Over 25 Georgia College & State University students from biology, environmental sciences and psychology presented their research at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science at Kennesaw State University on March 1-2. The meeting included 150+ oral/poster presentations with most of the USG institutions represented. In biological sciences, Sally Sir was awarded Best Graduate Oral Presentation. In earth sciences, Tori Morgan won Best Graduate Oral Presentation and Shannon...
Scientist Annsli Hilton, ’22, has been fascinated by the ocean and its wildlife for as long as she can remember. Her earliest memory of exploring ocean wildlife is a project she made in kindergarten on great white sharks. In her current role as a research associate with the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, she’s contracted with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Southeast Science Center. Hilton was a...
Since 2014, the United Nations has set aside the 5th of December to educate people about the importance of healthy soil. In time for this year’s international World Soil Day celebration, students in Dr. Bruce Snyder’s soil ecology class finished their final project for the semester—children’s books about dirt and critters of this unseen underworld that help nourish the Earth’s soil, water, forests and air. For the UN, it’s a day to focus attention on the ground beneath our feet, while...
To say something ‘has legs’ means it has longevity and staying power. That surely fits millipedes then, because they’ve been around forever. Thought to be earth’s first creature to leave water and breathe on land—the creeping, burrowing arthropods are essential for healthy soil and forests. Then there are those legs. Lots of them. Their legs help millipedes forage and feed, making them the ultimate composters—nature’s No. 1 soldier in waste management. They’re responsible for breaking...
Junior Parker Luke Wilson can tell you firsthand how after-school jobs and study abroad help you zero in on a correct career path, boost your skills and put you ahead of others in the job market. Growing up with a love for animals, Wilson got his first crack at being a veterinarian assistant as a senior in high school working at Gadd’s Animals Doctors of Gray. Since then, he’s been on track to double major in biology and Spanish at Georgia College & State University, while getting...
At her North Carolina internship this summer, Anna Agi was able to introduce the water-quality company to a few things about diatoms—a form of microscopic, single-celled algae with glass cell walls that converts light into energy. Diatoms generate up to 25% of the earth’s oxygen and are found in almost every aquatic environment from freshwater to the ocean. “It’s important to get involved in research if you’re in a science background, because it opens your mind and doors to so many...
Imagine being up-close and personal with Costa Rican rainforest wildlife. Georgia College & State University senior biology major Amelia Pound of Savannah did just that. For two weeks, she worked alongside veterinarians in Costa Rica, helping its native creatures stay healthy. Pound was selected as part of a small team of students who volunteered to care for sloths, peccaries (pigs), kinkajous (squirrel-like creatures), capuchin and spider monkeys, macaws and other colorful parrots,...
American naturalist Roger Tory Peterson called birds “indicators of the environment,” saying “if they are in trouble, we know we’ll soon be” too. That’s one reason Dr. Katie Stumpf has her biology students research various aspects of bird life. Studying the health and wellbeing of birds can warn of environmental challenges—some yet unknown—we might face with a changing climate. “Birds are an excellent indicator of ecosystem health since they’re able to leave quicker due to their...
It looks like the water tables toddlers play at—only this 300-gallon aquarium is home to newly-caught translucent blue crabs, hermit crabs, mantis shrimp and miniature starfish that like to bury themselves in the sand. Georgia College & State University Associate Professor of Biology Dr. David Weese took his Intro to Marine Biology class on a recent research trip to experience the thrill of the open sea and salty breezes. They used trawling nets to capture multiple ocean dwellers and...
Humans think a snake’s life is simple. They slink. They slither. They bask. They bite. But a Georgia College & State University vertebrate biologist says we don’t really know much at all about what snakes do and why. Using the latest, state-of-the art technology, Dr. Dominic DeSantis and his students are keeping an eye on these coiling creatures—where they go, what they eat and how they interact—hoping to learn their serpentine secrets. “The role of snakes, especially the large-bodied...
