will be paired with a mentee, with whom they will meet at least once per month throughout the year-long program (September 2026 – August 2027). All participants (mentors and mentees) will attend online training and orientation sessions at the beginning of the program. Peer mentors will attend two additional special topics training workshops during the year, also virtual, and mentees will be offered virtual workshops on a variety of topics. Peer mentors will complete brief monthly reflections on their experiences, which will help guide ongoing development of their mentorship strategies.

The program typically serves 16-20 participants per year. The program coordinator has substantial leadership experience in SSAR (former Chair of the Student Participation Committee, current Co-Chair of the DEI Committee, and current member of the Long-Range Planning Committee) as well as experience coordinating UC Riverside’s Graduate Student Mentorship Program.

Program expectations:

To participate in the Graduate Student Mentorship Program, successful applicants will need to agree to a set of program expectations, listed below. Note that all training, workshops, and other events will be held virtually, over Zoom. Applicants do not have to be current SSAR members, but if they are not, then we will help them secure membership upon acceptance into the program.

Participants will be encouraged (but not required) to attend the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in July 2027. SSAR has several travel grants to which students can apply to help with the cost of attending a conference.

Expectations for peer mentors:

• Attend a 1.5-hour training session in early or mid- September
• Attend a 1-hour mentor + mentee orientation in mid- or late September
• Meet virtually with mentee within 1 week after orientation
• Meet with mentee at least once per month for the duration of the year, and communicate via email, phone, etc. as needed
• Submit a monthly reflection (~½ to 1 page) to the program coordinator
  • The program coordinator will read and respond to each reflection, helping to connect mentors to resources as necessary
• Attend two 1-1.5-hour professional development workshops during the year

Expectations for mentees:

• Attend a 1-hour mentor + mentee orientation in mid- or late September
• Meet virtually with peer mentor within 1 week after orientation
• Meet with peer mentor at least once per month for the duration of the year, and communicate via email, phone, etc. as needed
• Attend 1-2 academic/professional development workshops during the year (2-3 will be offered, 1 hour each)

Application forms and contact info:

Applications are due on August 20, 2026.

Peer mentors should be current Ph.D. candidates, or postdocs (and others in temporary positions, like visiting assistant professors) who defended their dissertation within the past two years, with a research focus on amphibians and/or reptiles. Here is the application form for peer mentors:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNe4vdIiMAwRJnvcNHoSs0n8hZ_XK9t2pwYnCzM_uCljkqdQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Mentees should be 1^st or 2^nd year Ph.D. students (start date between July 2025 and September 2026) or master’s students with a research focus on amphibians and/or reptiles. Here is the application form for mentees:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkZvIQSmFa92jVkzAdttQhup3LaVYKmCNDYebMqRwxF6083Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Questions can be directed to Jessica Tingle, jessica_tingle@brown.edu.

Zoos and Aquariums: Impacts of Living Collections on Conservation and Research

A Symposium at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (link)

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Save the Date: Saturday July 11, 2026

The shift in the mission of zoos and aquariums to focus on conservation and research in the last 10–20 years provides a crucial opportunity at this junction to highlight and expand upon the number of studies and types of research that are conducted at these institutions. To build on these efforts, the symposium will highlight the unique and diverse research and conservation projects conducted at zoos and aquariums, both ex situ, with living collections, and in situ using resources and expertise at these institutions. We will cover a wide breadth of topics, including conservation, behavior, and physiology to illustrate the wide range of research done at zoos and aquariums.

This symposium is sponsored by the SSAR, and organized by Sinlan Poo, Anne Sabol, and Jennifer Terry.