New student-led projects will focus on flooding, ecosystem health and habitat resilience in Georgia’s coastal areas

Four graduate students from the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University have been selected to lead year-long coastal research projects through the Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant Research Traineeship. Now in its fifth year, this program has supported 30 students since 2019, providing undergraduate and graduate students with a unique opportunity to address the real-world challenges facing Georgia’s coastal region.

The independent projects must align with one or more of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s four focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, resilient communities and economies, and environmental literacy and workforce development.

Under the guidance of university mentors and in collaboration with specialists from Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the students not only conduct independent research but also share their findings with coastal communities.

“The traineeship is an invaluable experience for early career professionals, giving them the opportunity to develop essential skills in project management, communication and problem solving,” said Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. “By addressing the challenges identified by coastal communities, they will build a strong foundation for their future careers in research, policy and environmental management.”

Jack Robider will graduate this fall with a degree in environmental engineering from UGA and will continue for a degree in civil and environmental engineering. His research focuses on developing a hydrodynamic flood model for Glynn County and Brunswick, Georgia, a region highly susceptible to flooding due to its low elevation and proximity to the coast.

The model Robider is building will estimate flood depths from storms and overlay them over Brunswick’s communities, infrastructure and Superfund sites to assess the potential damage caused by flooding and contamination. This work is important because it helps identify flood-prone areas, support resilient infrastructure planning, and address compound environmental threats such as pollution from septic systems and Superfund sites.

Mark Hoog is pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental sciences from Georgia Southern University. His research focuses on studying the genetic diversity and differentiation of American alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp using genetic markers to identify population structures.

Understanding these genetic patterns is crucial to wildlife management because it helps determine the overall health and resilience of the population. By combining genetic data with demographic information, the research will provide a comprehensive view of population health, supporting better decision-making for ecosystem management and conservation efforts.

Skyler Fox is a master’s student working on a degree in biology at Georgia Southern University. She studies the impact of human disturbance on restored coastal sand dunes on Tybee Island, Georgia.

Sand dunes provide crucial ecosystem services such as protection from storms, but are vulnerable to damage from high foot traffic, even on designated pedestrian paths that cross the dunes and connect parking areas to the beach. Fox collects data on sand movements and vegetation to compare the health of the dunes near footpaths with undisturbed dune areas. The findings will help inform coastal cities on how to minimize human disturbance and effectively protect dune ecosystems.

Zakaria Gordon is a graduate student in biology at Georgia Southern University. His research examines the threat of saltwater intrusion into Sapelo Island’s freshwater habitats, which is increasing due to climate change and coastal development.

The island’s history of canal adjustments, which were dug to drain marshes for agriculture, have facilitated the movement of salt water inland, impacting freshwater marshes. Gordon will study these channels, as well as freshwater wetlands disconnected from these channels, using data loggers, leaf decomposition rates and biological assessments to monitor water movement, habitat functionality and ecosystem health. The findings will be shared with the local community experiencing these challenges, in the hope of understanding how they can be addressed.