2005 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

The Role of Shark Biologists Across Academia, State and Federal Agencies

Saturday, July 9, 12-1:30 pm, Salon VI
(No lunch served)

The 2005 AES Student Workshop will focus on the role of elasmobranch biologists/scientists across academia, private institutions, federal research labs, and federal and state management agencies. The workshop will be an open forum with several working shark biologists/managers each briefly introducing their respective job descriptions and then a discussion on the role of such jobs. This will give working scientists and graduate students an opportunity to discuss the skills and techniques important to professional research and management and the potential areas of future work for new graduates or post-docs.

Organizer: Jason Blackburn

Getting your foot in the door: How to publish in your society's journal.

Sunday, July 10, 12:00 – 1:30 pm, Meeting Room 8 (No lunch served)

The ASIH Graduate Student Participation Committee will host the editors of Copeia, The Journal of Herpetology and Herpetologica for presentations on the scope of and submission procedure for each of these journals. Their presentations will be followed by a question and answer session. This is your best chance to have all of your questions about publishing answered by the people responsible for making the decisions. There is no charge for this workshop. Graduate students only, please.

Organizer: Nick Lang

How to Get a Job — A short discussion for graduate students.

Thursday, July 7, 12 – 2 pm, Meeting Room 8
(No lunch served)

Sometimes the job search that follows graduation is a neglected part of a graduate student's education. In this workshop speakers from various fields, including museums, private consultants, government employees, and academics, will give tips on the job search. This includes not only their experiences in their job search but also from their experience on hiring committees. The thrust of the workshop is to provide graduate students with some tips and suggestions on their upcoming job searches.

Organizers: Mike Lannoo and Brian Smith

Student 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:

Conservation Biology includes, but is not limited to, studies whose primary focus is on the conservation of biodiversity, broadly defined as the identification, protection, preservation, restoration, management, or sustainable use of currently or potentially imperiled taxa or assemblages and their habitats.
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, 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.

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

Ichthyology
Herpetology

Stoye and Storer Awards Eligibility and Judging

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

be the sole author and presenter;
be a member of ASIH;
indicate a desire to be considered when submitting an abstract (see instructions for Submitting Abstracts); and
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.” Stoye and Storer presentations are judged by the following criteria: introduction; methods; data analysis and interpretation; conclusions; innovation, originality, and scientific significance; presentation; and 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).

If you are a Master's or Ph.D. student with research results, consider participating in the annual competition for The Herpetologists' League Robert G. Jaeger Student Award for Graduate Research. There are six prizes to be won.

To participate, you must (1) be a member of The Herpetologists' League in good standing; (2) be either a registered graduate student or have completed your graduate degree within 12 months of the Award presentations at the annual meeting; (3) submit a single-authored abstract by the "call for papers" deadline for the 2005 annual meeting, noting on the abstract your intention to compete only in the HL Award competition (this applies only to this particular abstract; different abstracts/presentations may be submitted to other competitions); (4) submit a single-authored extended abstract to the Chair of the HL Award Committee (four pages of text, double-spaced, minimum 11 point or 12 point type, 1 inch [2.5 cm] margins, with additional literature cited, tables, and figures for a maximum of 10 pages in total) written in format for Herpetologica, due 6 May 2005 (two months before the first day of the annual meeting); and (5) give the oral presentation at the annual meeting. Note that noncompliance with any of these requirements will result in disqualification.

The judges will review the extended abstracts and pick up to six finalists for the rest of the competition. Their names will be announced at the meeting after the presentations (all presentations will be in a single session). If you are a finalist, you will receive a travel award of $200. In addition, The Herpetologists' League will host a dinner for the finalists on the evening of the Award Session. The winner will be announced later at the HL Business Meeting, and the award shall consist of (1) $300 (for a total of $500), (2) 10 years of back issues of Herpetologica, and (3) an invitation to submit an expanded full-length manuscript to Herpetologica/Herpetological Monographs (which will be subject to normal review) as a lead article identifying the author as winner of the Award. All participants will receive collated comments from the judges on their talk and extended abstract.

Admittedly, The Herpetologists' League's student award competition is more demanding than those of the other herpetological societies, but the chances of winning something are higher, and we submit that you'll get a lot out of the experience whether you win the first prize or not. For assistance on giving oral presentations and writing the extended abstract, we recommend that you refer to the June 1998 Supplement of Herpetologica (Volume 54: S42-S54 and S67-S75).

For further information or questions concerning The Herpetologists' League award, contact Christopher Sheil, Department of Biology, John Carroll University, 20700 North Park Boulevard, University Heights, Ohio 44118.

The Henri Seibert Awards were initiated in 1992 to provide recognition for the best student papers presented at the annual meeting of the SSAR. 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, and 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 Marion Preest for further information.

Ten awards of US $200 each are available. An applicant for a travel award must be a student and a member of SSAR, must not have previously received a travel award from SSAR, and must be the first author of a paper or poster to be presented. Application package must include: 1) letter signed by his/her major advisor or department chair that states: he/she is not completely funded for travel from another source; 2) an official copy of the poster or paper abstract to be presented; and 3) a self-addressed, stamped envelope. If the research is co-authored, the applicant must also include a letter from his/her advisor stating that the work was primarily the product of the applicant. Qualified applicants are pooled and winners are drawn at random. Students from the local meeting site and current members of the SSAR Travel Awards Committee are excluded from applying for a travel award. Applications must be postmarked by May 31, 2005. Award checks will be disbursed at the meeting. Send application package to Kris Raymond, 13304A Thomasville Circle, Tampa, Florida 33617 or email Kris for further information.

Student travel awards of $200 will once again be awarded to help defray travel expenses to participate in the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Applicants must be ASIH members and the first author of the paper or poster being presented. Applications and instructions can be downloaded here. Although submissions through regular post will be accepted, email submissions are preferred. Any student making a presentation is encouraged to apply, although awards are limited to students who have not won in the past. Selection is by random draw from among qualified applicants, with ten awards for herpetologists and ten for ichthyologists. Applications must be postmarked or emailed by May 31, 2005. Award recipients will receive their checks at the meeting after working three hours in the book raffle booth, the proceeds of which fund these awards. Direct queries and completed applications to: Andrew R. Mahon, Old Dominion University, Department of Biological Sciences, Mills Godwin Building, Norfolk, VA 23529, amahon@odu.edu.

Travel grants of $50 each are available to a limited number of student members of SEASIH to attend the Joint Annual Meeting of ASIH, HL, and SSAR. Applicants must be presenting a paper or poster at the meeting and be members of SD-ASIH. Students seeking travel awards should provide a brief letter of justification for their request, all appropriate contact information, and an abstract of their paper/poster by 15 March, 2005, to:

Dr. Michael E. Dorcas
Department of Biology
Davidson College
Davidson, NC 28035-7118
midorcas@davidson.edu.

Put "SD-ASIH Travel" in the subject line. Recipients must be present at the SEASIH business meeting to pick up their award.

Ichthyology ($100)
Herpetology ($100)

Students who are sole or senior authors on papers, and who are members of SD-ASIH may compete for this award in one of these two subject areas. To be considered, submit by email the abstract that was submitted for the joint meeting to the SD-ASIH president at the address below by 15 March, 2005. Put "SD-ASIH" in the subject line.

Send applications for both awards to:
Dr. Michael E. Dorcas
Department of Biology
Davidson College
Davidson, NC28035-7118
midorcas@davidson.edu

The American Elasmobranch Society will present the Carrier Award for the best student poster presentation on elasmobranch biology given during the AES Poster Session. Initiated in 1999, this award has been made possible through a donation from Jeffrey C. and Carol A. Carrier, who have been longtime advocates of student participation in the Society.

The American Elasmobranch Society will present the Samuel Gruber Award for the best student oral presentation on elasmobranch biology given during the AES paper sessions. This award is named for the society's founder, who continues to be a source of inspiration for students in this challenging field of study.

Gruber Award and Carrier Award Eligibility and Judging

To be eligible, a student must (1) be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student, or have completed his/her degree within 12 months of the presentation; (2) be a member in good standing of AES; (3) be first or sole author of a contributed paper; and (4) indicate at the time of abstract submission his/her intention to compete for the appropriate award. To be a member in good standing, students must renew their student memberships by January 1 of the calendar year of the Annual Meeting in which the presentation will be given. Students joining the society for the first time will be eligible for Society Awards provided they are also members in good standing by the January 1 deadline."

Student oral presentations and poster presentations will be judged by separate panels of AES members representing various backgrounds, and will include the previous year's award recipient, whenever possible. Evaluation will be based on the quality, originality, and significance of the research, as well as the student's presentation. Each participant will receive a copy of the judging evaluation criteria prior to the meeting. A minimum of three student presenters must be eligible for judging for either award to be considered. Winners of the Gruber Award and Carrier Award will be announced at the AES Banquet.