Odum School of Ecology

Congrats to Marisa Mizzoni, who was named a Wormsloe Fellow and will pursue field work at the Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe on the Isle of Hope! Mizzoni is researching the impacts of contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides on the ecology and health of bats. Her work on the Wormsloe property could provide groundwork for future environmental policy. https://www.libs.uga.edu/news/new-wormsloe-fellows-pursue-research-bats-magnolias-georgias-coast

Congratulations to Jill Anderson, winner of the 2026 W.S. Cooper Award from the Ecological Society of America!

Anderson was honored for a study that examined how a widespread mountain plant, Drummond's rockcress, responds to climate change.

She led a team that planted more than 100,000 seeds and seedlings in experimental gardens at different elevations to test how the plants performed under different climate conditions.

They found that although the species is widespread and adaptable, climate change is already threatening their survival, and they may need human help moving to cooler habitats as temperatures rise.

The study was published in Science in 2025. Anderson will accept the award in July at ESA's annual meeting.

https://ecology.uga.edu/i5o3

BioBlitz!

Four dozen volunteers joined the Odum School of Ecology and the Rowen Foundation on a Saturday in April to survey a 2,000-acre site in Gwinnett County.

The group split into teams and identified as many species of plants, animals, fungi and other organisms as they could.

Info collected by the citizen scientists will be used to guide development on the site, slated to become a mixed-use business and residential site.

https://ecology.uga.edu/qlig

📷 Agustin Orozco-Tello

So proud of Jill Anderson and her 2026 W.S. Cooper Award from ESA!

What are you doing on Earth Day? We strongly recommend that you attend our can't-miss seminar next week!

Hope to see you there.

Mark your calendar for next week's Ecology seminar!

Hope you can join us.

Mark your calendar for next week's Ecology seminar!

Hope you can join us.

Congratulations to Ecology faculty members Jill Anderson and John Drake, winners of 2026 Research Awards!

Anderson, who won a Creative Research Medal, is recognized for a groundbreaking long-term research project investigating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of changing climate patterns in natural plant populations.

Drake, who won a Lamar Dodd Creative Research Award, is recognized for a body of creative scholarship that has reshaped theoretical population biology and its applications to ecology, epidemiology and public health.

The awards are given by UGA’s Office of Research.

https://ecology.uga.edu/mlhv

Join us next week for an Ecology seminar!

Hope to see you there.