UGAMI is seeking to hire an Academic Professional to develop and provide oversight of the Institute’s residential instructional programs for University students. The candidate will also teach field courses in their area of specialization, mentor students conducting independent research, and serve on the UGAMI leadership team. The position is based primarily at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, with travel to the UGA main campus in Athens and other destinations around the state (approximately one trip per month). Although it is possible to commute to Sapelo via ferry, residence on-site is required when programs are in session (including some weekends). Housing is available at the Marine Institute.
A Ph.D. in Marine Science or a related discipline is required for this position. A complete description and application materials can be found on the university’s faculty job portal http://www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/226765. Applications received by January 14, 2022 are assured full consideration. The position has a target start date of April 2022. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Merryl Alber, Chair of the Search Committee (ugamidir@uga.edu), with the subject line: Academic Professional.
UGAMI saw several interns over the summer working on various GCE LTER projects. A few of the interns visited Sapelo for a week or two while others lived on the island for the entire summer. Here is what five of the interns had to say about their projects and Sapelo experience!
Sydney Speir
“My name is Sydney Speir and I am from Brookline, New Hampshire. I am a rising 3rd year at the University of Georgia studying Ecology and Sustainability. This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work alongside Dr. Amanda Spivak and Gabriella Giordano studying biogeochemistry at the GCE-LTER site on Sapelo Island, GA. We sampled multiple ongoing projects including DisturbanceScape, Predex, and DRAGNet, all of which aim to describe the way in which various saltmarsh disturbances impact saltmarsh functioning. Most of my work focused on studying decomposition rates, chemical characteristics of porewater, and organic matter within the soil. Since saltmarshes account for a huge portion of terrestrial carbon, it is crucial to understand how they react to disturbances, both natural and anthropogenic. The more we can describe these processes of disturbance and recovery, the better we can preserve these highly valuable ecosystems for future generations.
After I complete my B.S. in Ecology and Certificate in Sustainability, I plan to pursue a PhD in Integrative Conservation. I then hope to work for a non-profit or governmental agency, using my ecological background to manage conservation efforts on local levels. The GCE internship gave me invaluable experiences, knowledge, and connections, but most importantly, an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of saltmarshes that I will carry with me forever.”
Matt Pierce
“I am originally from a small town in southern New Jersey named Millville. I just graduated from Rowan University with a BS in Biological Sciences and a BA in Environmental Science. I worked as an intern with the field technicians in the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER office. While interning I worked with Dontrece, Elise, and John who work as the field technicians for UGAMI and the LTER.
While working at UGAMI, I was able to help the field technicians collect data and prepare research experiments for researchers working on the island from multiple areas on and around the Sapelo Island. I helped clean MicroCAT sondes along the Altamaha and Sapelo rivers with John and Dontrece. During the water quality cruise up the Altamaha River Elise and I collected water samples to measure pH and other chemical compounds within the water column. During the cruise we used multiple instruments to sample water quality metrics along the river. The MicroCAT and water quality data goes into a large dataset used by the LTER to generate accurate models of the water systems flowing into the Atlantic along the river systems. This work is important as it helps us understand what factors along the systems may be altering water quality and the biotic factors within these systems such as chlorophyll densities. While interning I was able to work with a graduate student from the University of Florida who is working on a wrack disturbance project, I helped collect phytoplankton data for a predator exclusion experiment, take drone imagery of marsh land that is used to assess vegetation types, and GPS points using an RTK.
In the fall, I will start a PhD program in Ecology at the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. Going forward I hope to use the skills and techniques that I acquired during my internship in my research as I work through my program.”
Marcela Ifju
“My name is Marcela Ifju and I am a senior majoring in Mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida, but I am originally from Gainesville, Florida. In the future, I plan on continuing my education by getting my Ph.D. in Coastal Engineering while focusing on different aspects of physical oceanography.
This summer I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Christine Angelini and Sydney Williams as an REU intern on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Our research focused on Oysters and Mussels, and how varying levels of dissolved oxygen among different sites impact their growth and predation, along with how hypoxic conditions affect their filtration rates. This research is significant because Oysters and Mussels are very important species in the coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Some of the many benefits they provide are water filtration and shoreline structure and stabilization. The water quality, such as hypoxia, can affect certain aspects of these species such as behavioral, physiological, etc. and in the future could help or hurt certain ecosystems. So, it is important to find out just how much low dissolved oxygen levels impact these species.”
Nellie Little
“My name is Nellie Little, I am a senior at the College of Coastal Georgia and I am originally from Scotland. I am a double major in General Biology and Environmental Science, with a minor in Geology. I was fortunate enough to be the intern for the Georgia Coastal Ecosystem LTER technicians for Summer 2021.
This internship did not have a specific focus of research which meant I was able to experience many different projects and get a well-rounded experience. I was able to work in the tidal freshwater ecosystem looking at canopy tree coverage as well as working on water quality in Sapelo and Doboy sounds. This variation allowed me to learn many different field skills which opened my possibilities for future research of my own, I hope to go to grad school and look at Marine geobiology.”
Zahrria Johnson
“Hi, I’m Zahrria. I am from Fort Worth, Texas, and I am a fourth-year Biology major at the University of Houston. This summer I worked with Dr. Steven Pennings to set up the Disturbance and Resources Across Global Grasslands (DRAGNet) experiment at Sapelo. DRAGNet is a long-term, standardized disturbance experiment that is being set up in grasslands around the world in an effort to understand how grass-dominated ecosystems respond to and recover from different disturbances. My 8 weeks at Sapelo involved marking plots in the marsh, sampling plants and invertebrates, determining soil characteristics, and implementing disturbances and nutrient treatments to the plots. This work is widely relevant because physical disturbances are amongst the most widespread of impacts affecting grasslands, and now more than ever these disturbances are occurring simultaneously with other impacts including climate change and nutrient deposition. With this project, we hope to learn how much of an impact these factors have on the marsh and other grasslands. As of now, after I graduate, I plan on taking time off to travel before looking for work as a laboratory technician and later applying to graduate programs in wildlife sciences.”
Four students from the UGA College of Engineering visited UGAMI last week as part of a project focused on exploring new housing options for visiting researchers. The project is part of their capstone senior design course, a year-long class that provides students an opportunity to work on a real-world engineering challenge with a client – in this case, the Marine Institute. Working with a larger interdisciplinary research team from UGA, the students’ broader goal is to consider how their designs could offer an affordable alternative to housing in coastal Georgia and other southeastern states where strong wind events and sea level rise are significant challenges.
In addition to engineering, the interdisciplinary team includes colleagues from the College of Environment and Design, the Department of Geography, the Department of Marine Sciences, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the Office of Research, and the Office of the University Architect.
The engineering students will conduct their initial research and develop design alternatives during the current semester, then refine their concepts this spring based on feedback from the interdisciplinary research team. In April 2022, the capstone team will deliver a set of engineering drawings to the Marine Institute that will include site plans and details of their proposed resilient coastal homes.
UGA Engineering students (L-R) Sophie Knoll, Alex Rush and Tannar Singer looking at trailers currently used to house visiting researchers. Photo Credit: Jennifer Lewis, College of Environmental Design
The students in the UGAMI Coastal Summer Semester finished up this past week with presentations of their independent study projects. The students covered a wide range of topics, from studies of marine organisms (e.g. sand dollars, hermit crabs, gelatinous zooplankton) to salt marshes to plastic pollution. We also had students who studied birds, gopher tortoises, and fish. The independent projects capped off an intense four weeks taught by Dr. Damon Gannon (UGAMI Assistant Director for Instruction) and a roster of guest instructors who came through for various parts of the program. Marine Sciences graduate student Jeremy Schreier served as the T.A. for the class and did a fantastic job as well.
Guest instructor Dr. Chuck Hopkinson (back row) along with a group of students in the Coastal Summer Semester, about to embark on their “dawn” sampling to measure the metabolism of the Duplin River estuary.
A film crew from PBS visited the UGA Marine Institute this past winter and did a segment on salt marshes (and GCE-LTER research in particular) for their “Changing Seas” program. The show is due to be broadcast on June 23 at 8:30 pm. The preview is here (https://www.pbs.org/video/at-the-waters-edge-the-salt-marsh-h2shaw/) and the show itself will be available at https://www.changingseas.tv/.
Two regular researchers at UGAMI, Dr. Nik Heynen and Dr. Mary Ann Moran, are being honored for their work. Dr. Nik Heynen, professor in the Department of Geography at UGA, was recognized as a Distinguished Research Professor 2021. Dr. Heynen is the co-director of UGA’s Cornelia Walker Bailey Program on Land and Agriculture and a principal investigator on the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Project (GCE LTER), both of which are based on Sapelo Island. His work focuses on how the social constructs of race, class and gender have intersected to produce uneven geographical development. He studies how social movement institutions organize across space to identify and secure adequate resources for communities.
Dr. Mary Ann Moran recently received one of the highest honors a scientist can earn, election to the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Moran is a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at UGA. Dr. Moran is part of UGAMI’s faculty and has several ongoing research projects that involve the Institute. She was also instrumental in founding UGAMI’s Coastal Summer Semester program and serves as a faculty instructor in UGAMI’s Marine Biology Spring Semester. Dr. Moran is internationally recognized for her work in marine microbiology and marine ecology. Her work illuminates the roles that microbes play in mediating globally significant processes associated with the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and sulfur between the ocean and atmosphere.
Congratulations to both extraordinary researchers for these well-deserved awards!
Mary Price, who was one of our dedicated employees, passed away last March. There has not been a formal memorial service due to COVID-19. However, this past week the UGAMI staff gathered to dedicate the newest boat in our fleet in her honor, the “M.T. Price”. This new Carolina skiff will be an invaluable asset for the education of our students, and we are looking forward to many new adventures.
The UGAMI office staff takes a spin on the new boat.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2021 GCE Undergraduate Summer Internships!
There are nine potential internships available. Depending on COVID restrictions and available funding, all positions may not be filled. Most of the internships are in person, but two of them can accommodate remote work.
A recent paper that looked at changes in tidal creeks in southeastern marshes found that the purple marsh crab, Sesarma, is reshaping the landscape. The paper, which appeared in PNAS, was highlighted in the January 2021 issue of Scientific American. The researchers provide evidence that rising seas are increasing inundation of tidal creeks, making them softer and hence easier for the crabs to burrow. This is an intriguing idea that suggests that there are feedbacks between crabs and marsh drainage. The team conducted much of its field work at Sapelo and included many familiar faces (Sinead Crotty, who did much of her graduate research at UGAMI and is now at Yale, was the lead author of the paper). The Scientific American article, which can be found here, also gives a shout out to UGAMI. Check it out!
What better place to learn about salt marshes than Georgia! UGAMI had a crew from PBS on site last week shooting footage for a program focused on salt marshes as part of a series called Changing Seas (www.changingseas.tv). The crew went out in the field with GCE-LTER researchers to film them in action at the long-term plots and sampling the vegetation near the flux tower, and they also visited the SALTEX experimental site and got a chance to see our drone survey of Dean Creek. The crew was tested before they came and all involved observed social distancing rules, and the whole thing went off without a hitch. After Sapelo, they headed up to Skidaway for some additional filming. The program is due to air in June.
PBS crew with three cameras on Dontrece Smith and Brendan Manley
