Thompson turtle talk is tops (11-10-11).  Biology graduate student Denise Thompson won the Toland Award for Best Student Presentation at the recent Kansas Herpetological Society’s annual conference in Wichita.  Her advisor is Dr. Day Ligon, and her presentation was titled:  Rocky Raccoon Must Die: Nest Predation Patterns in a Reintroduced Population of Alligator Snapping Turtles. MSU graduate students Charlie Tucker and Travis Anthony also made presentations at the meeting.

John Havel invited speaker in Brazil (9-28-11):  Dr. John Havel was recently an invited speaker at the 13^th “Congresso Brasileiro de Limnologia” (a biennial conference on inland waters) in Natal, Brazil.  His presentation was in a special session on invasive species. The meeting had over 1,200 participants, including scientists from North America and Europe, as well as from South America.

Wilkinson honored. (5/12/11) The board of Governors of MSU today announced 2011 MSU Wall of Fame inductees, including Dr. Robert Wilkinson, Jr.  Wilk taught at MSU for 34 years and served as Department Head in 1993-1998.  As a teacher, he focused on igniting enthusiasm about the natural world and not just passing along information. Wilk's research in herpetology and particularly aquatic salamanders made him a nationally recognized expert.  He was an early and faithful champion of graduate education at MSU and challenged other faculty in the department to look for grant opportunities and hands-on research experiences for their students.
 

Award winners at Interdisciplinary Forum 4/4/11 Biology graduate student Risa Wright (shown accepting award from Dr. Jim Baker, MSU VP for Research & Economic Development) won first place in at the 2011 Graduate Interdisciplinary Forum for her presentation titled “A preliminary study on the effects of thermal gradients on hibernating tri-colored bats”.  Other award winners from Biology were Kelli Hastings, MSU’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant, and John Havel, the university’s Outstanding Thesis Advisor. 

Ecology
1st Place – Daniel Brawn (left) (Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chris Barnhart)
2nd Place – Valerie Jones (Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alicia Mathis)

Students attend Missouri Conservation Federation convention (2/11) MSU Biology students recently attended the annual Missouri Conservation Federation convention with the Conservation Leadership Corps at Lake Ozark. Present included Valerie Jones (left), Mark Sharp, Colton Zirkle, Sarah Morris and Meghan Lenhardt.  Students from throughout the state worked in groups to draft resolutions on various conservation issues. The resolutions must pass through several committees and the CFM general assembly. Once passed, they are sent the appropriate agencies for action. 

Bird banding at Bull Shoals Field Station (8/10) BSFS Director and Biology Professor Janice Greene has initiated a bird banding project at the station and has completed the first season of data collection.  She reports that the most common birds at the station this year were Kentucky warblers, Black and White warblers, Indigo buntings, Acadian flycatchers and Red-eyed vireos.  Interesting rare sightings include the American Redstart and Yellow-breasted chat.

Award Winners (2/10)

Dr. Janice Greene received the Outstanding Lifetime Service Award to an Individual in Recognition of promoting environmental education in Missouri.  The award was presented by the Missouri Environmental Education Association at their annual conference in October.

Dr. Chris Barnhart received the Conservation Champion Appreciation Award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, at the Regional Endangered Species Coordinators Meeting in October. 

Barnhart also received the Research Collaborator of the Year Award from the Missouri Department of Conservation at the 2010 Missouri Natural Resources Conference.