Research

Using an app, Scott Merkle aims to connect disease-resistant trees to the scientists who can help their species

They were called “ghost trees” because, after they died, American chestnut trees lost their bark and turned white, standing as a stark reminder of the magnificent plant it once was.

Research by a Warnell faculty member has unlocked one piece of a puzzle plaguing man-made lakes in the Southeast—although why it is so deadly is still a mystery.

For the past 25 years, American bald eagles along with thousands of water birds have been killed by a new kind of cyanobacteria that produces a lethal toxin. Scientists had a name, Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy, and they saw patterns—specifically, that birds were dying at man-made lakes. 

This summer is a banner year for sea turtles, according to data collected by University of Georgia researchers.

By early July, roughly halfway through the annual nesting season along the southeastern coast of the United States, more than 11,000 loggerhead sea turtle nests have been logged by organizations and volunteers and reported to the Northern Recovery Unit Loggerhead DNA Project, housed in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. This number tops the previous record for sea turtle nests set in 2016, when 11,321 nests were recorded.

A faculty member’

A new study by Warnell researchers has found strong support for the preservation and expansion of wilderness areas among public land visitors living within a half-day drive of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Aiken, S.C.  – A scavenger study that used fish carcasses as bait provides additional evidence that wildlife is abundant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, University of Georgia researchers said.

A one-month camera study prompted the sighting of 10 mammal and five bird species, according to James Beasley, associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

In each edition of The Log, we talk to a faculty member about their work, love of natural resources, and what they are excited about right now. In the most recent edition, we featured Dr. Elizabeth Benton, a forest health outreach specialist.

Athens, Ga. – If the U.S. wants to start using wood pellets to produce energy, either the government or power customers will have to pay an extra cost, a new University of Georgia study has found.