Student researcher uses frog’s call to preserve rare amphibian
Valeria Aspinall was at the Tapir Valley Nature Preserve in northern Costa Rica the day an expert herpetologist declared that the tree frog living there is a distinct species, something that had not been recognized by science. Aspinall is now at the Odum School of Ecology working on a master’s degree with a Spencer Fellowship and conducting research that she hopes will protect the very rare, critically endangered frog, which has only been found in a 20-acre wetland within the larger nature reserve adjoining Tenorio Volcano National Park.
Finding where freshwater shrimp fit into the food web
As an undergrad at the University of Benin in Nigeria, Justin Jimawo studied tropical zooplankton, the tiny organisms that live near the surface of streams and ponds.
RBC Affiliates Team up to Rescue Species From Extinction
This summer, researchers from the River Basin Center assisted the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) in rescuing one of the last populations of the Laurel Dace, an endangered minnow species, from a drying stream in Tennessee. The rescue, conducted in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, has since attracted media attention from multiple Chattanooga news outlets as well as Pattrn, an affiliate of The Weather Channel that covers climate change and conservation.
Paulsen: Administrator, confidante, artist
In May of 2023, Wendy Paulsen retired from UGA, stepping down from her long-time position as office manager of the River Basin Center.
GMNH zoological collection available online
The Georgia Museum of Natural History at the University of Georgia is vast, with collections spread across a number of campus facilities. But now, for the first time, one of its zoological collections can be viewed online.
Imperiled frogs are dying off at alarming rates. Here’s what researchers know.
As the longleaf pine ecosystem becomes smaller and wildlife populations become more isolated, amphibians face many challenges. Among these are disease and habitat fragmentation, which are more relevant now than ever. Since April of this year, frogs that rely on these wetlands have been dying at alarming rates in some regions. The amphibian infection and mortality event appears to be widespread, according to University of Georgia researchers and their collaborators.
RBC affiliates team up to explore federal freshwater policy
All scientific research is collaborative, but this group of River Basin Center affiliates exemplified why interdisciplinary work is so important- with compelling results for freshwater policy. The Odum School of Ecology’s Rosemond Lab teamed up with policy experts to evaluate the efficacy of policies to reduce nutrient pollution.
Q&A with RBC intern Gabriel Stephenson
Gabriel Stephenson is a first-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Ecology and a minor in Film Studies. He’s working as a communications intern for the River Basin Center this semester and is excited to be a part of this community!
Researchers reveal need to examine link between two major environmental threats
There is a critical need to explore two of the biggest environmental threats—invasive species and hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen dissolved in a body of water—side-by-side, according to a new literature review conducted by affiliate Jeb Byers.
Burning questions: The mysteries of pyrogenic carbon and the effects of prescribed fire on soil
When you think of a forest on fire, you aren’t usually thinking about what’s happening in the soil- but graduate student Ali Moss is. The Spencer Research Grant winner and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources student’s research investigates the relationship between prescribed fire and carbon cycling, specifically studying an organic material known as […]