Student Awards

Attention Student Members! Would you like to have help making the most of attending the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Spokane, WA, July 27-31, 2022.

SSAR will be continuing a mentorship program for all undergraduate and graduate students for whom Spokane will be their first national meeting.

Mentors will be advanced graduate students or postdocs who have attended JMIH in previous years and who can orient you to the meeting, help make introductions and enhance your overall meeting experience.

If this is your first meeting, we invite you to apply for a graduate student mentor. Complete the Mentee Application and e-mail to Rob Denton no later than 1 May, 2022. We are also accepting applications from graduate students and postdocs who would be willing to serve as mentors. Complete the Mentor Application and e-mail to Rob Denton no later than 1 May, 2022.

For more information, please contact Rob Denton at the e-mail address located on the application or the link provided here.

The American Elasmobranch Society (AES) supports student and professional development through student, early career, and special recognition awards.
Click the button below to learn more about the Jeffrey C. & Carol A. Carrier Poster Award, Samuel H. Gruber Presentation Award, and Student Research Awards.

AES Student Presentation Awards

Stoye Awards of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists recognize the best student oral presentation in the following categories. Submission for oral presentation will be reviewed based on the following emphases:

• General Ichthyology includes, but is not limited to, morphological and molecular systematics, techniques in systematics, zoogeography, paleontology, and faunal descriptions.
• General Herpetology includes, but is not limited to, morphological and molecular systematics, techniques in systematics, zoogeography, paleontology, and faunal descriptions.
• Genetics, Development, and Morphology includes, but is not limited to, population genetics, mitochondrial DNA analysis, comparative embryology, heterochrony, descriptive and experimental development, comparative and evolutionary morphology, functional morphology, and biomechanics.
• Ecology and Ethology includes, but is not limited to, population and community ecology, life history strategies, descriptive and experimental ethology, behavioral ecology, neuroethology, and ecomorphology.
• Physiology and Physiological Ecology includes, but is not limited to, comparative and experimental physiology, biochemistry, sensory and behavioral physiology, and endocrinology.
• Conservation includes, but is not limited to, conservation biology, conservation policy, management, and restoration.

Storer Awards of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists recognize the best student poster presentation in each of the following categories:

• Ichthyology
• Herpetology

To be eligible for either Stoye or Storer Awards, the student must:

• be the presenter and lead author (multi-authored presentations are allowed)
• be a member of ASIH
• indicate a desire to be considered when submitting an abstract (see instructions for Submitting Abstracts)
• meet the ASIH criteria for student:
  “An individual who at the time the paper is given is the equivalent of a full-time student (an individual who is devoting his or her major efforts to a formal program of study) or who has satisfactorily completed a thesis or dissertation defense during the past twelve months.”
• Physiology and Physiological Ecology includes, but is not limited to, comparative and experimental physiology, biochemistry, sensory and behavioral physiology, and endocrinology.
• Conservation includes, but is not limited to, conservation biology, conservation policy, management, and restoration.

Stoye and Storer presentations are judged by the following criteria:

• introduction
• methods
• data analysis and interpretation
• conclusions
• innovation, originality, and scientific significance
• presentation
• visual aids or graphic design

The rating scale is 0 to 10 points: excellent (9 to 10), very good (7 to 8), good (4 to 6), fair (2 to 3), poor (0 to 1).

Questions about the Stoye and Storer Awards should be directed to Kathleen Cole.

The Herpetologists’ League is pleased to announce the 2022 competition for The Herpetologists’ League Graduate Research Award (HLGRA). If you are a M.S. or Ph.D. student who has a completed/nearly completed thesis or dissertation (vs. preliminary results or a side project), then the HLGRA selection committee invites you to consider competing for this prestigious award. To participate, you must:

• be a member of The Herpetologists’ League
• be a current graduate student or have completed your graduate degree within 14 months of your presentation,
• submit an abstract (as the first author and having done the majority of the work) for the 2022 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) indicating your desire to compete for the Herpetologists’ League Graduate Research Award
• Submit a brief press release (detailed instructions here: herpetologistsleague.org/students) via email to Dr. Lattanzio by 8 April, end of day.
• give the oral presentation at the meeting. Your presentation should be well- organized, set within a broader conceptual framework, and well-rehearsed (i.e., honed by practice and critical feedback from your advisor and others).

The student with the top-ranked presentation will receive $750, two years of membership in the Herpetologists’ League, and an invitation to submit a manuscript based on the work presented to Herpetologica or Herpetological Monographs. The Herpetologists’ League will commit to publishing this manuscript (following a successful peer-review process) as the lead paper in an issue and will identify the first author as the winner of the Herpetologists’ League Graduate Research Award. The committee may also be able to award $250 to the second-ranked presentation. All competitors will receive evaluations and constructive feedback from the judges after the meeting.

For further information or questions concerning The Herpetologists’ League Graduate Research Award, please contact the following:

Dr. Matthew Lattanzio
Department of Organismal and Environmental Biology
Christopher Newport University
1 Avenue of the Arts
Newport News, VA 23606
(757) 594-7044
email: matthew.lattanzio@cnu.edu

The Neotropical Ichthyological Association (NIA) will recognize the best student papers (1 oral presentation and 1 poster presentation) presented at the 2022 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists on a topic which in the opinion of the judges substantially includes the study of Neotropical fishes. To be eligible the student must be the first author and the presenter of the paper or poster. Multi-authored presentations are eligible.

The Henri Seibert Awards were initiated in 1992 to provide recognition for the best student papers presented at the annual meeting of the SSAR. These awards are named in honor of Henri C. Seibert, an early and tireless supporter of SSAR (having served as an officer for over 20 years) in recognition of outstanding presentations at the annual meeting.

To be eligible, the presented paper must be the result of research conducted by the individual making the presentation. The research must have been conducted while the student was enrolled in either an undergraduate or graduate degree program. Please refer to Herpetological Review 28(4):175 and the SSAR website for recommendations to students entering the Henri Seibert competition. Students entering the competition must be members of SSAR. The presentations will be judged by the SSAR student prize committee. One Henri Seibert Award of US $200 may be given in each of the following four categories:

• Systematics/Evolution
• Ecology
• Physiology/Morphology
• Conservation

Students may only win the award one time. Please indicate the appropriate category for which you are applying on the abstract submission form. Announcement of winners will be made at the SSAR Business Meeting. All participants should be present at the business meeting. Contact David Blackburn for further information.

The SSAR Victor Hutchison Graduate Student Poster Awards will provide recognition for the best graduate student posters presented at the annual meeting of the SSAR. To be eligible, the presented poster must be the result of research conducted by the individual making the presentation. The research must have been conducted while the student was enrolled in a graduate degree program. Students entering the competition must be members of SSAR. The presentations will be judged by the SSAR student prize committee. One SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Award of U.S. $250 (plus a book gift from CRC Press) may be given in each of the following four categories:

• Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics
• Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior
• Physiology & Morphology
• Conservation & Management

The SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Award will be judged by the following criteria:

• Quality of Research
• Quality of the Visual Display of the Research
• Professionalism and Confidence of the Presenter

Students may win the award only one time. Please indicate the appropriate category for which you are applying on the abstract submission form. Contact Allyson Fenwick for further information.

SSAR is pleased to announce the George B. Rabb Undergraduate Poster Award, sponsored by Zoo Atlanta. The award honors our colleague George Rabb (1930-2017), former Director of the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, IL, and highly respected advocate and spokesman for wildlife conservation.

To be eligible to compete for this award, a student must be an undergraduate, or have graduated in the previous spring semester. The student must be the first author on the poster and must present the poster during the student poster competition at the annual JMIH or SSAR meeting. There can be additional authors on the poster. As is the case for the SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Award, the competing student must be a current member of SSAR. Abstract submission is the same as for anyone else submitting to present at the annual meetings. The prize includes a $250 check and an SSAR book.

For more information, please contact Allyson Fenwick.