Hello everyone, The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) Marine Science Graduate Student Organization would like to remind you that we will be hosting a Graduate Student Symposium (GSS 2021) during the weekend of April 16th-18th! GSS is an annual conference of marine science graduate students from around the Gulf Coast who meet to present research, provide feedback, and network with others. Due to COVID-19, we have opted to hold the event virtually this year; however, this allows us to expand our range of opportunities to all grad students (not just those from Gulf Coast institutions) and to a wider variety of research topics, including sessions for marine mammal research, such as megafauna conservation. We will be holding the event as a live virtual conference, meaning that students will present in real-time in front of virtual audiences and receive live questions and feedback. To achieve this goal, we encourage all students, faculty and staff at research institutions and members of the press and general public to join us and participate throughout the weekend. To be a presenter, you must be either a graduate student or undergraduate, but you do not have to be a student to attend. The cost to register as a student or faculty member is $45, which will include a welcome packet and t-shirt (and abstract fee if you are a student). If you are a member of the general public or a technician or researcher that is not faculty, registration is $7.50. For presenters, abstracts are due March 3rd. Included in this email is a flyer with general information and a graphic that contains session topics. Please feel free to distribute these materials to anyone that may be interested. Registration forms can be accessed at our conference website: https://whova.com/web/msgss_202104/ If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out at msgso.gss2021@gmail.com . We look forward to hosting y'all in April! Sincerely, The DISL Marine Science Graduate Student Organization -- Lauren R. Clance M.S. Student University of South Alabama Dauphin Island Sea Lab 101 Bienville Blvd Dauphin Island, AL 36528
