Category: News

As the program’s coordinator Kule will also recruit community partner organizations with the goal of increasing the program’s reach.

 

Aiken, S.C. – Eight students recently joined the long list of undergraduates to receive advanced hands-on training at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory on the  Savannah River Site.

The students are engaged in a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates funded by the National Science Foundation. SREL’s program offers undergraduates a unique opportunity to study radioecology, studying the fate, transport and effects of radioactive elements in the environment.

The summer program includes intense training in protocols for working in radiological sites, lab experience and developing a research project. The students receive guidance from a faculty or research staff mentor. They will present their research findings at a national conference at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

SREL’s 2018 undergraduate REU students are:

Trevaris Brown, Allen University; Kaiya Cain, Sierra Britt, and Christian Moreno, University of South Carolina Beaufort; Ryne Maness, Presbyterian College; Laura Stabler-Tindal, University of South Carolina Aiken; Heaven Tharp, University of Hawaii Hilo; and Fredericka Tucker, Florida A&M University.

SREL is also hosting Kristopher Weekes, a student visiting from Fort Valley University’s REU program.

To find out more about SREL’s education programs, please visit www.srel.uga.edu.

 

Contact: Vicky L. Sutton-Jackson, 803-725-2752, vsuttonj@srel.uga.edu

 

 

Wild pigs number between 5 and 6 million in the United States and they cause more than $1.5 billion in damage to property, agriculture, natural resources and cultural artifacts, according to the National Wildlife Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But a group of scientists led by a researcher from the University of Georgia has a plan for gaining control of this invasive species.

James Beasley, who heads a research subcommittee of the National Wild Pig Task Force, presented the subcommittee’s recommendations in a study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

Although there is existing research on wild pigs—descendants of the domestic pig and the wild boar—the growth of the population has outpaced the research, according to Beasley.

“We lack the empirical data in many areas to direct and evaluate management of the species,” said Beasley, assistant professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Focusing wild pig research on a few targeted areas under these priorities will facilitate progress toward the national goal, he said.

Kurt C. Vercauteren, project leader at USDA’s NWRC and a member of the subcommittee, agrees.

“Research addressing the priorities laid out in this manuscript will provide the knowledge needed to reduce the populations and negative impacts of invasive wild pigs,” he said.

The subcommittee’s recommendations included exploring factors influencing reproductive rates, determining how groups of wild pigs—known as sounders—form and interact, and determining why the sizes of these groups vary in different parts of the country.

Beyond the structural damage that occurs to property, very little is known about the damage done to natural ecosystems. Beasley said the research needs to determine or quantify the cost to native species that may be in competition with wild pigs for access to habitat and food resources.

Developing species-specific pharmaceuticals and improved bait and trap mechanisms that do no harm to other species is also key to seeing improved management results, according to the subcommittee.

The group also said that illegal transportation of wild pigs by humans to areas where they did not previously exist is a huge factor and influence in the wild pig’s dominance of the landscape.

“A major motivation underlying the relocation issue is hunter’s demand for wild pigs as game,” according to Beasley. “However, an unintentional consequence of the movement of pigs is the damage they inflict on crops and other resources, which has a significant impact on farmers’ wallets,” he said.

There is also a lack of knowledge that the species spreads diseases like brucellosis, E.coli. and other diseases that affect humans, livestock and native wildlife, like the Florida panther.

A major key to turning this around and improving management of the species is educating all stakeholders and measuring the effectiveness of outreach and education.

“Ultimately, the goal is to reduce damages caused by this destructive invasive species,” Beasley said. “And this template is a mechanism to get us there, hopefully within the next 5 to 10 years.”

 

Additional authors on this study include Stephen S. Ditchkoff and Mark D. Smith,  School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, 36849; John J. Mayer, Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808.

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Writer: Vicky L. Sutton-Jackson, 803-725-2752, vsuttonj@srel.uga.edu

Contacts: James C. Beasley, 803-725-5113, beasley@srel.uga.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day for learning; a day for fun.

Aiken, S.C.– James C. Beasley, assistant professor at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, has been named the 2018 recipient of UGA’s Fred C. Davison Early Career Scholar Award.

Named in honor of UGA’s18th president, the award is given annually to an early career faculty member to recognize outstanding accomplishment and evidence for future success in scholarship, creative work or scientific research.

Beasley is known internationally for his expertise in wildlife ecology, including research in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone that documented abundant populations of wildlife in areas deemed unsafe for human habitation.

He has received more than $2.6 million in research grants and contracts from various organizations.

To date, Beasley has published more than 85 scientific articles and book chapters. A significant number of his publications are in international research journals. He is also a co-author of the recently published book, “Ecology and Management of Terrestrial Invasive Species in the United States.”

Beasley serves as the wildlife adviser for the International Atomic Energy Agency to the prefecture government in Fukushima, Japan in response to the 2011 tsunami and nuclear accident.

He is known for using innovative field techniques in his research to investigate the behavior and management of mammal populations, particularly in human-altered landscapes. He also has vast experience investigating invasive species, such as wild pigs and coyotes, to resolve human-wildlife conflicts.

Beasley received his master’s and doctoral degrees in wildlife ecology from Purdue University and his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

The research, conducted during a 12-month time frame and recently published in the Journal of Ornithology, adds to the growing body of evidence that gopher tortoises add significant value to the ecosystem.

REMOP is a community outreach program designed to educate Burke County residents about environmental monitoring, including metals and radioactive elements. The program is supported by the Atlanta-based non-profit, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions.

 Media Advisory: REMOP presents “What is Tritium?”