DURHAM, N.C. – More than 100 graduate students in biology, geography, and environmental science and policy from universities across the United States will take part in the 2006 Student Conference on Conservation Science, March 15-17, at 91.

The conference’s aim is to create a network of future conservation scientists, said conference coordinator Luke Dollar, a doctoral student at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

"We want to bring together the nation’s next generation of environmental leaders,” Dollar said. "The goal is to share our findings, broaden our horizons and form professional friendships that can lead to future collaborations."

This is the second consecutive year the conference has been held at the Nicholas School. An affiliated conference, geared toward conservation issues in Europe, Asia and Africa, is held each year at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Approximately three dozen students will make oral presentations on their recent research during the Nicholas School conference. All other participants will present their scientific results in poster format.

Presentation topics include marine and river conservation; development in urban landscapes; wetlands and freshwater ecosystems; GIS technologies and applications; conservation policy and management; conservation of Madagascar’s biodiversity; human activities and conservation; plant communities; and diversity in populations.

In addition to student presentations, the conference also features plenary lectures by four leading conservation practitioners: P. Dee Boersma, Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science at the University of Washington; Larry B. Crowder, Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology at the Nicholas School; John L. Gittleman, associate professor of biology at the University of Virginia; and Dan Martin, senior managing director of Conservation International’s Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund.

The talks will be held at Love Auditorium in the Levine Science Research Center.

On Wednesday, March 15, Martin will speak at 9:20 a.m. and Crowder will speak at 7 p.m.

On Thursday, March 16, Boersma will speak at 9 a.m.

On Friday, March 17, Gittleman will speak at 8:30 a.m.