Presentations at the WDA - Australasian section conference, Christchurch, NZ

Two members of our team (Dr. Alison Peel and Dr. Laura Grogan) recently returned from a week-long trip to Christchurch, New Zealand, to present at the 2016 Wildlife Disease Association's Australasian section conference (venue changed to Christchurch from Kaikoura after the recent devastating earthquake damage).

Alison presented some of her fascinating work with Eidolon fruit bats from Ghana, from her PhD and post-doc, as well as giving a run-down on writing 'data descriptor' papers for publication, which was extremely helpful. Laura gave a presentation on the role of koala chlamydiosis in koala population declines, which was very well received

There were many other interesting talks given, and numerous great people to meet! Laura attended an 'outbreak investigation' workshop before the conference proper, and both Ali and Laura visited Willowbank Wildlife Reserve for some great fun getting to know the local wildlife!

It was a great conference, with a really lovely close-knit community of wildlife disease researchers and other interested parties (many zoo and wildlife veterinarians). Despite the challenges of the recent quakes, there was a really positive vibe.