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

"Our students did an amazing job representing Â鶹ÊÓƵ 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 Â鶹ÊÓƵ students, all pursuing degrees in biology, were able to present their research on the following:

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