Principal Investigator
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Dr. John C. Maerz
Dennis and Sara Carey Distinguished Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources & Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor John Maerz is the Dennis and Sarah Carey Distinguished Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources . He is affiliated with the Center for Integrative Conservation Research's Integrative Conservation Ph.D. Program (ICON) and is adjunct faculty in the Odum School of Ecology. He joined the UGA faculty in 2005. He teaches undergraduate courses in Animal Behavior, Herpetology, Natural Sciences Research, Sustaining Human Societies and the Natural Environment (in New Zealand and Australia), and graduate courses in Principles of Fisheries and Wildlife Management, professional writing (aka Write Club), and Developing University Teaching Skills.
Learn more about John, his research and the courses he teaches |
Senior Research Staff
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Vanessa Terrell
Research Professional III and Coordinator Vanessa Terrell is the joint Research Coordinator for the Maerz and Castleberry Labs within the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Vanessa is a graduate of UGA and worked in the lab for 1 year on projects including our work on invasive plant impacts on amphibians, the status of the southern dusky salamander, and the effects of residential development on stream salamander communities. She received her masters degree from Indiana State University where she studied crawfish frog ecology and management with Dr. Michael Lannoo. In addition to coordinating most lab research, Vanessa supervises our gopher frog ecology and captive rearing project.
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Jade Samples
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Affiliated Investigators
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Dr. Cyndi Carter Lecturer Dr. Carter is a faculty lecturer in the wildlife program at the University of Georgia. She developed and teaches the core major course in Wildlife Science and also teaches Herpetology, Natural History of Georgia, Natural Resources Ecology and Management, and a joint study abroad course in New Zealand and Australia. Dr. Carter also mentors undergraduates in Senior Thesis research, supports capstone Senior Projects, and co-advises the Herpetological Society. 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.
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PhD Students
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Anuja Mital
Ph.D. Student, ICON Anuja Mital is a Ph.D. student through the Integrated Conservation (ICON) program, and is co-supervised by Drs. John Maerz and Krista Capps. She completed a Masters in Wildlife Biology in 2016 in India studying the community ecology and resource partitioning of freshwater turtles in the Ganges river basin. She has also documented freshwater turtle populations across the Brahmaputra river in NE India. Her interests include population ecology of aquatic reptiles, the hydrology and flooding of large rivers, and freshwater habitat management alongside conservation education and outreach. She is also the co-founder of 'Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India', a citizen-science initiative to increase awareness and research on this taxa in India.
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Eva Kerr
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Masters Students
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Maddisyn Braun
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Hadley Copeland
M.Sc. Student, Wildlife Sciences Hadley is an M.Sc. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and she works in the veterinary pathology lab at the University of Georgia. Hadley has a breadth of experiences in wildlife ecology and conservation and working on human impacts and health of aquatic ecosystems. Hadley is broadly interested research that helps improve the management of ecosystems for people and wildlife and is working toward a longer term career in science based extension work. For her masters research, Hadley is evaluating whether imidacloprid use to conserve Eastern hemlocks has subacute affects on the brains and behavior of larval and juvenile stream salamanders.
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Bianca Marcelletti
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Cassandra Waldrop M.Sc. Student, Wildlife Science Cassandra Waldrop is the Research Coordinator for Dr. Elizabeth McCarty in the Forest Health Lab and a masters student in Wildlife Sciences within in Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Cassandra received her bachelor's degree in Fisheries and Wildlife. For her masters research, she is studying the effects of imidaclropid use on stream salamander aquatic abundance and prey availability. Cassandra is also an avid naturalist and talented wildlife painter.
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Undergraduate Students
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Rachael Bryson
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Paul Hassel Fisheries and Wildlife, 2026 Paul Hassel is Fisheries and Wildlife major with an emphasis in Wildlife Sciences in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Paul is deeply engaged in many aspects of research within the Maerz Lab. Paul has also worked as a technician on the GA DNR gopher tortoise crew, and contributed to a variety of herpetological research and monitoring efforts across the southeastern United States. For his senior thesis research, Paul is using commensal species detected during gopher tortoise surveys to evaluate whether actions are leading to increased commonness of priority and other wildlife on a landscape undergoing restoration. He is using pre- and post-restoration survey data to test his hypotheses. Paul's broader interest are to work in applied wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, and using field based data to inform management decisions on amphibians and reptiles.
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Carter Mason
Fisheries and Wildlife, Pre-Veterinary Sciences, 2026 Carter is a Fisheries and Wildlife major with a focus on pre-veterinary science in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. He is currently in his final semester at Warnell and is completing a senior project advised by Drs. Carter and Maerz that focuses on developing a snake management plan for Gwinnett County Parks. Carter also serves as President of the UGA Chapter of The Wildlife Society and is a Warnell Ambassador. After graduation, Carter plans to attend the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine or pursue opportunities in conservation, wildlife management, and related wildlife focused fields.
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Kat Maupin
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Erin Monroe
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Charlotte Walters
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Hayes Valentine
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Javier Medina Rivera
Fisheries and Wildlife, 2026 Javi is a Fisheries and Wildlife major with a focus on Wildlife Sciences in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. He is currently in his last semester at Warnell and is part of a senior project advised by Drs. Carter and Maerz to develop a snake management plan for Gwinnett County Parks. Javi is also the outreach coordinator for the UGA Herpetological Society and a Warnell Ambassador. After he graduates, Javi plans to explore opportunities in environmental education, wildlife management, and wildlife research.
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Auggie Smith Fisheries and Wildlife, 2026 Auggie ...
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Melissa Garcia Chavarria
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