def growth_calc_species(dbconn, speccode, region):
    """Returns species growth assignment type given species speccode and region code"""
    qstr = "SELECT GrowthAssign FROM SpeciesCodeList WHERE SpeciesCode = '%s' AND Region = '%s'" % (speccode, region)
    c = dbconn.cursor()
    c.execute(qstr)
    qresult = c.fetchone()
    (growthspecies0) = qresult
    growthspecies = growthspecies0[0]
    if "OTHER" in growthspecies:
        qstr = "SELECT GrowthAssign FROM SpeciesCodeList WHERE SpeciesCode = '%s' AND Region = '%s'" % (growthspecies, region)
        c.execute(qstr)
        qresult = c.fetchone()
        (growthspecies0) = qresult
        growthspecies = growthspecies0[0]
    return growthspecies