Research

The River Basin Center works in three broad areas: a) Conservation ecology of aquatic ecosystems; b) Applied research on aquatic system stressors and development of appropriate management tools; c) policy development and outreach.

The River Basin Center includes over 80 affiliates from 27 different University of Georgia units and $6,400,000 in active grants from external funders.

To learn more about River Basin Center research or request a project description of your own work, email UGARiverbasincenter@uga.edu.

Laura Naslund, sitting in a canoe on a pond, smiles while taking emissions data.

A day in the life of a pond: Measuring small-reservoir emissions to inform infrastructure decisions

By 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 Laura Naslund had already spent over an hour in a canoe on a little pond on the east side of Athens, Georgia. Naslund, a graduate student in the Odum School of Ecology and a 2022 Spencer Grant recipient, was finishing up the first field sampling event of … Continue reading A day in the life of a pond: Measuring small-reservoir emissions to inform infrastructure decisions

The breakdown on crabs

Freshwater crabs play an important role in the breakdown of nutrients from natural materials that fall into streams, but few studies have looked into exactly how their relationships with other detritivores and the leaf litter itself impacts ecosystems.  

Ethics Of Water Legislation In Brazil

As climate change causes rising temperatures and changes in rainfall across the planet, Dr. Don Nelson is shedding light on the differing values of populations in Northeastern Brazil to inform future water management decisions.

The Fate of Carbon in Warmer Waters

Researchers Seth Wenger and Amy Rosemond examine the consequences of climate warming on how the carbon contained in leaves, fallen trees, and other natural materials is processed within streams.

Insects through the ages

Graduate student Denzell Cross builds on past research to monitor how urban aquatic insect communities change over time.

The Impacts of Drought on Puerto Rican Streams

Dr. Catherine Pringle and Dr. Alan Covich collaborated on a study on the effects of global climate change, specifically extreme weather events, on ropical stream ecosystems in Puerto Rico.

Mapping Septic in Athens-Clarke County

Researcher Krista Capps is organizing scientific data and building relationships between decision makers to enhance local understanding of existing water infrastructure

Septic System Effects on Lake Lanier

Researcher David Radcliffe is tracking the input of phosphorus to Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s water supply through groundwater measurements, lake sampling, and modeling.

The Search for Gopher Frogs

Dr. Stacey Lance is working to identify suitable habitat for Carolina gopher frogs, a species identified as endangered in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and to survey existing populations on private lands.

Supporting policy in the face of sea level rise

Katie Hill, an affiliate of UGA’s River Basin Center and research professional in the Planning and Environmental Services unit at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia is investigating how communities can adapt to climate change challenges.