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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Ecological And Educational Impacts Of A Living Shoreline On St. Simons Island, Georgia, Usa, C. Tate Holbrook, Cameron Atkinson, Jordan Fountain, Stephanie Knox, Jan Mackinnon Mar 2024

Ecological And Educational Impacts Of A Living Shoreline On St. Simons Island, Georgia, Usa, C. Tate Holbrook, Cameron Atkinson, Jordan Fountain, Stephanie Knox, Jan Mackinnon

Georgia Journal of Science

Living shorelines encompass a range of nature-based alternatives to traditional coastal armoring structures. In addition to shoreline stabilization and protection, living shorelines are intended to meet conservation goals such as restoring habitat, delivering ecosystem services, and promoting ecological resilience to climate change. While early results have been promising, further monitoring is needed to better understand and evaluate the performance of living shorelines across a range of designs and environmental contexts, thereby informing coastal management. Nature-based shoreline protection is relatively new in Georgia, USA, where in 2015 the state’s fourth living shoreline was constructed of oyster shell and native plants on …


Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise Mar 2023

Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise

Georgia Journal of Science

Grassland bird populations are being lost at an alarming rate due to human modifications to grassland ecosystems. Grassland restoration has been shown to mitigate population declines for many species that use these habitats at some point in their annual cycles. We examined capture rates of adult, breeding, and hatch-year birds at a restored grassland site in the piedmont of central Georgia to determine whether colonization, breeding success, hatching success, and recruitment processes were impacting populations of grassland birds. We banded birds approximately twice per month from January 2009 through December 2021 at Panola Mountain State Park. Restoration efforts started in …


Avian Reproductive Success Is Associated With Multiple Vegetation Characteristics At An Active Grassland Restoration Site In Central Georgia, Kayla Allen, Katie Stumpf Oct 2021

Avian Reproductive Success Is Associated With Multiple Vegetation Characteristics At An Active Grassland Restoration Site In Central Georgia, Kayla Allen, Katie Stumpf

Georgia Journal of Science

Grassland bird populations are experiencing major declines due to habitat degradation, pesticide use, and fire suppression throughout North America. Large-scale grassland restoration efforts to improve and provide suitable habitat are ongoing, but there is little data on productivity of birds breeding in restored habitats, nor on the impact of specific vegetation characteristics on reproductive success. Since 2005, agriculture fields at Panola Mountain State Park in central Georgia have been undergoing restoration to warm-season grasslands; however, until now, data on nest success or productivity was lacking. The goals of this project were to: (1) quantify reproductive success and (2) determine which …


Long-Term Changes In Avian Capture Rates During Twelve Years Of Active Grassland And Savannah Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise Mar 2020

Long-Term Changes In Avian Capture Rates During Twelve Years Of Active Grassland And Savannah Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise

Georgia Journal of Science

The decline of grassland ecosystems throughout the United States has caused population declines of many bird species, especially grassland specialists, which has led to greater interest in restoring these dwindling habitats with a combination of natural fire regimes and the replanting of native vegetation. In the southeastern United States, several species of birds use grassland habitats at critical points throughout the annual cycle, as breeding or wintering grounds or as migration stopover sites. Since April 2007, we have operated 9–11 mist nets at Panola Mountain State Park, in Rockdale County, Georgia, in an area that is being actively restored to …


Surveys For The Alabama Map Turtle (Graptemys Pulchra) In The Coosa River, Georgia, John B. Jensen Mar 2016

Surveys For The Alabama Map Turtle (Graptemys Pulchra) In The Coosa River, Georgia, John B. Jensen

Georgia Journal of Science

The Alabama Map Turtle, found only in Mobile Bay drainages, is state-listed in Georgia as “rare” and has been petitioned for federal listing as “threatened.” Because this species has been poorly studied in Georgia and in the Coosa River especially, a survey was undertaken to determine its status in the Coosa to help inform the federal listing decision. The 2014-2015 survey involved counting basking turtles from a motorboat with the aid of binoculars. The Alabama Map Turtle was the third most abundantly observed turtle species during the survey, preceded by only the Slider and River Cooter. All size/age classes were …