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Fishes, sharks, snakes, amphibians, reptiles Experts share their research at joint meeting
Dr. Jay R. Stauffer Jr., professor of icthyology at Penn State, chaired the local organizing committee for the joint meeting of four national and international scientific organizations whose members conduct research on fishes, sharks, snakes, amphibians and reptiles. photo by Dick Ackley University Photo/Graphics Samuel E. Hayes Jr., Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, speaks to participants during the opening session of the 1999 Joint Meeting of the American Society for Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the American Elasmobranch Society, the Herpetologists’ League and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. The joint meeting was held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in June. photo by Dick Ackley University Photo/Graphics	More than 1,000 ichthyologists and herpetologists from around the world gathered at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel last summer to report their research on species of fishes, sharks, snakes, amphibians and reptiles.   Members of four scientific organizations united for this annual meeting: the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the American Elasmobranch Society, the Herpetologists’ League and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.   Dr. Jay R. Stauffer Jr., professor of ichthyology in the School of Forest Resources at Penn State, chaired the local organizing committee for the joint meeting, which included representatives from the four organizations. The School of Forest Resources and the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State hosted the event. Staff members from Continuing Education’s Conferences and Institutes and the Outreach Office of Marketing Communications assisted with planning and promotion. The joint meeting also received funding from Outreach and Cooperative Extension’s Program Innovation Fund.   In addition to organizing the joint meeting, Stauffer and his colleagues presented their research during three sessions of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists’ meeting. Their research topics included the habitat of a native darter (Teleostel: Percidae) in the Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania, the breeding systems and displays of cichlid species inhabiting Lake Malawi in Africa, and the microhabitats of benthic darters found in the Allegheny River, French Creek and Elk and Birch rivers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. An outreach program of the College of Agricultural Sciences Lisa J. Rosenberger of the University of Chicago talks about her research on the evolution of batiod (e.g. skates, stingrays, manta rays) locomotion during the American Elasmobranch Society’s meeting at Penn State. Troy A. Baird of the University of Central Oklahoma discusses the behavior of collared lizards during the Herpetologists’ League meeting at Penn State. photos by Dave Shelly—University Photo/Graphics