HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Senior Amy King won best poster presentation as several Mansfield University students and faculty presented at the annual Pennsylvania American Fisheries Society Symposium hosted at Juniata College on Feb. 6.
King won best poster for her work “Comparison of macroinvertebrate and microbial populations in decomposing nonnative Fallopia japonica and native riparian trees of the Delaware River.” The Venango, Pa. native is mentored by Drs. Greg Moyer and Jeanne Kagle of the Department of Biology.
“Opportunities like these do not come every day. If you find yourself in the position where you have the chance to mingle with possible future employers or brag about what you have worked so hard on, take it and impress them with all that you have learned” said King about her experience at the conference. “My work with the biology professors at Mansfield University has allowed me to be confident enough to reach for excellence and achieve my goals no matter how challenging.”
Laura Horowitz, from Milford, Pa., presented her senior research entitled “Micro-friction and adhesive properties of fish scales – a test between predator and prey.” Horowitz is mentored by Drs. Moyer and Elaine Farkas (Department of Chemistry and Physics).
Dr. Moyer, who serves as President of the Society, presented research completed by recent biology graduate Ryan Shaw of Etters, Pa. His talk was entitled “Identification of Moxostoma specimens collected in the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania via DNA barcoding.”
Students from Dr. Moyer’s Human Dimensions in Fisheries Management class attended the conference and had the opportunity to take several workshops pertaining to fish ID, eDNA, data analysis and macro invertebrate ID.
The fisheries program is a concentration of Mansfield University’s bachelor of science in biology. Learn more about the Department of Biology at www.mansfield.edu/biology/.