October 21 and 22 / Virtual
This year, the format and name of our biennial meeting were changed because of quarantine measures in place due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The GCRC Gathering: Not the Colloquium was held on October 21-22 in two virtual sessions. The meeting was attended by 103 registered participants (49 of whom were GCRC affiliates). This included scientists representing academic institutions from across the state (Univ. of Georgia; Savannah State Univ.; Georgia Southern Univ.; College of Coastal Georgia; Univ. of West Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology; Valdosta State Univ.), managers from state (Georgia DNR Coastal Resources; Environmental Protection; Wildlife Management; Jekyll Island Authority; Sapello Island NERR), and federal (Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary; US Fish and Wildlife Service; US Geological Survey; Sea Grant College Program, National Park Service; US Army Corps of Engineers) agencies, plus DNR project partners working within The Nature Conservancy. Since this year’s meeting was virtual we were able to open-up attendance to include post-docs, grad-students and other interested parties.
The program included our traditional mini-talks: three-minute sessions where participants introduce themselves to the group and give an overview of their work. Managers were asked to emphasize their research needs; academics were asked to showcase those aspects of their research that are most relevant to management. Three minutes is not long enough to go into detail, but it gives everyone an opportunity to speak and the atmosphere is light. The meeting also featured presentations on current Georgia-funded research projects, as well as program overviews from various state and federal management agencies. Each daily session ended with an hour for additional online discussion.
Agenda
List of Participants
Presentations from Selected Speakers
Please note: by clicking on a presentation link, you have agreed not to alter, excerpt, or redistribute work without the express permission of the author.
Introduction
Merryl Alber; Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia
Georgia Coastal Research Council Overview
Jill Andrews; Chief, Coastal Management Program, Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources
Georgia Coastal Management Program Overview
Contending with Climate Change
Jeb Byers; Associate Professor, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
Invasive Species and Range Shifts
Craig Landry; Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, University of Georgia
Green Infrastructure Cost-Benefit Analysis
Jason Evans; Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Studies, Stetson University
Ahead of the “CRS Class” in Georgia: Sea Level Rise Impacts on Stormwater Systems
Tools and Emerging Technology
Marguerite Madden; Director/Professor, Center for Geospatial Research, Dept. of Geography, University of Georgia
Developments in Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Applied to Coastal Studies
Deepak Mishra; Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Georgia
CubeSats in Space: UGA Small Satellite Research Lab
Russ Clark; Senior Research Scientist, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Wetlands and Habitats
Elizabeth King; Associate Professor, Odum School of Ecology; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
Multiple Environmental Stressors and the Future of Barrier Island Forests
Nate Nibbelink; Associate Dean for Research/Professor, Spatial Ecology and Geographic Information Science, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
Vulnerability Assessment of Georgia’s Coastal Species
Research Opportunities
Jan MacKinnon; Manager, Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Beth Tasciotti; Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Mona Behl; Associate Director and Public Service Assistant, UGA Marine Extension-GA Sea Grant
Introductions (3-minute talks)
Clark Alexander, Director, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia
Holly Bix; Assistant Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia
Jon Calabria; Associate Professor, College of Environ. and Design, University of Georgia
Jordan Dodson; Wetland Ecologist, Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Victor Engel; Director, South Atlantic Water Science Center, USGS
Marc Frischer; Professor, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia
Kelly Hill; Coastal Resources Specialist, Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Jennifer Kline; Coastal Resources Specialist, Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Carol Pride; Professor, Department of Marine & Environmental Science, Savannah State University
Mark Risse; Director, Georgia Marine Extension Service/GA Sea Grant
Sara Rivero-Calle; Assistant Professor, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia
Doug Samson; Reserve Manager, Sapelo Island Estuarine Research Reserve
Kim Takagi; Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Sciences, College of Coastal Georgia
Victor Thompson; Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia