​We are interested in the natural and human-driven ecological and evolutionary processes that create, sustain, and affect biodiversity; the effects of organisms on ecosystem processes; and the development of tools and strategies to guide how agencies and communities recover and sustain wildlife. We often work at the interface between organismal and ecosystems ecology. Working at this interface gives us novel perspectives on how human impacts on ecosystem processes affect wildlife, and how the conservation of animals relates back to ecosystem function. We frequently embed our research in adaptive management and decision-making frameworks intended to guide management.

Common research themes in our lab are: 
  • Population Ecology and Global Change ●
    Understanding patterns in population dynamics along anthropogenic gradients is essential in an era of rapid global change. In our lab, research at the population level often looks like the development of demographic models of priority wildlife species or the estimation of the impacts of nonnative species, climate, and land use on the ecology of native wildlife.​
  • Organisms and Ecosystems ●
    Research at the interface between organismal and ecosystems ecology is challenging. The differing perspectives and methodologies of the two disciplines often do not align or integrate easily. ​We strive to bridge this gap by combining a deep understanding of organismal ecology with a broad appreciation for ecosystem dynamics and collaboration. In our lab, research at this interface often looks like the study of ​how animals influence ecosystem processes like nutrient storage and cycling.
  • Conservation and Management ● 
    ​Problems related to the conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystem processes are central to our research.  To this end, we use ecological principles to better understand threats and develop management strategies to mitigate those threats. In our lab, research designed to address conservation and/or management problems  often looks like ​the application of ecological principles to develop management techniques or the development of decision models to inform the conservation and management of wildlife.​

Methods and Study Systems

Our lab uses a variety of methods toward developing ecological knowledge and facilitating management of wildlife. We are predominantly field biologists, and most of our projects involve some component of field research including long-term capture-recapture studies, comparative surveys, and radiotelemetry that are sometimes married to field, mesocosm, and laboratory-based experiments. We often use our data in conjunction with other data sources in population projection and integrated population models, habitat suitability models, and agent-based models to understand population dynamics, incorporate behavioral processes into population models, evaluate management actions, and project population responses to future environmental or management scenarios. We usually integrate our ecological models into decision frameworks (e.g., structured decision making) to aid stakeholders with their management decisions.

​Though we focus predominantly on amphibians and reptiles, our work has included birds, butterflies and other invertebrates, and even people.

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Long-term Initiatives

Our projects often are small scale studies embedded in longer-term research initiatives.

Appalachian Salamander Ecology and Conservation ​​●●●
Our work on Appalachian salamander ecology is a good example of our three overarching research foci. A primary theme of this work is to combine long-term and spatially extensive studies to understand how climate affects population demography and patterns of abundance. The Appalachian Mountains provide steep environmental gradients, which allows for studying populations in widely varying climates over relative small geographic area. We have used this base research program to study how behavior can moderate salamander populations to climate and how evolutionary interactions within and between species respond to climate and may affect future responses to climate change. We apply this ecological knowledge to forecast how salamander populations may respond to shifting climates, invasions by nonnative species, forest management as the restoration of fire to mesophytic hardwood forests and the use of insecticides to save Eastern Hemlocks, and human-driven loss of riparian forest cover and inputs of nutrients to streams. We have also integrated studies of salamander effects on select ecosystem processes such as nutrient storage and fluxes within montane streams and the regulation of influential forest invertebrates. We maintain long-term individual capture-recapture studies (since 2010) and "unmarked" studies of terrestrial salamander populations and communities. Much of our long-term work is based at the U.S. Forest Service's Coweeta Hydrologic Lab and were associated with the Coweeta LTER from 2008-2020, but the full extent of our research extends from north Georgia through western North Carolina and into eastern Tennessee including Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Ecology + Management of Threatened Pine Savanna Amphibians ​●●
Pine savannas were the dominant natural ecosystem across the southeastern coastal plains. Today, much of this ecosystem is converted to agriculture or developed for other uses. Embedded within these ecosystems are numerous isolated wetlands that support a high diversity of plants and animals including many priority amphibians and reptiles such as Flatwoods Salamanders, Tiger Salamanders, Striped Newts, Gopher Frogs, and Ornate Chorus Frogs. In support of efforts to restore remnant pine savannas and their associated wetlands, we aim to better understand the ecology of amphibians associated with those ecosystems to inform management actions. Research ranges from describing and estimating basic life history, estimating the effects of environmental factors on life histories and abundance, developing and testing management actions (e.g., wetland restoration, upland restoration, captive rearing and population supplementation), and developing population and management decision models. Much of this work is in collaboration with Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Alabama Department of Natural Resources Conservation, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Division, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Amphibian Foundation.

The Terrapin Project ​​●●
The Terrapin Project is a long-term labor of love and an excellent case study in integrative conservation and wildlife research to inform management decision-making frameworks. Diamondback Terrapins are relatively rare among turtles in that they are strictly estuarine. Terrapins are considered a species of greatest conservation need in every state within their range. Terrapin populations are threated by by-catch in commercial and recreational crab pots, mortality of females from vehicle strikes along coastal roadways that bisect salt marshes, agriculture and development of upland areas adjacent to salt marshes, and shore armoring against storms and rising sea levels. Georgia’s 100 mile coast includes ~30% of the salt marsh habitat supporting terrapins along the Atlantic coastal portion of the range. We have been conducting statewide and local long-term studies of terrapin populations along the Georgia coast since 2007. This includes short-term, statewide capture-recapture and head count surveys and long-term (17 years and counting) of capture-recapture studies at focal sites. This work has been in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the Jekyll Island Authority, and the Skidaway Audubon Diamondback Terrapin Rescue Project. The project goals include improving estimates of terrapin life history and effects of environmental factors and human activities on terrapin life histories, developing and measuring the effects of terrapin management actions including bycatch reduction and road management measures, landscape and population genetics to understand dispersal processes and define terrapin management units, and developing a statewide population monitoring program.
Hierarchical and Integrated Populations Models to Guide Management ●●
Relatively recently, our lab has been focusing on the development of hierarchical and integrated population models to guide management decisions. Our work includes the use of our long-term and spatially extensive data sets to guide management decisions related to bycatch and road mortality hazards for Diamond-backed terrapins and forest management decisions for Appalachian salamanders. We are also working with range wide data sets and novel data sources including citizen science data to development population projection models for species status assessments (SSAs) in support of listing decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Captive-Rearing and Translocation of Threatened Amphibians ●
Our work on developing captive rearing and translocations of threatened amphibians began in 2010 when we developed a protocol for captive rearing of Gopher frogs (Rana capito). We have added numerous partners to our efforts on behalf of the state of Georgia such that our collective program is now producing several thousand juvenile Gopher frogs annually. We have released these animals to four sites in Georgia to establish new or supplement relic populations in restored landscapes. Our work has also included the use of radio telemetry to monitor the fates and dispersal patterns of juvenile Gopher frogs in different managed landscapes. Our rearing protocol has been adapted by facilities across many states and we now collaborate with partners to assist in the captive reintroduction of Gopher frogs in Alabama and South Carolina. In 2018 we initiated a new program led by Corrie Navis to develop and test captive breeding and rearing strategies for Stripe newts (Nothophthalmus perstriatus). Corrie's work has led to key insights into the demographic stages needed to maximize likelihood of establishing breeding populations through translocation of Striped newts, and field tests of large scale experimental releases began in 2024. We hope to continue to expand our work on the breeding ecology of Striped newts working with partner organizations.
The Kitchen Sink
Ultimately, research is a creative endeavor and we are regularly engaged in novel projects related to a range of questions, problems, and systems. Projects range from studying movements of animals in managed or developing landscapes, estimating the potential impacts of animals on managed lands under pressure from industrial solar production, impacts of novel invasive species and diseases, developing novel approaches to monitoring wildlife, and general ecology and natural history of amphibians and reptiles. We welcome opportunities for new collaboration and for student generated questions to become part of our research portfolio.

Student-led Projects

Our research is usually highly collaborative among members of the lab and with people outside the lab, and usually involves all levels of investigators including postdocs, PhD students, masters students, and undergraduates. Many of our undergraduate researchers complete independent senior or honors theses and coauthor publications with more senior lab members.  It is a priority that our research program be a platform for people of all levels and interests to engage in research in some capacity.