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Georgia Southern Biological Survey (GSBS)

Overview

The Georgia Southern Biological Survey (GSBS) began in 2015, via funding from the Georgia Southern University Center for Sustainability. The mission of the project is to document the richness and distribution of biodiversity on Georgia Southern’s campus. In so doing, the project will establish baseline levels of biodiversity that can be tracked over time. Thus far, faculty and students from Georgia Southern’s Department of Biology have documented 194 vertebrate species, spanning birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. See below for a complete list of documented species. Monitoring levels of biodiversity at Georgia Southern helps to ensure the sustainable management of our campus and plan future campus activities or development in ways that minimize impacts to biodiversity. We welcome and encourage additional student and citizen involvement as we continue to grow the project.

Species documented to date

How You Can Help

We are asking for interested members of the community to look for vertebrate animals on and around campus.  Any observations may be reported to the Georgia Southern Biological Survey either online or through your mobile device. The GSBS is also available via the popular citizen science program iNaturalist. You can access our page and upload observations two ways:

  1. Online at the GSBS project page
  2. Through the iNaturalist mobile app on your smartphone (more instructions below)

Submitting observations to GSBS through the iNaturalist mobile app

Part 1: Joining the GSBS project

  1. Download the iNaturalist app and create an iNaturalist account on your mobile device
  2. Once logged in, go to the ‘More’ menu on the bottom right of your screen
  3. Select the ‘Projects’ menu
  4. Click the magnifying glass icon at the top right of your screen and search for “Georgia Southern Biological Survey”
  5. Once on the project page, select the “Join” button at the top of your screen underneath the project icon

Part 2: Submitting observations

  1. Select the “Observe” button in the bottom center of your screen (camera icon)
  2. Take a picture or audio recording of your find (or select an existing one from your phone)
  3. Fill in as much additional information as you can in the following screen
  4. After entering all the details that you can, click the ‘Projects’ menu at the bottom and make sure that the ‘Georgia Southern Biological Survey’ project is checked. This makes sure that your observation gets sent to us!
  5. Press ‘Share’, and feel good about contributing to important science!

For More Information

Please contact:

Mammals: Dr. Michelle Cawthorn, mcawthor@georgiasouthern.edu

Birds: Dr. Ray Chandler, chandler@georgiasouthern.edu

Amphibians and Reptiles: Dr. Lance McBrayer, lancemcbrayer@georgiasouthern.edu

Fish: Dr. Jamie Roberts, jhroberts@georgiasouthern.edu

Ogeechee River Project

Project Title:
Assessment of Hydrological, Biological and Environmental Components of the Lower Ogeechee River Ecosystem

Overview:


The Ogeechee River Project is geared towards investigating ecological processes in this important watershed. The work of our research is meant to provide more than short-term monitoring of biogeochemical components in this river basin, but also to ensure a long-term holistic approach for research conducted on the Ogeechee River. The Ogeechee River Project consists of two research themes carried out by two distinct teams of researchers at Georgia Southern University and partner entities. One group from the Department of Geology & Geography at Georgia Southern is focused on atmospheric and terrestrial processes in the watershed while the other, from the Department of Biology at Georgia Southern in conjunction with the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy (SNSA) is focused on the in-stream processes and biological communities of the Ogeechee River.

This Supplemental Environmental Project was undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for violations for the Georgia Water Quality Control Act.

Geology and Geography Team

  • Jacque L. Kelly, Ph.D., University of Hawaii-Manoa, 2012
    • Assistant Professor; Geochemistry, Subsurface Hydrology, Remote Sensing 
  • James S. Reichard, Ph.D., Purdue University, 1995
    • Interim Department Chair, Geology and Geography; Professor; Hydrogeology, Field Methods, Geochemistry
  • Wei Tu, Ph.D., Texas A&M, 2002
    • Associate Professor; Geographic Information Science, Spatial Statistics, Spatial Database Management
  • John T. Van Stan, Ph.D., University of Delaware, 2012
    • Assistant Professor;  Ecohydrology, Forest Biogeochemistry, Instrumentation Development

Biology Team

  • Risa Cohen, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 2003
    • Professor Dept. of Biology; Aquatic Ecology; Toxicology
  • Jose C. Colon-Gaud, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University, 2008
    • Associate Professor Dept. of Biology; Aquatic Ecology; Invertebrate Ecology
  • Johanne M. Lewis, Ph.D., Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2008
    • Assistant Professor Dept. of Biology; Physiology; Environmental Stressors
  • Vinoth Sittaramane, Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, 2008
    • Assistant Professor Dept. of Biology; Developmental Biology; Environmental Stressors
  • Stephen P. Vives, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1988
    • Professor & Chair Dept. of Biology; Aquatic Ecology; Ichthyology
  • Damon Mullis, MS, Georgia Southern University 2014
    • Research Program Manager, Phinizy Center for Water Science

Graduate Students

  • Marina Osier, B.S. Forestry, Iowa State University, 2013
  • Jason Duff, B.S. Environmental Science, University of Southern Maine, 2013
  • Byron Collins, B.S. Biology, Middle Georgia State College, 2013
  • Shauna Tietze, B.A. Biology, Nebraska Wesleyan University, 2013
  • Thomas Kuhn, B.S. Biology, Kansas State University, 2012
  • Allison Lutz, B.S. Biology, Juniata College, 2015
  • Stefan Petersen, B.S. Biology, Buena Vista College, 2012
  • Elizabeth Prier, B.A. Biology, Bethany College, 2009
  • Elizabeth Craddock, B.S. Biology, Georgia Southwestern State University, 2014
  • Julien Buchbinder, B.S. Biology, Computer Science, University of Maryland, 2014
  • Anna Wagner, B.S. Biology, University of North Georgia, 2016

Water Quality Data (real-time data)

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division

Phinizy Center for Water Sciences

Meteorological/Climatological Data

ArcGIS – Ogeechee River Project

Taxa List:

2015 Georgia Water Resources Conference in Athens, GA – Special Session on the Ogeechee River Basin (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Preliminary assessment of organic material flux in the Ogeechee River system: a Lagrangian perspective. Oscar Flite, Shawn Rosenquist, Matt Erickson, Chalisa Nestell, Kelsey Laymon, Nate Hobbs, Damon Mullis, Jason Moak

Summary and comparison of continuous sonde data from the Ogeechee and Savannah River Basins. Oscar Flite, Shawn Rosenquist, Matt Erickson, Chalisa Nestell, Kelsey Laymon, Nate Hobbs, Damon Mullis, Jason Moak

A Comparison of Macroinvertebrate Communities within Two Southeastern Rivers. Damon Mullis, Oscar Flite, Nate Hobbs, Jason Moak, Chalisa Nestell, Kelsey Laymon

Benthic macroinvertebrates colonizing leaf packs in the Ogeechee River near Rocky Ford: Contrasting assemblages between drought vs. wet years. Checo Colon-Gaud, V. Byron Collins, Tori Goehrig, and Kody Franks

Post fish-kill monitoring on the Ogeechee River. Thomas C. Kuhn and Stephen P. Vives

Evaluation of Ogeechee River water using Zebrafish as a Biomonitoring tool. Vinoth Sittaramane, Elizabeth Prier and Lan Nguyen

Effect of Tetrakis (hydromethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC) on Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Lan Nguyen, Elizabeth Prier and Vinoth Sittaramane

Preliminary results of continuous water quality monitoring in the Ogeechee River*. Jason Moak, Nate Hobbs, Chalisa Fabillar, Matt Erickson, Damon Mullis, and Oscar Flite

Leaf Decomposition along a longitudinal gradient of the lower Ogeechee River*. Tyler Reeves and Checo Colon-Gaud

2015 Annual Meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science in Milwaukee, WI (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Macroinvertebrate community assemblages and leaf decomposition in three river basins of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. V. Byron Collins and Checo Colon-Gaud

2016 Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Portland, OR (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Effects of rapid pH and salinity change on the physiology of a local estuarine fish species, Fundulus heteroclitus. Shauna Tietze and Johanne M. Lewis

2016 Meeting of the Southeastern Estuarine Research Society in Bluffton, SC (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Antibiotic and nutrient mixtures influence phytoplankton subsidies to coastal systems. Jason Duff and Risa Cohen

2016 Meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in Concord, NC (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Combined effects of a flame retardant and ammonium on plankton community structure in blackwater pond mesocosms. Marina Osier and Risa Cohen

2016 Georgia – Alabama Chapter Meeting of the AFS in Columbus, GA (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Fish community and health assessment in a blackwater system in Southeast Georgia. Thomas Kuhn and Stephen P. Vives

A Comparison of Benthic Macroinvertebrates Colonizing leaf, Wood, and Artificial Substrates in Two Southeastern Coastal Plain Rivers. Damon Mullis, Kelsey Laymon, Skyler Lamberth, and Checo Colon-Gaud

Consumer community structure along a ~200-km stretch of the Ogeechee River. Allison Lutz, Thomas Kuhn, Checo Colon-Gaud, James H. Roberts, and Stephen P. Vives

2016 Annual Meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science in Sacramento, CA (Select this heading to view abstracts)

Leaf decay rates and litter dwelling invertebrates in Georgia Coastal Plain river. Byron Collins and Checo Colon-Gaud

Macroinvertebrate community structure along a ~200 km stretch of the Ogeechee River. Allison Lutz and Checo Colon-Gaud

2016 Meeting of the Society of Integrated and Comparative Biology in Portland, OR

Effects of rapid pH and salinity change on the physiology of a local estuarine fish species, Fundulus heteroclitus. Tietze, S.M. and J. M. Lewis

2016 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Orlando, FL

Accumulation of silver nanoparticles in aquatic food webs following pulsed vs. repeated exposure in artificial streams. Petersen, S. and R. A. Cohen

2017 Meeting of the Georgia Chapter of the AFS in Statesboro, GA

Spatial and Seasonal Variation of Macroinvertebrate Biotic Indices of the Lower Ogeechee River Basin. Buchbinder, J.M., A.K. Lutz, V.B. Collins, J.C. Colon-Gaud, and S.P. Vives

Comparisons of leaf-litter processing and macroinvertebrate assemblages in three Coastal Plain rivers of Southeast Georgia. Collins, V.B., and J.C. Colon-Gaud

Diet of the Snail bullhead (Ameiurus brunneus) in the Lower Ogeechee River. Lutz, A.K., J.C. Colon-Gaud, and S.P. Vives

2017 Meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science in Raleigh, NC

Seasonal differences in community composition of Ogeechee River macroinvertebrates in response to temporal and environmental factors. Buchbinder, J.M., A.K. Lutz, V.B. Collins, C. Colon-Gaud, and S.P. Vives

Comparing leaf breakdown and macroinvertebrate assemblages among three coastal plain rivers. Collins, V.B., and J.C. Colon-Gaud

Connecting the Dots: A Basic Food Web of the Lower Ogeechee River Basin. Lutz, A.K. and C. Colon-Gaud

2017 Southeastern Estuarine Research Society and Benthic Ecology Meeting in Myrtle Beach, SC

Antibiotic and nutrient mixtures influence phytoplankton subsidies to coastal systems. Duff, J. A. and R. A. Cohen

2017 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Minneapolis, MN

Effects of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) on the predator-prey interaction between zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Daphnia magna. Wagner, A.C., Sittaramane, V. and R.A. Cohen

Publications (or scholarly activity)

Outreach Activities (workshops, training, educational programs)

Partnerships

SEP Final Report