UGA Coastal Ecology Lab

UGA Coastal Ecology Lab A program of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. Our research takes place on the Georgia coast and the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

The objective of the Coastal Ecology Lab is to conduct field research that guides the conservation of wildlife populations in developed landscapes and the management of their interface with people. Dr. Kimberly Andrews is faculty at the Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant in Brunswick, GA. This lab exists because of the collaborations, partnerships, and generous sponsors and funders that support our research.

Happy Monday! It's officially baby season in the Swamp!Last week we got reports that CJM's nest over on the west side ...
09/07/2026

Happy Monday! It's officially baby season in the Swamp!

Last week we got reports that CJM's nest over on the west side of the National Wildlife Refuge has officially hatched! CJM is one of our satellite-tagged females, and this is the third time we have documented her nesting, with the other times being in 2025 and 2022. CJM is an incredible mother who will diligently defend her hatchlings from any threat, including humans. It's hard to say exactly how many hatchlings she has since she has them so well hidden, as evident by the brush in the pictures, but it seems like there are at least 10. These hatchlings face some long odds to reach adulthood, but with a little luck, they will be the next generation of alligators you may see in the Okefenokee Swamp. This is the first nest that we know has hatched in the swamp, but there are undoubtedly many more, so keep your eyes peeled for little ones if you visit.

Photo Credit: Sarah Ratcliffe

🚨 🚨You may have recently seen a enormous green caterpillar munching away on a tomato plant, but did you know that the "h...
09/07/2026

🚨 🚨You may have recently seen a enormous green caterpillar munching away on a tomato plant, but did you know that the "hornworm" in your garden eventually transforms into a large, powerful moth? This week, we're following the life cycle of the Tomato Hornworm/Five-spotted Hawk Moth (Manduca quinquemaculata)!

Tomato Hornworms are found throughout much of North America, including Georgia, where their caterpillars are commonly associated with gardens and agricultural area. They are especially well know for feeding on plants in the nightshade family, including tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplants.

The caterpillars can become surprisingly large, reaching around 4 inches (10 cm) in length. Their bright green bodies, white diagonal markings, and distinctive horn at the rear make them difficult to mistake for many other caterpillars. Despite their intimidating appearance, that horn is not a stinger and cannot inject venom.

As impressive as the caterpillar is, the adult moth is even more remarkable. After leaving the larval stage and pupating underground, the hornworm emerges as the Five-spotted Hawkmoth, a large moth with a wingspan that can reach around 4-5 inches. Adults are a grayish-brown with orange or yellow markings on the abdomen and are powerful fliers.

Unlike the caterpillar, which spends its time eating leaves, the adult moth feeds on nectar from flowers. Using its long proboscis, it can hover in front of flowers while feeding, much like a hummingbird. This behavior is why hawkmoths are sometimes even mistaken for hummingbirds.

Their transformation from a plant-eating caterpillar into a nectar-feeding moth demonstrates how dramatically an insect's lifestyle can change during metamorphosis. One organism can occupy completely different ecological roles depending on which stage of its lifecycle you're observing.

Tomato Hornworms can certainly be frustrating for gardeners when they consume large amounts of foliage, but they are also an important part of the food web. Their caterpillars provide food for birds and other predators, while the adult moths contribute to pollination as they visit flowers.

📷Five-spotted Hawk Moth photo by iNaturalist user: "lucanus95" https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/306057285

📷Five-spotted Hawk Moth photo by iNaturalist user: "jewels45"
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136861446

Hello everyone and welcome back to another ! 🐍 Today we will be continuing our recent installment of posts going throug...
09/06/2026

Hello everyone and welcome back to another ! 🐍 Today we will be continuing our recent installment of posts going through and providing information on each native venomous snake species and how to identify each one.

One of the more well known venomous snakes in the South, the Northern Cottonmouth aka Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorous) is often found near wetlands and most waterways. This species is a heavier bodied snake that can reach lengths of up to 60 in (152 cm) and weigh up to 10lbs (4.6kg). There are in fact two species found here in the state of Georgia. The first is the aforementioned Agkistrodon piscivorous and the other is the Agkistrodon conanti or the Florida Cottonmouth. Both species are very similar in appearance and can even hybridize in overlapping ranges. Most notable features of the Cottonmouth include the blotchy pattern similar to a Copperhead however these blotches are usually wider and have a small dot in the center. These patterns offset the base color of the snake which can range from nearly black to tan in coloration. When looking at the head one distinct feature of Cottonmouths is the dark line that runs from the eye all the way to the corner of their jaw. The last resort anyone should use to identify a Cottonmouth is by looking in it's mouth because that is how they got their name. In self-defense they will pop open their "cotton" white mouth to intimidate predators and curl into a coil.

Overall Cottonmouths of both species here in Georgia are absolutely amazing and should be admired from a safe distance if you come across one of them! Pictured on top is a Florida Cottonmouth and below is a Northern Cottonmouth.



📷 Photos by:
captainjack0000 (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/393970312)
lifelister (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/394459860)

Welcome back to !🦋If you’ve ever spotted what looked like a giant green leaf clinging to a wall or hovering like a humm...
09/02/2026

Welcome back to !🦋
If you’ve ever spotted what looked like a giant green leaf clinging to a wall or hovering like a hummingbird at flowers after sunset, you may have found a Pandorus Sphinx Moth (Eumorpha pandorus)! Found throughout Georgia in forests, woodland edges, neighborhoods, and gardens, these impressive moths use their olive-green, tan, and pink camouflage to blend seamlessly into surrounding foliage. Their caterpillars feed on grape, Virginia creeper, and peppervine, while adults use their long proboscis to sip nectar from a variety of night-blooming flowers.

Pandorus Sphinx Moths are most active at dusk and are powerful fliers, often hovering in front of flowers much like hummingbirds. Despite their large size, reaching wingspans of over 4 inches, they’re harmless to people and are valuable nighttime pollinators (Photos 1-3). Unlike many sphinx moth caterpillars, mature Pandorus caterpillars lose the characteristic “horn” on their tail (Photo 4) before pupating underground, where they spend the winter before emerging as adults the following season.

📷: Christopher Lewis (1), Abbey Crossman (2)

Today’s post is all about the Southern Appalachian Salamander (Plethodon teyahalee). This large bodied terrestrial salam...
09/02/2026

Today’s post is all about the Southern Appalachian Salamander (Plethodon teyahalee). This large bodied terrestrial salamander can grow up to 6.75 inches at maturity and completely lacks an aquatic larval life stage! They are black with white specks/ spots along the back and sides with a grey belly. When threatened, they can secrete an unpleasant glue-like mucus to deter predators. Found in mountainous woodlands in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. They prefer their environment moist and often seek shelter under forest debris, as well as other debris near streams like logs and rocks.
When it comes to reproduction, males have been observed putting on an elaborate dance for courtship. Females will remain with their clutches of eggs until they hatch. They are highly protective of their eggs, as well as particular, being observed abandoning nests they suspect of being tampered with. Conservation of this species is uncertain, with no federal protections in place as of writing this post.

Photo by “jacobscruggs” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/330008498]

Happy Monday! We are continuing our series answering your questions, and we had two people who wanted us to talk more ...
08/31/2026

Happy Monday! We are continuing our series answering your questions, and we had two people who wanted us to talk more about osteoderms.

Osteoderms are the bumpy protrusions that you see on the back of an alligator, and they are made up of bone with a small amount of skin covering them. In fact, the word osteoderm literally means bone skin; the prefix osteo means bone, and the suffix derm means skin. Most osteoderms are squarish in shape and have a keel or ridge that runs down the center. Alligators have a varying number of osteoderms, usually between 70 and 100, and they are normally oriented in 15 rows of 6 larger plates along most of the back with 5 rows of 3 smaller plates near the tail. They also have four osteoderms known as a nuchal shield that cover the back of the alligator's neck, and these are larger than the others. The osteoderms in the pictures below came from an alligator we had satellite-tagged (Doc) that died of natural causes back in 2022; his skeleton had 91 osteoderms.

Osteoderms serve two main purposes for alligators: protection and temperature regulation. Since they are made of bone, osteoderms are incredibly tough and act similarly to a suit of armor, protecting the alligator from a variety of threats, but mostly other alligators. Alligators can get territorial, and when they do, it doesn't always end amicably. If two alligators get into a fight, they need that protection so that they can live to fight another day. Osteoderms are so tough that they have even been known to deflect bullets! Now, this does NOT mean that alligators are bulletproof or that osteoderms can deflect all bullets 100% of the time, but it can happen. Secondly, osteoderms help massively with temperature regulation. The reason they only have a thin layer of skin covering the osteoderm is so that they are better able to absorb heat. If you look closely at the pictures below, you will notice that there are tiny holes within each osteoderm. These holes allow for blood to flow through the bones. So, when the alligators bask in the sun, the sun hits the alligator's back, heats up the skin, bone, and blood within. Then the blood is distributed to the rest of the body, helping to regulate the alligator's body temperature. Who knew those little protrusions played such an important role in an alligator's way of life?!

🚨 🚨Not every wasp needs to build a nest of its own. Some have evolved a much sneakier strategy, laying their eggs inside...
08/30/2026

🚨 🚨Not every wasp needs to build a nest of its own. Some have evolved a much sneakier strategy, laying their eggs inside nests of other insects and letting their unsuspecting hosts raise the next generation. This week's spotlight goes to the dazzling cuckoo wasps of the family Chrysididae!

Cuckoo wasps are found throughout much of the world, and they are especially easy to recognize because of their brilliant metallic colors. Depending on species, they can shimmer with shades of green, blue, turquoise, red, and gold, making them look more like tiny pieces of jewelry than wasps.

Their remarkable coloration isn't their only unusual feature. Many cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites, meaning their larvae develop by exploiting the nests and resources collected by other insects. A female cuckoo wasp may sneak into the nest of a host, often a solitary bee or wasp, and deposit an egg inside. When the cuckoo larva hatches, it can consume the host's egg or larva and then feed on the provisions that were originally collected for the host's offspring.

Getting into another insect's nest without being killed is no easy task. Cuckoo wasps have evolved a remarkable defense: their body is covered in a hard, heavily armored exoskeleton. When threatened, many species can curl their bodies into a tight ball, protecting their vulnerable underside with their armored back. This helps them withstand attacks from the wasps and bees whose nests they are trying to infiltrate.

Despite being a wasp, cuckoo wasps are generally not aggressive towards humans. Many species have a greatly reduced or modified stinger, and they are not considered dangerous to people.

Cuckoo wasps may be tiny, but their behavior demonstrates just how complicated insect relationships can become. Their entire life cycle depends on how well they can deceive another species, turning someone else's carefully constructed nest into a nursery for their own young.

📷:Cuckoo Wasp by iNaturalist user "good-and-weevil”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60470063)

Welcome back to another 🐍! When someone wakes up in the morning, the first stimulus many hear is the sound of an alarm...
08/29/2026

Welcome back to another 🐍! When someone wakes up in the morning, the first stimulus many hear is the sound of an alarm. Humans and other animals have designated pinnae (the external part of the ear) to pick up these sounds and process them through their ear canal. Some species, such as snakes, do not have the luxury of pinnae, and instead they use a different method to hear things around them.

Now you may be wondering how the snake can hear if there is not a place for the sound waves to travel into. Despite not appearing like they have ears, snakes have adapted methods that allow them to hear certain frequencies. Instead of using an eardrum, they have a bone in their jaw called the quadrate, which vibrates when it picks up sound traveling through the air. Given that snakes have a limited range of hearing using this method, they rely on their other senses to provide environmental information as well. A good example of this is their constant tongue flicking to smell what is around them and large eyes to see any prey or potential predators.

Overall, snakes have so many unique adaptations to surviving and thriving, and there is still much more to cover. Feel free to comment down below and let us know if there are any other snake features you would like to see us cover or if you have questions!



📷 Photo by: jakescott (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/316116698)

Welcome back to ! Georgia is home to 160 different species of butterflies. The monarch butterfly is often thought to ha...
08/28/2026

Welcome back to ! Georgia is home to 160 different species of butterflies. The monarch butterfly is often thought to have the longest migration of any butterfly. However, this distinction actually belongs to the painted lady butterfly, which migrates between 9,000 and 12,000 miles over multiple generations every year!



📸iNaturalist Photo by: "decaturjosh" (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64308657)

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