At the 23rd Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles, Anders Rhodin and the Chelonian Research Foundation presented the 2025 Student Awards for Best Papers and Posters, recognizing and honoring student excellence in scholarship and presentation.
The Awards Judging Committee 2025, listed here in alphabetical order by last name, consisted of Deborah Bower, Grover Brown, Germán Forero Medina, Christel Griffioen, Ethan Hollender, Natalie Hyslop, Day Ligon, Rodrigo Macip-Ríos, Pearson McGovern, Donald McKnight, Eric Nordberg, Luke Pearson, Anders Rhodin, Denise Thompson (Committee Chair), and Tracey Tuberville.
All Winners:
Winner – Best Paper: Zoie McMillian
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
For research titled, “Characterizing Current and Potential Turtle Consumers: Identifying Drivers of Demand in the United States”.
Runner-up – Best Paper: Noah Devros
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.
For research titled, “Drones as a Viable Method of Conducting Basking Surveys and Collecting Habitat Data”.
Runner-up – Best Paper: Kyra “Sully” Sullivan
University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
For research titled, “Health Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms on Australian Freshwater Turtles”.
Winner – Best Poster: Erin Trimpe
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA.
For the paper, “Movement Ecology and Predation Risk: An Analysis of Co-occurring Raccoons and Wood Turtles in an Actively Managed Landscape”.
Header image: (from left) Kyra “Sully” Sullivan, Erin Trimpe, Zoie McMillian, and Noah Devros. All photos by Samantha Stephens
