News - July 2023


‘Urban’ ibis habits diverging from their wilder cousins

New study looks at how food sources in coastal cities help change movement patterns   With their long legs and curved beaks, ibis are fixtures in coastal and wetland areas across Florida and much of the Southeast. But just as they can be found in the wild, poking their beaks among the tall grasses and marshy soil where few humans tread, the birds are also becoming increasingly common in neighborhoods, searching for food in freshly irrigated…


Research explores safer routes for logging trucks

Allowing interstate travel would provide many benefits for timber industry Logging trucks crisscross roads across the southeastern United States every day, bringing more than 200 million tons of timber from forests to mills every year. Every mile they travel adds to the overall cost of the timber—and current federal weight laws prevent log trucks from using interstate highways. Now, University of Georgia research is measuring the benefits…


Social media can play a role in hotel decisions

Researchers find many travelers are looking for an ‘experience’ When contemplating a destination, some travelers look to how the experience might translate to social media when making their decision, according to a new study by University of Georgia researchers. They found that the motivations behind where travelers choose to stay while on a trip can go beyond customer service or cleanliness into what they can post online. Overall,…


Cameras reveal possible uptick in urban wildlife

As humans stayed home, early research hints at increased animal movement   In late March, as communities began to issue shelter-in-place orders, it seemed animals came out of hiding. Across the globe, reports began to surface of wildlife taking to the newly deserted streets. Even in Georgia, people reported foxes in shrubbery, yips of coyotes or, in one case at the University of Georgia, deer walking across campus. But were animals…

girl holding bird
With #blackbirdersweek, graduate student helps amplify African American scientists

From the back-porch steps of her friend’s house, where she’s been social distancing for the last few weeks, Sheridan Alford has a view of a nice stand of pine and oak trees. She watches as a little eastern bluebird comes and goes, fulfilling its bluebird duties. It’s an exciting moment—she hasn’t seen one of these birds before. This experience is why Alford, a master’s student at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural…

woman holding deer
Deer researchers see face coverings differently

For students who work in the University of Georgia’s Deer Research Laboratory, the concept of face coverings is not new. That’s because when researchers study white-tailed deer, face coverings are used to keep the animals calm while necessary data is collected. Lately this data, such as size or DNA, has been collected as part of a five-year study by UGA researchers investigating the decline of North Georgia’s deer population, as well as…


Alumna’s children’s book launches new series of adventures

'Little Foresters Adventures' teaches kids, parents about fun in forestry   Growing up, Dana Bloome didn’t understand why the other kids at school couldn’t look at trees and see what she saw. For Bloome (MFR ’14), forests were a magical place. She learned about them from her father, Larry Bloome Jr., owner of D&L Logging in South Carolina. Bloome recalls going out to her dad’s job sites on weekends, where he would teach her and her…


Is sharing caring? UGA professor investigates federal-state agreements

USDA grant calls for review of new ‘shared stewardship’ land management strategy   When former Gov. Sonny Purdue came to Athens last fall, the first item on his agenda wasn’t the University of Georgia football game (although it was a close second). His initial stop on that Saturday morning took him to UGA’s Whitehall Forest, where he and Gov. Brian Kemp signed a memorandum of understanding called a “shared stewardship” agreement between…


Early intervention is cure for pigs and crop damage

Wild pigs cause millions of dollars of damage to agriculture industry   Invasive wild pigs take a big bite out of farmers’ wallets, causing about $40 million in damages to peanut crops and $61 million to corn crops in 11 states annually. A recent study by University of Georgia researchers reports that the optimum time to prevent potential damage and economic loss from wild pigs is just prior to planting. Lead author Chris Boyce and a team…


Active learning: Professor’s work in environmental education sparks outreach award

Kris Irwin’s philosophy on teaching incorporates project-based classes, STEM education   Standing next to a creek that had cut its way through the hillside, Kris Irwin paused with a question for his students: How could this formation in the earth be used to teach science? The challenge developed into a list of ideas—lessons in momentum, shapes and geography tumbled into the conversation, one of many as Irwin and his class walked through…

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