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Basic and Applied Ecological Research

The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, a research unit of the University of Georgia, pursues basic and applied research at multiple levels of ecological organization, from atoms to ecosystems.

SREL is located near Aiken, S.C., on the Savannah River Site, a Department of Energy facility, and the first national environmental research park. The lab’s research extends beyond the site to regional and global projects. To date, the lab has more than 3,000 peer-reviewed publications.

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Haskins holds a large female brown watersnake captured in Augusta, Georgia. Photo: T.D. Tuberville

Mercury decreased in brown watersnakes, study reveals

Mercury has decreased in a creek on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, according to researchers at the University of Georgia.

As reported in a new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution, the team found 70% to 200% less methylmercury in brown watersnakes sampled in 2019 compared to levels in brown watersnakes captured more than three decades earlier.

The two cohorts of brown watersnakes were captured in the same creek near Augusta, Georgia, and Aiken, South Carolina, a tributary that feeds into the Savannah River, according to first author David Lee Haskins.

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