Joseph Alcuitas and Rachel Uhlig, SWOSU students, presented their poster at SWAN 2023.

Joseph Alcuitas and Rachel Uhlig, undergraduate students in the Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, won third place in the Clark Hubbs Poster Competition during the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN) in San Antonio, held from Aug. 3–6.

Their poster presentation, titled “The Effect of Female Mate Choice on Offspring Sex Ratios in a Freshwater Amphipod Species/El Efecto de Elección de Pareja por Parte de la Hembra en la Proporción de Sexos de su Descendencia en una Especie de Anfípodo de Agua Dulce," was presented to an international assembly of biologists at the conference. Abstracts for the posters were submitted in both English and Spanish for accessibility and consideration of the mixed audience of English and Spanish speakers.

A panel of judges evaluated the posters based on visual presentation and the significance of the research findings. While Alcuitas and Uhlig both work with Dr. Rickey Cothran in the Aquatic Ecology Lab at SWOSU, the work had to be performed primarily by the students. Most participants in the competition were graduate students, including the first and second-place winners.

Joseph and Rachel will receive a certificate of achievement and a $300 cash prize for their contribution to the field. SWOSU takes great pride in these achievements and in the excellent work being consistently produced by the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences.