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A plenary at the 2017 Montana Chapter research symposium. |
On November 6-7, 2017, we hosted the 8th annual Montana Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology research symposium at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Our theme this year was "Conservation Now!", which directed the focus of participants to utilizing 21st century science, data, and analytic principles to move conservation forward.
The first day of our conference began with a special presentation by wildlife filmmakers Rob Whitehair and Pam Voth entitled, "Where Science, advocacy, filming and art collide". We then had student and professional presentations on topics ranging from environmental DNA sampling to legacy introductions and climatic variation. Our first day ended in an evening plenary featuring a moderated panel discussion on the use of science in wildlife management and conservation entitled, "How do regional conservation NGO's use conservation science?". The panel was moderated by a graduate student board member (Brit Garner) and consisted of panelists from Montana Conservation Voters, Montana Wilderness Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited.
The second and final day of the conference featured both posters and oral presentations by graduate students and professionals. Topics included habitat preferences, nesting biology, probabilistic land cover classification, bat cave use and disease management, reducing collisions with large mammals, genetic recapture techniques, gene flow in isolated populations, weed control, citizen science, nocturnal soundscapes, and many more. We ended with refreshments and mingling, and solidified contacts and relationships between participants. Overall, we had a great meeting and are looking forward to the next.
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Registration at the 2017 Montana Chapter research symposium. |