Students Present at Wildlife Society Conference

Two St. John Fisher University senior biology majors, Joey Ontl and Alyssa Karsten, had the opportunity to present their research at the New York Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s annual meeting.

The New York Wildlife Society is a scientific and educational organization serving and representing wildlife professionals across the state. Their mission is to increase awareness and appreciation of wildlife values. The annual meeting not only provides students the chance to present their work, but as well as opportunities to network and learn more about the wildlife profession.

Both students shared research the conducted in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Hoffman, assistant professor of biology.

Ontl has been studying the New York State Endangered Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, using a camera trap method to assess a local habitat for the species. This technique uses a straight-line metal fence with upside down buckets on each end.

“We placed a trail camera inside the ‘roof’ of each bucket. When an organism moves through the environment and comes into contact with these fences, it is forced to follow the wall to the bucket and push through,” Ontl explained.

The camera inside each bucket then photographs the species as it passes through. Ontl will use the results from this technique to compare other sites that Massasauga Rattlesnakes inhabit.

Karsten has been conducting a variety of surveys of different amphibian populations across 20 sites at Mendon Ponds Park in Rochester, New York, throughout the spring and summer. During and after her field research, Karsten digitally mapped the surveyed sites to measure the presence of different species throughout the park.

“Amphibians, especially salamanders, are considered ecosystem indicators due to their requirement of two habitats—forests and fishless wetlands,” Karsten said. “If one habitat is even slightly destroyed or degraded, it can prevent them from occurring, so their populations can tell us a lot about the health of the entire ecosystem.”

Karsten received the award for Best Student Presentation at the conference.

“When I first started presenting my work, I was terrified and anxious about speaking in front of a group,” she said. “The first few presentations I did were at Fisher, and I gained a lot of positive feedback, and therefore confidence from those presentations. Over time, it became easier to talk about my research, because I’m passionate and proud of the work I’ve done.”

Karsten highlights the benefit of students expanding their network and having the opportunity to present research outside of the university environment.

“People at conferences are there to learn new things, and it can be fun to be the teacher of your passion,” she said.

With University funding, Ontl was able to enjoy an enriching experience at the conference as well.

“I beg people to take this opportunity,” he said. “I sat at the conference and listened to experts explain their passion and recent discoveries. With every presentation, I learned something new. I also cannot reiterate enough that throwing yourself into these experiences can be scary, but with each one, you will get better until you feel confident in your ability.”

Karsten agreed.

“I’m so incredibly grateful for Fisher supporting my research so closely. It has been a privilege to conduct such meaningful research as an undergraduate, and I could not have done it without Fisher’s support,” she said.

This article was written by Brooke Eastman, a senior media and communication major. Eastman currently works in the Office of Marketing and Communications at Fisher for the spring 2025 semester.