The American Society of Naturalists created the American Naturalist Student Paper Award to honor student work published in the American Naturalist that best represents the goals of the society. To be eligible for the award, the work presented in the paper must have been performed primarily by the first author and primarily while she/he was an undergraduate or graduate student. The editors of the American Naturalist form the committee to consider the papers published in the year before. The recipient of the American Naturalist Student Paper Award receives $500.