The twenty-fourth annual Odum School of Ecology Graduate Student Symposium, highlighting the latest research from ecology students at all levels, will take place Feb. 2-3 in the Odum School auditorium.

This year’s symposium features 31 oral presentations by graduate students and 13 posters by undergraduates. It concludes with a keynote address by University of Georgia ecology alumnus David Walters. The symposium is free and open to all.

Organized and run by Odum School graduate students, GSS is an annual forum for the exchange of new ideas among students and faculty in the Odum School of Ecology. Graduate students present scientific talks and undergraduates participate in poster presentations about their original research.

This year’s talks and posters cover a wide range of topics, from the impacts of dioxin on American alligators to how conversion to palm plantations affects tropical streams.

Oral presentations take place on Feb. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Feb. 3 from 1:45 to 4:30 p.m. The undergraduate poster session is on Feb. 2 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Odum School lobby.

The keynote address by David Walters begins at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3. Walters, who received his master’s degree in conservation ecology and sustainable development in 1997 and his doctorate in ecology in 2002, is a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He currently leads the Aquatic Ecology and Contaminants Team at the Fort Collins, Colo. Science Center, investigating human impacts to aquatic and riparian systems through field studies, manipulative experiments and modeling.

In his talk, “From rocks to spiders: Geologic controls on trace metals affect aquatic-riparian linkages in Rocky Mountain streams,” he will discuss the complex ways heavy metals from abandoned mines influence aquatic and riparian ecosystems, particularly food webs.

For more about the Odum School of Ecology, see www.ecology.uga.edu. For more about GSS, including the complete schedule, see http://gsa.ecology.uga.edu.