TWS2014

TWS2014 is turning out to be quite the productive, collaborative conference! Of course I'm a bit biased, but it is refreshing to see talks from and meet with all the amazing people in the field of ranavirus research (without any of them saying "Is that like Bd?" - can I get an "amen" from the RV people!).  On a related note, for all things ranavirus...if I haven't already posted this...check out the Global Ranavirus Consortium for updates and publication lists. Dr. Matthew Gray, GRC director, U Tennessee faculty member & coordinator of the UT Wetlands Program has done a great job with collaborators organizing the GRC site and publishing the first ever book on ranavirus, which we're all SUPER excited about. Look for the book coming out early 2015.
I have also met lots of other students/researchers working on some great ranavirus monitoring projects around the country, and will give a shout out to a very motivated undergrad, Brandon Perrone, working with Dr. Bridgette Hagerty at York College in PA. They are monitoring a local vernal pool for RV prevalence in both tadpoles and adults, and projects like this are exactly what we need to develop a deeper understanding of where and when these outbreaks hit.

The Wildlife Society Conference 2014

The ARVP will be making its national conference debut at TWS 2014! Check out the conference at wildlifesociety.org. I will be presenting a poster at the student research in progress poster session entitled "Environmental factors affecting ranavirus prevalence among aquatic-breeding amphibians in natural and constructed ponds". New addition to poster: preliminary results!!! Follow me on twitter @codenameribbit for a play-by-play at the conference.