a note from John ...
I have been so fortunate to have had an amazing army of undergraduates, graduate students, and post docs who have done remarkable things during their time at UGA. All have managed to remain productive members of society, and most are gainfully employed, so there is no evidence that their time in my lab caused them harm.
They are pictured here as they looked when they were active members of the lab so we can remember and keep them humble. Many are much older now and time has not always been kind, but we love them.
They are pictured here as they looked when they were active members of the lab so we can remember and keep them humble. Many are much older now and time has not always been kind, but we love them.
Kirstine Grab
M.Sc., 2024
M.Sc., 2024
Kirstine received her M.Sc. in Forestry and Natural. Resources with an emphasis in Wildlife Sciences. Kirstine received her B.Sc. in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior with a minor in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota in 2018. Kirstine is broadly interested in how species interact with each other and their environment, particularly when their environment changes, and using science to inform management decisions. Her background includes domestic and international conservation work with a variety of taxa and organizations. Kirstine's masters research examined changes in terrestrial salamander population structure and juvenile growth and survival in response to forest management including mid story shrub removal and high frequency prescribed fire. Kirstine currently works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Shelby Bauer
M.Sc., 2024
M.Sc., 2024
Shelby received her M.Sc. in Integrated Conservation and Sustainability through the Odum School of Ecology. She was co-advised by Drs. John Maerz and Seth Wenger. Shelby received her B.Sc. in Zoology from Oregon State University in 2015 and then worked as a field technician researching and monitoring aquatic ecosystems and amphibians for academic universities, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Geologic Survey’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). She is broadly interested in the ecology and conservation of the terrestrial-aquatic interface and understanding how habitat structure and ecosystem function in this space relate to species dynamics. For her thesis research, Shelby modeled how the stream-breeding salamander abundance and distribution from streams changes with elevation and hydroclimate and how the influence of these taxa on stream ecosystem processes may vary within and among watersheds across the same ecological gradient. Shelby is now a research coordinator with the U.S.G.S.
Dr. Danielle Bradke
Ph.D., 2023
Ph.D., 2023
Dr. Bradke received her Ph.D. from Warnell in wildlife ecology and management. She received her B.Sc. in Natural Resources Management and M.Sc. in Biology from Grand Valley State University where she studied eastern massasauga population ecology. For her Ph.D. dissertation, Dr. Bradke conducted field research to parameterize hierarchical and integrated population models to guide management of Diamond-backed terrapins and woodland salamanders. As a Ph.D. student she also served as core team member for the Florida pine snake Species Status Assessment in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was a postdoctoral associate at the University of Georgia working on the Species Status Assessment of the Southern hognose snake and now holds a full time position with the USFWS.
Dr. Cyndi Carter
Ph.D., 2023
Dr. Carter received her Ph.D. in 2023 from Warnell studying the evolutionary ecology of salamanders in relation to climate including how natural hybrid zones may contribute to the future responses of salamander populations to climate change. She received her B.Sc. in Ecology from UGA in 2013 and her masters from Eastern Illinois University in 2015. Her undergraduate research examined long-term changes in snake communities in the southwestern U.S. and she dabbled in some road ecology of Gila monsters. Her masters research used stable isotopes to study prey use ontogeny and overlap among species of aquatic snakes. Dr. Carter is now a faculty lecturer in the wildlife program at the University of Georgia.
Seamus O'Brien
BSFR, 2023
Seamus graduated with his Bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife and was a long-time and impactful member of the lab. He served several positions as an officer of the Herpetological Society, including President, and he coordinated our outreach program and animal care in addition to working on many research projects. He was and is, all things turtles. For his senior thesis research, Seamus studied the ecology of our local stinkpot (Sternotheruus odorous) populations, describing differences in body size at maturity and population structure in natural versus human-made water bodies. Seamus is now a masters student at Jacksonville State University working with Dr. Grover Brown on turtles (what else). Dr. Brown is also a lab alumnus.
Ally Brown
M.Sc., 2023
Ally completed her masters in wildlife ecology and management. Ally is interested in the impacts of ecological restoration and habitat management on nontarget faunal species. For her thesis research, she developed a new method for using wildlife cameras to successful detect large and medium bodied snakes and other squamates and then used that technique to study the effects of pine savanna restoration on snake communities in the Georgia Coastal Plains. She was able to demonstrate that pine forest restoration is improving habitat for snake communities, though species responses vary and distance from remnant habitats has a large lag effect on snake occupancy of restored sites. Ally received her B.Sc. in Environmental Biology-Zoology with a minor in Geographic Information Science from Michigan State University in 2020. As an undergraduate, she led research examining the function of infanticide in spotted hyenas as well as plant-pollinator interactions in restored prairies. Ally used her experience in animal behavior research for two years as lead Teaching Assistant in UGA's Animal Behavior course where she was recognized with the Warnell Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2022 and the UGA's Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2023.
C. Dare Scott
BSFR, Wildife, 2022
Dare Scott received her bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife Science. She developed an impressive number of professional experiences as a field biologist and quantitative ecologist. For her Honors thesis, Dare used a long-term data set to estimate true nesting frequencies and annual fecundity rates for Diamond-backed terrapins and then applied these new estimates to an existing population viability model to demonstrate that persistence probability for a managed terrapin population is likely greater than previously estimated. Dare is currently a technician with the USGS working on salamander ecology and conservation.
Max Seldes
BSFR, Wildife, 2021
BSFR, Wildife, 2021
Max received her bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife Science. He also served as president of the University of Georgia Herpetological Society. For his senior thesis research, Max worked on resolving the distribution, morphology, and likely introgression of two Desmognathus spp. in the Georgia Piedmont. Max is also an avid photographer and volunteered for wildlife surveys in Peru as part of his broader interest in herpetology and wildlife conservation. Max is currently a Ph.D. student at George Washington University working on salamander phylogeography.
Mary Lou Hoffacker
MNR, 2022
MNR, 2022
Mary Lou completed her Masters of Natural Resources in 2022. She received her B.S. in Ecology and Biodiversity from Sewanee: The University of the South where she studied the effects of climate change on Appalachian stream salamanders with lab alum Dr. Kristen Cecala. Mary Lou has worked in the non-profit, state, volunteer, and federal environmental industries and currently works full time as an Environmental Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. She is passionate about many environmental issues, particularly for coastal ecosystems, and she enjoys learning about new ways to incorporate ecological sciences with human dimensions work to better achieve environmental stewardship.
Dr. Brian Crawford
MSc Wildlife 2011; PhD ICON 2021; Postdoc 2016-2021
MSc Wildlife 2011; PhD ICON 2021; Postdoc 2016-2021
It is hard to describe anyone who had a longer run or bigger impact on our lab than Dr. Brian Crawford. Brian started as masters student when I was still an Assistant Professor. For his masters work, Brian took point on estimating Diamondback terrapin mortality rates due to vehicle collisions on the Jekyll Island Causeway, how mortality varies spatially and temporally creating hot spots and hot moments of risk, defining multiple management needs for terrapin populations. I became and Associate Professor and he went on to become a member of the inaugural ICON PhD cohort where he led research on new management strategies for terrapin populations and guided a local community through structured decision making to develop a conservation plan for terrapins. He was recognized with multiple teaching and research awards as was the inaugural recipient of the CICR Agile Scientist Award. I got promoted to full professor and Brian went on to serve as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist with the Georgia Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Unit (USGS) were we continued to work together on developing range-wide persistence models and an integrative conservation decision making model for five "at-risk" species (Gopher Tortoise, Gopher Frog, Striped Newt, Southern Hognose Snake, and the Florida Pine Snake) associated with the southeastern pine savanna ecosystems. Brian now works for Compass Resource Management where he is applying his exceptional skill set to decision analysis and structured decision making ... and I became a Distinguished Professor.
It is difficult measure the contribution of one individual to another's life and career, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge all the amazing work Brian has contributed to in our lab and his direct role in my own success.
It is difficult measure the contribution of one individual to another's life and career, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge all the amazing work Brian has contributed to in our lab and his direct role in my own success.
Dr. Craig Marshall
PhD Wildlife, 2021
PhD Wildlife, 2021
Craig was jointly advised by Dr. John Maerz and Dr. James Martin. He graduated from Iowa State University in 2011 with B.S. in Animal Ecology and from Mississippi State University in 2016 with a M.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Aquaculture. His dissertation research focused on resource selection and spatial distributions of Gopher tortoises on working pine forest landscapes. Craig also dabbled in modeling Gopher frog spatial distributions using commensal tortoise burrow data.
Craig is an Ecologist with West, Inc.
Craig is an Ecologist with West, Inc.
Dr. Angela Burrow
PhD Wildlife, 2021
PhD Wildlife, 2021
Angela completed her Ph.D. in wildlife ecology. She is the recipient of a University of Georgia Gradaute School Fellowship and an NSF GRFP. Angela is interested in restoration ecology and conservation, and her dissertation research focused on how wetland and upland plant management can contribute to amphibian conservation. Angela is also an accomplished teacher and mentor. She completed UGA's Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching, and she has been recognized with numerous teaching awards. In 2018-2019 she mentored a local high school student through an independent project using 3D printed frogs to test dehydration rates of amphibians under different habitat management regimes. That student went on to be selected for a pre-college scholarship to present their work at an international symposium. For all her accomplishments and service to UGA, Angela was selected as a 2018-2019 Future Faculty Fellow, and in 2019 she received a national PEO Scholar Award recognizing exceptional women in science. Angela also received the 2019 Stoye Award for outstanding student paper at the JMIH. Angela was a postdoc at the University of Kentucky and Cornell University and is now an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University.
David Zailo
MSc CESD
MSc CESD
David was a masters student in the conservation ecology and sustainable development program in the Odum School of Ecology. His work focused on developing and testing novel technologies to improve wildlife ecology and management. Specifically, he is testing the ability to use GPS tags to track the enigmatic habits of Diamondback terrapins in salt marshes, and the efficacy of using drones to count and monitor terrapin populations along the Georgia coast. David currently works as a biologist and leads the conservation research program for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
Katie Fraser
MNR Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2021
MNR Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2021
Katie completed her MNR. Prior to coming to UGA she worked for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the Jekyll Island Authority's wildlife research program. During her time at UGA Katie studied winter surfacing behavior of Timber and Diamond-backed rattlesnakes in Georgia and the potential relationship between winter behavior and disease. She also trained in teaching science and is now a high school biology teacher in south Florida.
Rachel Gardner
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2020
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2020
Rachel received her masters in wildlife ecology and management program in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She was jointly advised by Dr. James Martin and Dr. John Maerz. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Zoology/Environmental Biology. Rachel's thesis research examined movement and resource use of bobwhite quail, timber rattlesnakes, and black rat snakes in response supplemental feeding practices on managed lands. Rachel is now a biologist with South Dakota DNR.
James Hunt
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2020
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2020
James received his masters in the wildlife ecology and management program in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. James received his bachelors from the Odum School of Ecology, and then worked as a research technician studying both birds and amphibians. His masters research focuses on testing active IR camera systems for monitoring reintroduction programs for threatened Gopher frogs, and using telemetry to evaluate the impact of industrial solar development on a declining Gopher frog population. James is also assisting with a wetland restoration project for threatened amphibians. James is currently a biologist for Georgia Department of Natural Resources where he oversees the Gopher tortoise program for the state.
Lizzie Ashley
BSc Biology and Ecology, 2020
BSc Biology and Ecology, 2020
Lizzie received her BS in Biology and Ecology and was a member of the UGA Honors College. Lizzie's Honors Thesis research focused on the effects of salinity on the growth, behavior, and stress physiology of hatchling Diamonback terrapins, which she submitted for publication. Lizzie was the recipient of a 2018 CURO Scholarship in support of her research. She also interned with NOAA. Lizzie is now a DVM/PhD student at UC Davis, and her long-term goals are to work in coastal and marine ecology and conservation. She is particularly interested in relationships between coastal conservation and the health of people and wildlife.
Erin Cork
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2019
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2019
Erin received her M.Sc. in wildlife ecology and management. A few moons earlier she graduated from UGA with a Bachelors Degree in English, and worked as an Admissions Counselor at UGA before returning to graduate school. Erin was a research volunteer at SREL, and worked for the National Park Service monitoring program. Her masters research focuses on modeling wetland suitability for Gopher frogs in Georgia, and evaluated habitat suitability to inform manage for Gopher frogs at the Alapaha River WMA. Erin is a gifted naturalist, worked as a private lands biologist for Quail Forever, and is now biologist for Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Dr. Micah Miles
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2019
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2019
Micah completed her masters by building on her work with the USGS to analyze long-term data on lizard occupancy along a urban to rural gradient within the Santa Monica National Recreation Area (SAMO). Her goals were to determine what attributes of urbanizing landscapes determine species responses to urbanization. She was the recipient of a Graduate Fellowship from the University of Georgia, and a recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Micah just completed her Ph.D. in Integrative Conservation (ICON) under the direction of Dr. Kyle Woosnam. For her Ph.D. work, Micah used social science approaches to understanding what motivates people to become engaged with and volunteer for wildlife conservation.
Dr. Kira McEntire
PhD Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2018
PhD Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2018
Kira completed her Ph.D. in wildlife ecology and management in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She was a recipient of Graduate School Fellowship. She completed her bachelor's degree at Southwestern University in Texas where she studied everything! Literally! Kira's dissertation research integrated behavioral into ecophysiological models of salamander activity by using an agent-based modeling framework. She used that model to examine how behavior may reduce sensitivity of salamanders to variation in rainfall. She also applied the model in conjunction with a field experiment and comparative surveys to estimate the influence of Rhodondendron and its management on salamander activity, survival and abundance. In addition to being a full-time field biologist, Kira was an accomplished teacher and selected to UGA's future faculty program. She is also an avid dancer, and a ceramic artist. In Georgia we call ceramic artists potters, and if you know any potters, you understand why she uses the term ceramic artist. Kira was a visiting Assistant Professor at Trinity University for three years and is now an Assistant Professor of Biology at Queens University.
Dr. Jillian Howard
PhD ICON, 2018
PhD ICON, 2018
Jillian completed her Ph.D. student in the Integrative Conservation (ICON) PhD Program. She completed her bachelor's degree at UC Davis where she studied the spatial and temporal patterns of the breeding activity of Pseudacris regilla in an urban environment. Jillian's doctoral was embedded within the Coweeta LTER where she is developed demographic models for terrestrial salamanders and estimating the effects of shifting precipitation on population demography. She integrated knowledge of regional habitat quality for salamanders with participatory mapping of stakeholder values to identify areas of high value and limited conflict for salamander conservation. Jillian was the recipient of a Graduate School Fellowship. Jillian is a currently a quantitative fisheries scientist for the Muckleshoot Tribe in Washington.
Dr. Adam Clause
PhD ICON, 2018
PhD ICON, 2018
Adam was a Presidential Fellow in the ICON PhD Program. Adam's dissertation focused on how better to use expert opinion and using natural history to inform management and recovery of imperiled species, with an emphasis on reptiles and amphibians in California, Mexico, and Fiji. Adam joined our lab after completing his bachelors degree and a stint as a research technician in Dr. H. Bradley Shaffer’s lab at UC Davis (now UCLA). Adam’s dissertation research focuses on the conservation biology and spatial ecology of alligator lizards in the desert Southwest and southern Mexico. Adam was a postdoc with USGS Western Ecological Research Center and is now Assistant Curator at the Natural History Museum in San Diego.
Melissa Martin
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2018
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2018
Melissa received her masters in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She received her B.Sc. in Forestry from Warnell and worked as an environmental educator before returning to pursue her masters. Her thesis research focused on the potential for a novel toxin produced by the newly described cyanobacteria, Aeotokthonus hydrillicola, to be transferred to aquatic predators (salamanders and water snakes) via their prey. Malissa currently works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Mackenzie Pryor
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
Mackenzie received her bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife. She is broadly interested in the behavior and conservation of primates. Her senior thesis research focused on the ontogeny of gestural communication in Lowland gorillas. Mackenzie was the recipient of a 2017 CURO Summer Fellowship. Mackenzie received her masters degree from Texas A&M studying primate behavioral ecology.
Mel Mosley
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
Mel graduated with a bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife in the Pre-Veterinary Sciences program. Mel's senior thesis research examined patterns of neurodegeneration in Mole salamanders and Northern water snakes exposed to a novel toxic cyanobacteria consumed by their prey. Mel graduated from Colorado State University Veterinary School and now is a practicing veterinarian in North Carolina.
Ben Thesing
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
M.Sc. Wildlife, 2023
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2018
M.Sc. Wildlife, 2023
Ben received his bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife. His senior thesis research focused on building habitat suitability models for rare salamanders with limited distribution records by using the distributions and habitat requirements of better documented sister taxa. Ben was the recipient of a 2017 CURO Summer Fellowship, and coauthored several papers. After working as as an amphibian research technician in Yosemite and for a primate ecology lab, Ben returned to Warnell where he worked with our lab under the direction of Dr. Nate Nibbelink studying the movements of captive-reared juvenile Gopher frogs in restored habitats and building a landscape model to optimize site selection for Gopher frog introductions.
Dr. Heather Abernathy
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2017
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2017
Heather received her masters wildlife ecology and management program in 2017. She graduated from the Odum School of Ecology in 2013, and worked previously with our lab through the Coweeta LTER REU program. Heather's masters research examined interactions between regional variation in precipitation and land cover effects on the distributions and abundances of migratory song birds, and developed higher resolution habitat suitability models for song birds to better predict suitable habitat for species at their southern range limits. Heather helped teach our 2017 study abroad course in New Zealand and Australia. Heather recently completed her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech where she studied interactions between deer and Florida panthers, and she is now a postdoctoral research scientist with the USGS at the University of Montana.
Jessica Lauren Reynolds
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
Jessica received her B.Sc. in wildlife in 2017. Her senior thesis research focused the effects of anthropogenic beach lighting and vegetation removal on nesting patterns of marine turtles on St. Kitts, West Indies. Jessica received a 2017 CURO scholarship and presented her work at the 2017 CURO Symposium and the 2017 International Sea Turtle Symposium. After graduation, Jessica put us all to shame by through hiking the Appalachian Trail. She worked as a fisheries biologist in Oregon and did her masters work at the University of Idaho.
Kayla Smith
BSFR Aquatic Sciences, 2017
BSFR Aquatic Sciences, 2017
Kayla received her B.Sc. in aquatic sciences in 2017. Her senior thesis research focused nest habitat management and spatial mortality patterns for Diamondback terrapins. Her work contributed to our larger Terrapin Conservation Project. Kayla received a 2016 University of Georgia Center for Undergraduate Research (CURO) Scholarship. She presented her research at the 2017 CURO Symposium. She worked as U.S. Forest Service technician conducting alpine surveys of fish and amphibians and then completed her masters degree at Oregon State University.
Jana Pearce
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
Jana received her B.Sc. in wildlife in 2017. For her senior thesis research, Jana worked with lab alumnus Dr. Andy Davis to study a novel way of measuring insect "heart" rates to measure the effects of road noise on stress in adult monarch butterflies.
Audry Vaughn
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
Audry received her B.Sc. in wildlife in 2017. Her senior thesis research focused the potential for a novelotoxin associated with the newly described cyanobacteria Aeotokthonus hydrillicola could be transferred to aquatic snakes via their prey. After crushing her senior thesis presentation, Audry moved on to work as a field technician for Dr. Stanley Fox (OK State) studying collared lizards and then conduct her masters degree at NC State on wildlife management.
Fun Fact: Audrey wrote the first 300 page senior thesis. It only needed to be 30 pages, but she likes to be thorough and had a lot to say.
Fun Fact: Audrey wrote the first 300 page senior thesis. It only needed to be 30 pages, but she likes to be thorough and had a lot to say.
Sarah Diamond
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2016
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2016
Sara received her BSc. in Wildlife in 2016 Her senior thesis research focused broadly on issues related to amphibian conservation including the performance of captive reared Gopher Frogs once released into the wild. Sara received a 2016 University of Georgia Center for Undergraduate Research (CURO) Fellowship. She was also Birth Right counselor and passionate about her Isreali roots and world travel. In 2015 she studied abroad in New Zealand and Australia with the coolest instructor anywhere. After graduation, Sara lived and worked abroad in Israel and then completed her Masters at Duke University focusing on leadership and conservation.
Carmen Candel
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2016
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2016
Carmen received her bachelor's in wildilfe in 2016. For her senior thesis research, she analyzed 6 years of spatial capture data on female terrapins along the Jekyll Island Causeway to determine which habitat and intrinsic traits of terrapins predicted female road crossing. Carmen found that habitat management and female terrapin age were important predictors of terrapin crossing, and her work is directly impacting management decisions to improve conservation of terrapins on Jekyll Island. Carmen went on to be a wildlife technician with GA DNR, then completed her masters degree studying tortoise conservation with Dr. Tracey Tuberville.
Dr. Sara Satterfield
PhD Ecology, 2016
PhD Ecology, 2016
Dara was the 9th Ph.D. student from our lab. She received her Ph.D. from the Odum School of Ecology working with Dr. Maerz and Dr. Sonia Altizer. Dara's dissertation research focused on whether the introduction of nonnative plants is interfering with migratory behavior of monarch butterflies, resulting in higher disease prevalence and driving parasite evolution. Dara was an inaugural member of UGA's Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Ph.D. program, and her work was funded through a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and now works on CITES policy and programs for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Jenny Asper Spatz
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2015
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2015
Jenny was a masters student in the wildlife program in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She joined the lab in May 2013. Jenny was a National Park Service employee and participant in a graduate training cooperative with Warnell. Her masters research focused on the invasion of green treefrogs into Cade's Cove within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Literally, a plague of frogs. Jenny worked a lab coordinator at the University of Tennessee studying Bd and ranavirus diseases in amphibians and is now a middle school science teacher in Maryville, TN.
Katie Bentley
BSc Biological Sciences and BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2015
BSc Biological Sciences and BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2015
Katie "Ruthless" Bentley received dual bachelors degrees in biology and wildlife. She was on a productive path towards med school when she was led helplessly astray by her obsession with wildlife. It was easy. She likes snakes. She calls them her babies. Katie received a competitive CURO Fellowship to support her senior thesis research using radio telemetry to study complementary habitat requirements of Eastern Box Turtles. She currently lives in Washington, and awaits her parents forgiveness for her career choice.
Dr. Sean Sterrett
MSc and PhD Wildlife, 2014
MSc and PhD Wildlife, 2014
Sean joined the lab in 2007 as a masters student. His masters research focused on the impacts of riparian land use on freshwater turtle communities in the Lower Flint River Basin. For his PhD research, he used ecological stoichiometry theory, field studies and experimental mesocosm to examine how turtle communities are involved in the uptake, retention, and recycling of nutrients and whether some turtle species control allochthonus litter inputs. Cool fact - Sean successfully used crowd funding to complete his dissertation research. A first for our lab. Sean received numerous awards for his leadership in wildlife conservation, teaching, and was selected to the UGA Emerging Leaders Program. Sean also completed UGA's Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching. Sean completed postdoctoral work with the USGS and Massachusetts's DNR, and is now an Assistant Professor at Monmouth University.
Dr. Kyle Barrett
Postdoc, 2014
Postdoc, 2014
Dr. Kyle Barrett was a joint postdoc in the Maerz and Nibbelink labs from 2009-2012. He is now an Associate Professor at Clemson University. Kyle's work focuses on factors affecting the distribution and abundance of animals, specifically how large scale stressors such as urbanization and climate change affect reptiles and amphibians. His dissertation research explored how stream-dwelling species respond to urbanized watershed development. As a postdoc at UGA, Kyle led our projects on assessing priority amphibian and reptile vulnerabilities to climate change with the goal of aiding states and other entities in long-range conservation planning in the face of climate change. He is now a lead PI on projects to identify Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs) in the northeast and southeast. In addition to his research, Kyle took on a leadership role within our lab including significant mentoring of graduate students and undergradautes.
FUN FACT: Kyle is closely related to the majority of people in Tennessee, which is redundant with saying he is from Tennessee.
FUN FACT: Kyle is closely related to the majority of people in Tennessee, which is redundant with saying he is from Tennessee.
Kevin Fouts
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2014
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2014
Kevin was a masters student in wildlife working jointly with the Maerz Lab, the Wilde Lab, and the USGS Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit. Kevin's masters research focused on the effects of fire restoration to amphibian and reptile habitats in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In addition, he worked on AVM impacts on wildlife, and he served as TA for Animal Behavior (BIOL 3700) and Herpetology (WILD 4040/6040). Kevin went on to work for the U.S. Forest Service on the Savannah River Site and now works as a watershed research coordinator with Dr. Kristen Cecala at Sewanee University.
FUN FACT: Kevin gave up a high paying career in marketing in NYC…with supermodels…to be a grad student in wildlife. No one does that.
FUN FACT: Kevin gave up a high paying career in marketing in NYC…with supermodels…to be a grad student in wildlife. No one does that.
Albert Mercurio
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2014
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2014
Albert worked jointly with Dr. Maerz and Dr. Sonia Hernandez on the effects of hydrilla and toxic algae invasions on freshwater turtles inhabiting Georgia's reservoirs. Albert joined the lab in 2010 after completing his bachelor's at James Madison University. While at JMU, Albert worked with Dr. Reid Harris on infectious fungi causing worldwide declines in amphibians. In addition to his research, Albert completed UGA's Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching.
Phillip Bumpers
MSc Ecology, 2014
MSc Ecology, 2014
Phillip was a masters student in Dr. Amy Rosemond's Lab in the UGA Odum School of Ecology…but we love him like he was one of our own. Phillip's masters thesis focused on salamander responses to stream nutrient enrichment as part of our NSF-funded SNAX3 project at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. Phillip is currently a research coordinator for the University of Georgia River Basin Center. and he is pursuing his Ph.D. in stream ecology.
Kevin Stohlgren
MSc Wildlife, 2013
MSc Wildlife, 2013
Kevin received his masters degree in wildlife in 2013 from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources after receiving his B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri. Kevin had also worked with the Missouri Department of Conservation on a reptile and amphibian monitoring project in the Ozarks and worked for the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in Southwest Georgia. His master's research focused on developing a population model for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and using occupancy analysis to model the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes on Georgia's barrier islands. Kevin is also an accomplished wildlife photographer. Kevin was a research scientist with the Orianne Society where he conducted status assessments for snake species that are candidates for federal protection. Kevin now lives in Maryland where he is a biologist with Maryland DNR, and he still refuses to eat any vegetables unless you first feed them to an animal, slaughter the animal, and grill said animal.
Dr. Todd Pierson
BSc Ecology, 2013
BSc Ecology, 2013
Todd received his BS in Ecology in 2013 from the Odum School of Ecology. He is from Indianapolis, IN, and came to UGA because of his interests in ecology and herpetology. Wisely, he is particularly interested in salamanders, and completed several field projects on the newly described patch-nosed salamander (Urspelerpes brucei). For his honors research he modeled detection rates of syntopic stream salamanders, and explored the development of eDNA techniques for detecting rare stream salamander species. Todd was the recipient of a 2009 Foundation Fellow scholarship, the 2010 Udall Scholarship, and the 2011 Joshua Laerm Award. Todd served two terms as co-president of the Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia, and as an undergraduate TA for Herpetology (WILD 4040/6040). Todd is also an accomplished photographer and his amazing salamander photographs are a ubiquitous presence on the web. Todd completed his Ph.D. in 2019 through Ben Fitzpatrick's lab at the University of Tennessee. Todd was postdoctoral researcher at UGA/SREL and is now a productive and creatively amazing Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University.
Theresa Stratmann
BSc Ecology, 2013
BSc Ecology, 2013
Theresa received her BS in Ecology in 2013 from the Odum School of Ecology. She is from Columbia, SC, and came to UGA because of her interests in ecology, conservation biology and herpetology. She is interested in all things herpetological, but has a particular affection for population biology, turtle ecology and conservation. She had worked in the herpetology department at the Riverbanks Zoo, for the Caretta Research Project studying loggerhead sea turtles on Wassaw Island, GA, and for Georgia DNR on bog turtle monitoring and restoration. Theresa's honors thesis research merged species distribution modeling and estimating occupancy and detection rates for bog turtles with the aim of guiding efficient state inventory and monitoring efforts. Theresa built upon this work for her masters research at Clemson University.
Theresa served two terms as co-president of the Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia, and as an undergraduate TA for Herpetology (WILD 4040/6040). Theresa received a 2011 CURO Summer Fellowship, was the 2012 recipient of the Udall and Goldwater Scholarships and the AT&T Leadership Award, and was selected as a CUR 2013 Posters on the Hill Scholar. Theresa also received the 2012 Outstanding Student Poster award at the Turtle Survival Alliance annual meeting. FUN FACT: Theresa was fluent in math and German, both of which were foreign languages to everyone else in the lab.
Theresa completed her M.Sc. in Wildlife at Clemson University, before moving to Germany for her Ph.D.
Theresa served two terms as co-president of the Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia, and as an undergraduate TA for Herpetology (WILD 4040/6040). Theresa received a 2011 CURO Summer Fellowship, was the 2012 recipient of the Udall and Goldwater Scholarships and the AT&T Leadership Award, and was selected as a CUR 2013 Posters on the Hill Scholar. Theresa also received the 2012 Outstanding Student Poster award at the Turtle Survival Alliance annual meeting. FUN FACT: Theresa was fluent in math and German, both of which were foreign languages to everyone else in the lab.
Theresa completed her M.Sc. in Wildlife at Clemson University, before moving to Germany for her Ph.D.
Dr. Leslie Ruyle
Ph.D. Ecology, 2012
Ph.D. Ecology, 2012
Leslie Ruyle was the sixth Ph.D. from our lab. Leslie came to UGA after a stint as a nationally competitive volleyball player and peace corp volunteer. She is deeply passionate about international conservation and the engagement of local communities in conservation. Leslie's dissertation research focused on a population viability analysis and assessment of human impacts on black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas on a Honduran island archipelago. Leslie also conducted a broader review of the success of iguana farming as a conservation tool in Latin America. Leslie's work suggested that human habitation of islands have several affects on Ctenosaur populations. Ctenosaur populations were subsidized by human trash and waste such that, in the absence of hunting or harassment by domestic animals, populations can exist at high densities; however, the presence of domestic animals was associated with increased rates of injury and smaller population sizes. Leslie's review of iguana farming revealed that most farms fail to be viable, and have done nothing to provide for supplemental returns of animals to the wild or reduce hunting pressures on wild stock. Her work suggested that iguana farmings largest effect was to stimulate a pet trade market, and that remains the only economic activity sustaining the few remaining farms. Farms supplying the pet industry do not generate any captive production of animals to the wild. Leslie was a postdoctoral coordinator for the Texas A&M IGERT and is now the Academic Coordinator for the Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M.
Dr. Kristen Cecala
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2012
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2012
Kristen Cecala was the fifth Ph.D. from our lab and the recipient of an NSF GRFP. Kristen was the primary student leading a large portion of our lab's work on the Coweeta LTER. For her dissertation research she examined patterns of stream salamander patch occupancy in association with a large suite of environmental variables including watershed and local land uses. She demonstrated a strong association between watershed scale loss of riparian forest and declines in the local commonness of larval and adult stream salamanders, even in reaches where local forest conditions remain relatively less disturbed. Kristen also conducted a series of lab and field studies to demonstrate that salamanders show avoidance of light and substrates often associated with human removal of riparian forest canopy, and she demonstrated that even relatively small gaps created in forests would dramatically reduce animal movements. Kristen's research suggests that even small forest canopy disturbances such as powerline and road right of ways may be sufficient to fragment salamander populations within stream networks, leading to population declines at the watershed scale. Kristen is now an Associate Professor of biology at Sewanee University of the South. We miss Kristen around here. She has mad baking skills.
Dr. Anna McKee
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2012
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2012
Anna McKee was the fourth Ph.D. from our lab. Anna received her bachelors degree from Colorado State, and was a UGA Presidential Fellow. Anna is broadly literate in evolutionary ecology and population genetics. Her dissertation research focused on comparing patterns of amphibian community diversity and genetic diversity within amphibian species that differ in their dispersal abilities. In addition, a portion of Anna's disseration focused on developing an undergraduate unit on biogeography and community and population landscape genetics. Anna was repeatedly recognized with numerous awards as an outstanding teacher.
Anna is now a researcher at the USGS in Atlanta, GA where she continues to work on population and landscape ecology of amphibians in urban wetlands in addition to expanding the use of eDNA in monitoring and many other things water and science. Anna is now returning to graduate school [how does that] to get a degree in bioinformatics.
Anna is now a researcher at the USGS in Atlanta, GA where she continues to work on population and landscape ecology of amphibians in urban wetlands in addition to expanding the use of eDNA in monitoring and many other things water and science. Anna is now returning to graduate school [how does that] to get a degree in bioinformatics.
Rachel Mahan
MNR Wildlife, 2012
MNR Wildlife, 2012
Rachel received her bachelors in biology (ecology) at Missouri University and then a masters in journalism from NYU before coming UGA. Rachel was instrumental in establishing and coordinating the first years of our long-term capture recapture of Plethodon salamanders at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. Rachel now lives in Indiana where she works as a technical writer.
Zackary Seymour
MNR Wildlife, 2012
MNR Wildlife, 2012
Zack was an MNR student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Zack is interested in the role of zoos in the captive husbandry and propagation of threatened amphibians and reptiles. Zack helped with our captive rearing and release program for the gopher frog, which is a collaborative effort between UGA, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Bear Hollow, the Jones Ecological Research Center, the Nature Conservancy, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. In addition to his course work Zack was an intern at Bear Hollow Zoo and a tutor for the UGA Athletic Department. He is currently director of outreach for the Chattanooga Zoo.
Cassandra Skaggs
BSFR Wildlife, 2012
BSFR Wildlife, 2012
Cassie has an infectious passion for animal ecology and conservation. Cassandra Skaggs received her B.Sc. in Wildlife in 2013. Cassie helped with the mass rearing of Gopher frogs for a population restoration project (The Gopher Frog Project), and for her senior thesis she studied the growth and survival rates of newly released metamorphs in habitats with artificially supplemented burrows. Her worked revealed that burrows do increase metamorph survival and that fire ants are a major source of gopher frog metamorph mortality. Cassie was featured in a Georgia Outdoors program on frog declines and conservation (A Fight For Frogs documentary). After graduation, Cassie served as an intern for the Natural Resources Committee of the Georgia Legislature, and worked on bird conservation management in North Dakota. Cassie completed her masters degree in wildlife from LSU and now works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Katherine Servidio
BSFR Forestry, 2012
BSFR Forestry, 2012
Katharine was a masters student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Katharine joined the lab in 2012 after completing her bachelors in forestry at UGA. As an undergraduate, Katharine participated in UGA's Climate Change Research course funded by NASA. As a participant in the course, Katharine completed a study of the relationship between climate, water loss and diet among salamanders along the Plethodon teyahalee X shermani hybrid gradient. Katharine turned that work into a senior thesis focusing on patterns of salamander foraging on ant species, and now her masters work is examining whether salamander declines affect native ant populations, and how shifts in ant populations affect seed dispersal in Appalachian forests. Katharine contributed to our long-term mark-recapture study of Plethodon to examine how climate drives salamander activity and hybrid zone dynamics.
Dr. Jayna DeVore
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Jayna DeVore was the third Ph.D. from our lab. Jayna joined our lab after working several years as a reef dive boat guide in Hawaii. Jayna is broadly interested in invasive species and the effects of structure on community interactions. Her dissertation work focused on the multiple pathways by which Japanese stilt-grass (Microstegium vimineum) invasions could affect amphibians within southeastern forests. Jayna's work demonstrated that stilt-grass affects many dimensions of forest ecosystems including carbon cycling, arthropod abundance, and amphibian performance. She also demonstrated that stilt-grass has different effects on different amphibians species, and that those effects are predictable using evolutionary theories about metamorphic trade-offs. One of the most striking results from Jayna's research was the discovery that a major way stilt-grass effects some metamorphic amphibians is through modification of interactions with amphibian predators, notably ground foraging spiders. She found that stilt-grass invasion leads to increased spider densities, which in turn leads to increased depredation on recently metamorphosed anurans. Jayna was a postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Jeb Byers in the Odum School of Ecology where she is studied macroalgae invasions on coastal marine communities, and a four-year postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Richard Shine at the University of Sydney studying evolutionary ecology of cane toad invasions. Jayna was an Invasive Species Biologist with the Tetiaroa Society and with the USGS out of the University of Washington. She is now a scientist affiliated with the University of French Polynesia where she continues to study invasive species impacts on island and reef ecosystems.
Dr. Joe Milanovich
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Joe Milanovich was the second Ph.D. from our lab. Joe is passionate about all things salamander, so he was a natural fit for one of my first graduate students. Joe worked on a variety of topics including stable isotope behavior in salamander tissues, and the discovery of a new genus of salamander. Joe's dissertation research focused on stoichiometry and estimating the role of larval stream salamanders in the storage of nitrogen and phosphorus. His worked was a foundational part of our ongoing research at the Coweeta LTER. Joe also led our first efforts to model salamander responses to climate change. Joe completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the US EPA in Cincinnati, and is now an Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago.
Dr. Andy Davis
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2010
Andy Davis was the first Ph.D. from our lab, and he is a prolific researcher with a wide range of interests in animal ecology and evolution. his research focuses on animal ecophysiology, particularly relationships between stress, immune function and animal performance. For his dissertation, Andy studied relationships between amphibian white blood cells and a range of natural and anthropogenic stressors in both the field and lab. His work has applications to assessing stress levels in populations, and improving captive husbandry environments for conservation breeding programs. Andy is now a Research Scientist in the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia and remains a regular collaborator.
Andrew Grosse
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2009
MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2009
Andrew Grosse completed his B.Sc. in Warnell where his senior thesis focused on 20 year trends of sea turtle strandings on the coast of Georgia. For his masters work, Andrew was the lead student on our Terrapin Project assessing the statewide impact of commercial crabbing and roads on the abundance of diamondback terrapins along coastal GA. Andrew completed one of the largest and most complex field research projects of any masters student I have known, and his work yielded numerous publications that we believe will affect conservation policies. In particular, Andrew's work showed a clear relationship between commercial crabbing and dramatically reduced abundances of terrapins, reduced terrapin abundance on causeways to barrier islands, and he identified a key hotspot of terrapin abundance as a target for conservation. Andrews paper 2011 paper in the Journal of Wildlife Management was distinguished with the cover photo for the issue. After completing his masters, Andrew worked as a research technician at the Savannah River Ecology Lab. Andrew recently assumed the position of state herpetologist for South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and continues to be an important collaborator with the lab.
Dr. Andrew Durso
BSc Ecology, 2009
BSc Ecology, 2009
Andrew Durso was among the first undergraduates to join our lab, and our first CURO Apprentice. His CURO research focused on seasonal detection probabilities of different life stages of pond-breeding salamanders, which complimented his research as a summer REU at the Savannah River Ecology Lab where he studied detection probabilities of aquatic snakes. Andrew also worked as a researcher on our Terrapin Project. Andrew published several papers from his undergraduate work on topics ranging from the hematology of cricket frogs to patterns for diversity determined through bioblitz’s of poorly documented areas within Georgia and Alabama. He received the 2007 award for most outstanding research presentation from the Georgia Chapter of Sigma Xi (the National Science Honor Society), and he was a founding member and president of the Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia and the Ecology Club. Andrew went on to get his masters degree at Eastern Illinois University s and his Ph.D. at Utah State University. Andrew is now an Assistant Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He writes the blog "Life is Short, but Snakes are Long." FUN FACT: Andrew was the first member of our lab to have posed nude for a calendar.
Dr. Amanda Perofsky
BSc Ecology, 2009
BSc Ecology, 2009
Amanda received her B.Sc. in Ecology and was a member of UGA’s honors program. She did her honors thesis research on temporary emigration and the estimation of larval stream salamander abundance in southern Appalachian headwaters. Her worked was funded by an NSF REU through the Coweeta LTER, and was part of a much larger study understanding the role larval salamanders play in nutrient capture, retention and export in headwater streams and how that may change with shifting climates and land use patterns. Amanda’s work contributed by providing more robust estimates of larval salamander composition and abundance within headwaters. Specifically, she showed through mark-recapture that, similar to terrestrial salamanders, larval salamanders show high temporary emigration, and therefore, historic estimates of larval salamander abundance were likely gross underestimates. In 2009, Amanda was awarded first place for her presentation of her research at the annual Ecology Graduate Research Symposium. Amanda was also an officer in the Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia, a member of the Ecology Club, and the program coordinator for the campus radio station.
Amanda went on to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Texas and is now postdoctoral researcher in the Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies (DIEPS) at the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health where she studies influenza epidemiology and transmission dynamics, and how genetic evolution of the flu virus affects variation in the size and severity of seasonal epidemics within the United States and at a global scale.
Amanda went on to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Texas and is now postdoctoral researcher in the Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies (DIEPS) at the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health where she studies influenza epidemiology and transmission dynamics, and how genetic evolution of the flu virus affects variation in the size and severity of seasonal epidemics within the United States and at a global scale.
Matt Erickson
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2008
BSFR Fisheries and Wildlife, 2008
Matt Erickson received his B.Sc. in Wildlife and did his senior thesis on the trophic ecology of diamondback terrapins. Specifically, Matt integrated the use of fecal analysis with stable isotopes to determine the composition of terrapin diets. Matt’s work showed that terrapins derive the vast majority of their energy from Spartina through the consumption of mud and sand fiddler crabs and periwinkle snails. Matt also found that smaller/younger terrapins do derive some energy from mud snails, which occur on mudflats within the low marsh channel; however, adult female terrapins did not consume mud snails; and h found no evidence in fecal samples or from stable isotopes that terrapins feed on any fully aquatic species including fish, shrimp or blue crabs. Matt's work indicates that terrapins feed largely in the high marsh, probably during or shortly after high tide as the water enters or recedes from this area, and only smaller terrapins feed aquatically in the low marsh. This contradicts the proposed feeding ecology of terrapins, however is consistent with other behavioral data showing the species spends a high proportion of its time in the high marsh and out of the water.
Matt conducted his research while working as a technician on the Terrapin Project. After graduation, he worked as a technician in our lab and at the Savannah River Ecology Lab, before completing his masters degree at Georgia Southern University. He is currently a biologist for the Phinizy Water Sciences Center.
Matt conducted his research while working as a technician on the Terrapin Project. After graduation, he worked as a technician in our lab and at the Savannah River Ecology Lab, before completing his masters degree at Georgia Southern University. He is currently a biologist for the Phinizy Water Sciences Center.
Robert Horan
BSFR Wildlife 2007; MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2009
BSFR Wildlife 2007; MSc Wildlife Ecology and Management, 2009
Robert received his B.Sc. in Wildlife and his senior thesis research focused on the potential use of artificial nests to study alligator nest ecology. A common problem in studying natural nests is that human contact with a nest can significantly increase the probability a nest will be depredated. Robert showed that artificial nests did not provide similar combinations of moisture and temperature to natural nests. His work also showed a relatively high rate of predation on alligator nests, particularly by fire ants. Robert completed his M.Sc. at Warnell working on the ecology of the gliding treefrog, Agalychnis spurelli, in Panama. He is now a biologist with GDNR
Daniel Sollenberger
BSFR Wildlife, 2007
BSFR Wildlife, 2007
Daniel Sollenberger recieved his B.Sc. in Wildlife. For his senior thesis, Daniel inventoried the stream salamander community of Spring Hollow, which is a property endowed to the Odum School of Ecology by the eminent ecologists, Eugene Odum. Daniel went on to complete his masters at Western Carolina University where he wisely continued to work on salamanders. He was an instructor in the wildlife program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College several years and is now a state herpetologist for GA Department of Natural Resources.
Daniel Van Dijk
BSFR Wildlife, 2007
BSFR Wildlife, 2007
Daniel Van Dijk received his B.Sc. in Wildlife, but bailed on his senior thesis in our lab. That was okay because Daniel did a beautiful thesis on eco tourism impacts on the Leaping Tiger Gorge in China. Daniel was chronic presence around the lab, and served as a technician on the Diamondback Terrapin Project. Daniel was also an avid photographer for the lab, and left us with many great images of his time here. After completing his bachelors, Daniel remained at Warnell where he completed his MFR. He now runs a beer business, making him the "winner" in the game of life among all lab alumni and the envy of all those who chose to stay in academia.
Kerry Holcomb
BSFR Wildlife 2007
BSFR Wildlife 2007
Kerry Holcomb received his B.Sc. in Wildlife, and hconducted his senior “Theses on Feces” under the direction of Dr. Robert Warren [undeniably the greatest thesis title ever]. Kerry was a chronic fixture in our lab. In addition to helping on a variety of projects such as our stilt-grass invasion work, Kerry served as a lead technician on our Diamondback Terrapin project for two years. He also established a diamondback terrapin road mortality project with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center that continues today. Kerry left many marks on our program, some of which we cleaned up, and some we still have not found. Kerry received his M.Sc. in Biology from Western Washington University where he studied Gila monsters.
Jessica Harper
BSFR Wildlife 2007
BSFR Wildlife 2007
Jessica received her B.Sc. in Wildlife and her senior thesis focused on identifying user conflicts in accessing State Wildlife Action Plans. Specifically, she focused on incompatibilities in classifications of habitats and issue priorities among sections of the Georgia Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, and she quantified differences among users in how they interpreted habitat classifications. Her work showed remarkable variability among professionals in how they perceive conservation classification priorities with the document. She proposed a reclassification system that used consistent categories among the document, and then used those categories to identify combinations of habitats, taxa, and issues of greatest conservation priority for Georgia. This information would be useful in the development and prioritization of research and conservation action proposals.
After graduating, Jessica worked as a program coordinator for GA EPD before returning to Warnell to complete her Masters in Natural Resources
After graduating, Jessica worked as a program coordinator for GA EPD before returning to Warnell to complete her Masters in Natural Resources
Dr. Justin Nowakowski
BSFR Wildlife 2006
BSFR Wildlife 2006
Justin received his B.Sc. in Wildlife, and for his senior thesis, Justin conducted research on the how different sampling techniques affected abundance estimates of larval stream salamanders in the Georgia piedmont. His work showed that sampling technique affected the size of salamanders captured, and that the incorporation of mark-recapture increased density estimates by 1-2 orders of magnitude from densities previously reported in the literature.
After graduation, Justin worked a research technician on our Diamondback Terrapin Project. Justin completed his Ph.D. at Florida International University. He was a postdoc at UC Davis and a fellow at the Smithsonian.
Selected publications from Justin's work at UGA:
Nowakowski, A. J. and J. C. Maerz. 2009. Estimation of larval stream salamander densities in three proximate streams in the Georgia piedmont. Journal of Herpetology 43:503-509.
Check out Justin's website!
After graduation, Justin worked a research technician on our Diamondback Terrapin Project. Justin completed his Ph.D. at Florida International University. He was a postdoc at UC Davis and a fellow at the Smithsonian.
Selected publications from Justin's work at UGA:
Nowakowski, A. J. and J. C. Maerz. 2009. Estimation of larval stream salamander densities in three proximate streams in the Georgia piedmont. Journal of Herpetology 43:503-509.
Check out Justin's website!
Tyler Thigpen
BSFR Wildlife 2005
BSFR Wildlife 2005
Tyler received her B.Sc. in Wildlife and she did her senior thesis research under the direction of Dr. Stephen Castleberry in collaboration with our lab. She studied whether burlap could be used as an artificial cover to monitor green salamanders. While at UGA, Tyler was also instrumental in the establishment of the outreach program for Herpetological Society at the University of Georgia, dedicating a great deal of her time to visiting schools to educate children about reptiles and amphibians.
Selected publications from Tyler's work at UGA:
Thigpen, T. F., W. J. Humphries, and J. C. Maerz. 2010. Effectiveness of using artificial shelters to sample arboreal green salamander populations in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. Herpetological Review 41:159-162.
Selected publications from Tyler's work at UGA:
Thigpen, T. F., W. J. Humphries, and J. C. Maerz. 2010. Effectiveness of using artificial shelters to sample arboreal green salamander populations in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. Herpetological Review 41:159-162.