ST. GEORGE – Two Dixie State College of Utah biology majors were honored for their work this past Friday evening at the annual Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters Awards ceremony held at the Maeser Building on the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah.

Allystair Jones, a senior from San Marcos, Calif., and Daniel Sumko, a senior from Perry, Utah, were presented the “Best Paper in Biology” award for research they co-authored on the lethal effects of chytrid fungus on amphibians throughout the world. According to DSC Biology Professor Dr. Curt Walker, who also served as co-author on the project, the chytrid fungus has been found in Arizona among the species of tree frogs, but through research, the trio has found no evidence of the fungus in the tree frog population that inhabits Zion National Park.

“Huge numbers of amphibians are going extinct right now because of this fungus,” Dr. Walker said. “It’s been found in Arizona populations of the canyon tree frog, but not in the populations in Zion so far, and we’re the ones that found that out.”

For more information on the project or DSC’s Biology program, contact Dr. Curt Walker at 435-652-7785 or at walker.dixie.edu.