UNH Department of Biological Sciences

A HUGE congratulations to Dr. Nathan Furey on this great accomplishment!

Nathan Furey has been named the first Robert Summers Professor of Biology.

The new professorship, established through a generous $1 million gift from philanthropist Robert Summers, recognizes exemplary research and a strong commitment to mentoring graduate students.

Furey’s lab focuses on aquatic animal movement, mostly fishes but also seabirds and crustaceans. Furey and his students study where the animals go and why.

One focus is the spawning migrations of fishes that move from the ocean to freshwater to spawn, connecting our land and sea. Beyond reproduction, there is another motivation his lab investigates.

“Animals often move because of food, as they seek to eat and avoid being eaten themselves,” says Furey. “We have a variety of projects looking at changes in food availability and quality along the New England coast and how those changes affect the movement and success of animals in the ecosystem.”

The professorship funding will catalyze research in Furey’s lab in important ways: by directly supporting field work and by expanding opportunities for his students to do summer research, attend conferences, and develop innovative and exciting new projects.

Our students are doing so well! Congratulations!!

What a wonderful official welcome to our beautiful home, Spaulding Hall!

We greatly value our students, staff, and faculty in our department and enjoy recognizing them for their efforts in teaching and research.
Congratulations to our department award winners for 2025!
The Bedker Teaching Award: Dr. Adam Brockett, Assistant Professor
The Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award: Faith Frings, PhD Candidate
The Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award: Camryn Berry, PhD Candidate

Check out more of their work here!: https://colsa.unh.edu/biological-sciences

UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture
University of New Hampshire

Congratulations to all of our undergraduate, Masters, and PhD students who graduated this past weekend!! We wish you luck in all that you do! You will always be apart of the DBS family! 💙🐾🎓🎉
UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture
University of New Hampshire

So proud of all our students who presented. Special shout out to Kaitlin Van Volkom for winning a poster presentation award!!
Congrats to all!!

HUGE thank you to our Graduate Student Committee for putting together our first Graduate Student Research and Instructional Roundtable event! It was a great opportunity to catch up with peers, share updates on research and writing, and set semester goals for the Spring!

UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture

Microplastics pose a threat to Great Bay Estuary – a vital ecosystem at the heart of coastal New Hampshire. UNH researchers Bonnie Brown and Gregg Moore, with the help of graduate and undergraduate students, are leading crucial studies on how these tiny pollutants affect our estuary. Their work is helping us understand where microplastics come from, where they settle and how long they stay in our waters. Great Bay isn't just any body of water. It's a critical habitat for marine life, a natural filter for our oceans and an essential resource for our region's growing shellfish industry. Our research teams are creating models to track these pollutants, giving local aquaculturists, fishers and environmental managers the data they need to protect this precious ecosystem. Because when it comes to preserving Great Bay for future generations, every tiny particle matters. UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture UNH Research

The Ghost of COLSA is Back!

JASA EXPRESS LETTERS

New! Check out the September cover, which features "The effect of localized disturbance on the acoustic behavior of the common tern (Sterna hirundo)." Read it here: https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0028204


UNH Department of Biological Sciences
UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture