TIFTON– Parker Gerdes from Canton and Dalton Ridgdill from Lyons, both students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, won the award for Best Undergraduate Presentation at the recent Georgia Chapter of The Wildlife Society annual conference. The two ABAC students received numerous positive comments from professionals, a certificate, and a small cash prize.
Gerdes and Ridgdill focused their research on a new method of detecting hook ingestion in freshwater turtles. They have a passion for helping endangered species and hope to discover if hook ingestion leads to the death of the turtles.
“ABAC has helped challenge us as well as provided us with the knowledge and ability to work in the field,” said Ridgdill.
Gerdes and Ridgdill are Natural Resource Management majors with a concentration in conservation law, and both have the dream of becoming game wardens.
“We are exceptionally proud of Parker and Dalton for their hard work,” Dr. Vanessa Lane, ABAC Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management, said. “Earning the Best Undergraduate Presentation award at the Georgia Chapter of The Wildlife Society annual meeting is a tremendous and prestigious accomplishment.”
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