ICMB

The ICMB XI awards ceremony was held on the afternoon of Thursday, May 18. At the ceremony, the Scientific Steering and Local Organizing Committees were delighted to recognize the strong promise and valuable contributions of an impressive slate of students and early-career scientists who had competed for travel awards and for student achievement prizes.

Congratulations to all who participated, and especially to the awardees — there's no question that the future of our field is bright!

Travel Awards

Applications for travel awards were evaluated based on the quality of the applicant's abstract submission, their explanation of how conference attendance would benefit their career goals, and their justification of financial need. Current students and recent graduates (those enrolled at any time during 2022) and early-career scientists (highest degree obtained within the last 3 years) were eligible to apply and each application was considered by 2 to 3 reviewers.

A total of 44 students and early-career scientists applied (37 for student awards, 7 for the early-career scientist award), representing institutions in 20 countries. Three applicants had never attended a scientific conference before.

International Student Travel Awards

International Student Travel Awards were sponsored by the generosity of individual donors and by souvenir sales supporting ICMB X and ICMB XI.

• Maryjune Cabiguin, The Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines.
  "Co-occurrence of a non-native and a native mussel species in the Philippines"

• Hailey N. Shchepanik, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.
  "Biological characteristics and eDNA detection of invasive barramundi Lates calcarifer in the Red Sea"

PICES Student Travel Awards

These awards were sponsored by a generous donation from PICES, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization.

• Meredyth Phillips Duncan, San Francisco State University, USA.
  "Characterizing invasive Watersipora (Bryozoa) populations in the central California rocky intertidal"

• Emily Masini Zavacki, University of San Diego, USA.
  "Spatiotemporal dynamics of the marine invertebrate community associated with Amathia verticillata"

Judith A. Pederson and James T. Carlton Early-Career Scientist Travel Award

This award was sponsored by a generous donation from GiMaRIS.

• Clara B. Giachetti, Grupo de Ecología en Ambientes Costeros, Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR-CONICET), Argentina.
  "Lessons from the South: dominance of NIS on artificial structures in cold-temperate areas"

Student/ECS Registration Fee Waivers

In order to further support the many students and early-career scientists showing strong promise and demonstrated financial need, the organizers were pleased to be able to grant registration fee waivers to 17 additional student/ECS presenters.

Student Achievement Awards

Achievement prizes were awarded for excellence in oral and poster presentations at the 11th International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions. Both current students and recent graduates (those enrolled at any time during 2022) were eligible to choose to be evaluated, and each participating presentation was reviewed by 2 to 3 reviewers.

All presenters were able to receive copies of their evaluations, with the goal of providing constructive feedback and valuable professional development. Enormous thanks to everyone who served as a reviewer!

Competition was stiff, with a field of 44 student presenters participating (33 oral presenters and 13 poster presenters), representing institutions in 14 countries. Graduate students made up the overwhelming majority, but we were especially pleased to see that earlier career scientists were also represented, with 4 undergraduates and 1 high school student competing.

Prizes were generously sponsored by: PeerJ Life & Environment, Maryland Sea Grant, the Mid-Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Best Student Oral Presentations

First Place

• Phikolomzi Matikinca, Stellenbosch University and University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
  "Effects of changing temperature and acidification on alien-dominated fouling communities"

  • Winner, PeerJ Award for Best Overall Student Talk

• Emma Leitao, Dalhousie University, Canada.
  "Modeling the introduction and spread of the invasive Hemigrapsus sanguineus in Atlantic Canada"

Second Place

• Melanie Esch, Florida International University, USA.
  "Predicting the potential distribution of a new Caribbean invader using a species distribution model"

• Meredyth Phillips Duncan, San Francisco State University, USA.
  "Characterizing invasive Watersipora (Bryozoa) populations in the central California rocky intertidal"

Third Place

• Timothy S. Lee, East Carolina University, USA.
  "Macroinvertebrate assemblages of a red, marine invasive macroalga along the US Eastern Seaboard"

• Hailea F. H. Boggess, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA.
  "Life history and impacts of an undescribed parasite on its first intermediate host, the bay scallop"

Best Student Poster Presentations

• Maggie Stoffer, Smith College, USA. (First Place)
  "Testing for inducible defenses in snail populations that differ in exposure to an invasive crab"

  • Winner, PeerJ Award for Best Overall Student Poster

• Annie Chu, San Francisco State University, USA. (Second Place)
  "Impact of severe winter storms on a coastal invader in the rocky intertidal of California"

• Mikayla Newbrey, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. (Third Place)
  "A genetic toolkit for understanding rapid expansion of European green crabs in the Northeast Pacific"