Affiliate Spotlight: Leach describes natural world in the language of chemistry
As an affiliate of the River Basin Center, Franklin Leach manages monitoring equipment at the confluence of two branches of Tanyard Creek, streams that come together just south of Bolton Dining Hall in the middle of UGA campus. Tanyard Branch is a learning lab for UGA students from multiple colleges, and the monitoring equipment will provide data for all sorts of research projects in the future.
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.
2025 Spencer Research Grants Awarded to Six
Athens, Ga. – Six graduate student affiliates of the River Basin Center have been named recipients of John Spencer research grants for 2025. This year’s awards will provide a total of $10,000 to support a range of projects that contribute to water sustainability and resilience across the southeastern United States and beyond.
A genetic clock can predict lifespan in mammals, UGA’s SREL research suggests
RBC Affiliate Benjamin Parrott, an Associate Professor at the Savannah River Ecology Lab, have gained new insight into the phenomenon of epigenetic drift, a “clock” within an animal’s DNA that determines its rate of aging. The study has the ability to significantly affect aging research.
The Ever-Shifting River
John Spencer Grant recipient and National Geographic Explorer Anuja Mital works to understand how turtles move across the dynamic Brahmaputra River valley.
Managing the ebb & flow of the I-85 corridor
Multiple RBC affiliates, along with Director Seth Wenger and Associate Director Krista Capps, recently published a paper on the effects of urbanization along I-85, as well as suggestions for the continued water management of one of the United States’ most vital interstate arteries.
Study: People are altering decomposition rates in waterways
A new study co-authored by RBC Associate Director Krista Capps and Affiliate J.P. Schmidt gathered data from 550 rivers across 40 countries and found that human intervention increases the rate of decomposition of plant matter, depriving freshwater life of food at a faster rate than usual, as well as potentially exacerbating climate change.
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.