UGA Coastal Ecology Lab

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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.

06/17/2026

Welcome back to ! This week, we are going to talk about how you can create a bird-friendly space in areas with feral cats.

Free-ranging and feral cats have contributed to the extinction of at least 63 species worldwide (Doherty et al. 2016, PNAS), including at least 40 species of birds. Globally, cats prey on over 2,000 different species, including over 340 species of conservation concern (Lepczyk et al. 2023, Nature Communications). Here are a few ways you can help reduce those numbers in your own backyard:

• Clear underbrush: Cats are ambush predators that rely on cover to sneak up on birds. Trim low-hanging branches on shrubs and remove tall, overgrown grasses within 10 feet of bird feeding or bathing areas.
• Elevate bird features: Hang bird feeders at least 6 feet off the ground and at least 10 feet away from any structures or trees that cats could jump from, and elevate bird baths off the ground.
• Choose proper feeder materials: mount bird feeders on smooth metal or plastic poles and install a metal baffle to prevent cats from climbing up. Additionally, place predator guards on nest boxes.
• Provide escape cover near feeders: Place bird feeders within a short flight of dense native shrubs.
• Reduce seed spillage: regularly clean up spilled seed beneath feeders or use tray-style feeders. Accumulated seed attracts ground-feeding birds, which are more vulnerable to predation.
• Create barriers: Plant dense, thorny native bushes (e.g., hawthorn or blackberry) to form natural barriers that cats avoid but that allow birds to slip through easily
• Avoid outdoor cat feeding stations

Creating bird-friendly spaces doesn’t stop at your property line. You can also support wildlife conservation through community-based efforts:
• Support your local Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs that work towards long-term, humane ways to reduce feral cat populations
• Advocate for responsible pet ownership: encourage neighbors to keep cats indoors or in enclosed outdoor “catios,” spay and neuter pet cats, and support efforts to reduce cat abandonment. Many feral cat colonies originate from abandoned or unsterilized pets, making responsible ownership an important part of long-term conservation of our native species!

06/16/2026

Hello everyone! Today’s post will be a short and sweet highlight featuring one of North America’s smallest vertebrates, the Coastal Plain Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata).

They typically do not exceed 2 inches (5.08cm) at maturity and weigh less than one gram on average. They are slender in body, with the most distinguishable feature being their hind legs, which possess 4 toes each. This is a completely unique deviation from all other Eurycea species. They are a warm brown in coloration with a darker, marbled side to contrast. Throughout the Coastal Plains, they can be found in a variety of shallow wetland habitats ranging from Flatwoods and floodplains to ditches. Coastal Plain dwarf salamanders often inhabit leaf litter around the margins of their aquatic habitats. Outside of breeding season, they can also be found significant distances from their aquatic homes if the habitat is suitable to sustain them. Breeding occurs during the winter, and coincides with their only known migration, typically to safe bodies of water to spawn. Hatchlings can take up to several months before maturing. Males do not reach reproductive maturity until they are nearly a year old. Females usually take twice as long to reach reproductive maturity. As of the writing this post, Coastal Plain dwarf salamanders do not possess any state or federal protections.

Photo 1 by “lucasdel08” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/330258140]

Photo 2 by “toxmace” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196711254]

06/15/2026

Welcome back to Monday! If you have ever spent any amount of time in the southeast, you have probably seen an alligator, but have you ever seen a blonde alligator?

Ok, so the alligator isn't really blonde, but it is an interesting and rarer coloration in which an American alligator has a lighter patterning. This alligator was seen on the west side of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and is about 4ft long. It is normal for young alligators to have yellow striping on their back and tail; however, it is not common to see that blonde/yellow coloration on their head. The stripes on its body help with camouflage when they are young and living in and around their siblings and other vegetation. As they grow and begin to hang out more in open water, those stripes begin to fade. With this alligator, however, it may retain that coloration through its entire life. While this animal is very pretty to look at, this color variation, most likely caused by a genetic mutation, can make it more difficult for them to survive. It compromises their camouflage, making it easier for both predators to spot it and more difficult for it to sneak up on prey. However, given that this animal has already made it to 4ish feet is a good sign for its survival, because at that size, its only real predator is other alligators. Hopefully, we will see this animal again and see if it retains this unique coloration into adulthood.

📸: Sarah Ratcliffe

06/14/2026

🚨 🚨Have you ever noticed a tiny hummingbird hovering around flowers? Well if so, you may have not actually seen a hummingbird but rather a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)!

Found throughout much of eastern North America, all the way from southern Canada to the eastern and central United States , this fascinating moth is often mistaken for a hummingbird thanks to its rapid wingbeats, hovering flight, and long proboscis to sip nectar from flowers. Unlike a majority of moths, Hummingbird Clearwings are active during the day, making them a common but often overlooked garden visitor.

Despite their name, these moths don’t start life with clear wings. When they first emerge from their pupae, their wings are covered in scales like other moths have. However, as the Hummingbird Clearwing begins flying, many of these scales fall away from their wings, leaving transparent patches that give them their “clearwing” appearance.

Often found in gardens, meadows, forest edges, and other rich flowering areas They are important pollinators, visiting a wide variety of native wildflowers while searching for nectar. Their caterpillars feed on plants such as honeysuckle and viburnum before transforming into the impressive adults we see zipping around flower beds.

Due to hummingbird clearwings being active during the day along with their fast movement, most people can go for years without realizing they are seeing a moth rather than a hummingbird. So next time you see a hummingbird buzzing around your garden, take a closer look and it may not be a hummingbird at all but rather a moth.

📷:Hummingbird Clearwing by iNaturalist user “ryan_griffiths”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/54352963)

📷:Hummingbird Clearwing by iNaturalist user “erikschiff”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/174896929)

📷:Hummingbird Clearwing by iNaturalist user “erikschiff”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/366807137)

06/13/2026

Welcome back to another !🐍 Today's post is going to be a little different from usual, as this past week has been the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation's . In honor of this, today's topic will include both snakes and turtles!

Our highlight species for today is the nonvenomous Brown Water snake (Nerodia taxispilota), which is a common species of water snake found from southeastern Virginia down along the East coast to Mississippi. Being a larger-bodied snake, this species is often mistaken for Water Moccasins; however, up close, they have a distinct pattern of dark square-shaped blotches running dorsally down the length of their brown body and along their sides. On their ventral side, they are yellow or lighter in coloration, marked with darker patterning. This species is typically piscivorous, feeding generally upon fish; however, they have been known to take advantage of whatever they can capture and swallow.

This leads to the main focal point for today, and that is the documentation of a Brown Water snake feeding upon a baby turtle! We found a Brown water snake out in the field that had ingested a hatchling turtle. Now it is uncertain as to what species of turtle the snake had ingested because we did not want to make the snake throw up the meal it had just eaten. However, it is quite interesting for a snake to swallow a turtle since the shell circumference of some species can be quite large even as hatchlings. This is not too surprising, though, given that snakes have highly flexible jaws and their bottom jaw is not fused like ours.

While it may be sad to see, this is the natural cycle of nature, and it continues like this every day in the ecosystem without being noticed. Such an opportunity to observe and document this event is rare and truly an awesome find!

06/12/2026

For this week’s , we’re highlighting the currently blooming Fewflower Milkweed (Asclepias lanceolate). Fewflower Milkweed is a delicate native wildflower found in moist habitats throughout the eastern coastal region of the United States. It can grow 3 to 5 feet tall, with oppositely arranged pairs of long, thin leaves spaced out along their slender stems. The plant is very easily overlooked until it produces its small clusters of brilliant orange and red flowers in late spring and summer.

Like other members of the Genus Asclepias, Fewflower Milkweed contains a toxic, milky latex in its leaves and stems that it uses as a defense against hungry caterpillars. However, caterpillars of Monarch and Queen butterflies are specialized to feed on these plants despite their chemical defenses, making milkweeds an important host plant for larval Monarchs and their relatives. The flowers are also a great source of nectar for bees and wasps.

When planting milkweed in your garden, always choose a species that is native to your region!

📸 Joshua Billings

06/10/2026

Happy and happy ! For Wild Turtle Week, we are going to highlight the amazing diversity among Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapins), a unique aquatic turtle native to the coastal salt marshes and brackish estuaries of the southeastern US.

Diamondback terrapins are easily identified by their distinct, raised diamond-shaped patterns and concentric growth rings on their shell. Similar to human fingerprints, no two terrapins have the exact same color and pattern, and their skin and shells are highly individualized. Diamondback terrapins naturally exhibit extraordinary color variation by region, but these differences are dramatic even among individuals in the same nest or population.

The upper shell (carapace) ranges from light gray, brown, and yellowish-green to deep, nearly solid black. Their underside (plastron) is usually yellowish or greenish, often decorated with unique, irregular black flecks or bold, dark blotches. Their skin tones range widely from bright white or pale grey to dark grey and jet black. The concentric rings on their large diamond-shaped plates (scutes) alternate in color with shades of yellow, gray, or dark brown. They can even have variation in their eye color and facial markings.

The subspecies most commonly seen here on the Georgia Coast is the Carolina Diamondback (M. t. centrata), which is known for its exceptionally bold patterns and bright, highly contrasting skin.

Check out this unique artwork by Madison Bragdon, created from photographs of individual diamondback terrapins that were found right here off the coast of Georgia and participated in a 2024 UGA Coastal Ecology Lab research project evaluating experimental barrier designs to help keep terrapins off roadways and reduce road mortality!

📸: Madison Bragdon

06/09/2026

Hello everyone! Today’s post will be all about the large and in charge River Frog (Lithobates heckscheri)!

This species is on the larger end of frogs, able to reach up to 6 inches at maturity (15.5cm). Tadpoles of this species are also notably large, reaching 5 inches in length (12.7cm). Adults are a dark green – earthy brown in coloration with a black – grey belly. No dorsolateral ridges are present, and they have rough, wrinkly skin. Juvenile eyes are often reddish in coloration, often changing to gold with maturity. Tadpoles have a distinct black margin around their tail fin and exhibit schooling behavior. Males have a larger tympanum than females (hearing organ located behind the eye), which is larger than their eyes, and a yellow throat. Female tympana are often smaller than their eyes and far less distinct than those of males.

River frogs are nocturnal and have been described as more “approachable” or less “wary” than other frogs. This leads to them being easier to capture. They are more likely to go limp and “play dead” when captured than they are to flee. River frogs can also secrete an unpleasant odor/ toxin through their skin when threatened as an additional way of deterring predators. The call of the river frog is a deep, rolling “snore” that some have likened to that of a distant chainsaw or lawnmower. River frogs are found throughout the Coastal Plain and are typically more common in the southern ends of their home range. They often inhabit swamps, Blackwater streams, and associated wetlands. They are listed as least concern under IUCN, but have regional conservation concerns. They are considered in decline in their eastern range and extinct in North Carolina.

Photo 1 (top left) by “rreams” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207234675]
Photo 2 (top right) by “lucaspigeon” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/342481296]
Photo 3 (bottom left) by “rreams” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164065029]
Photo 4 (bottom right) by “phils1stpix” CC-BY-NC, iNaturalist [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102699057]

06/08/2026

Happy Monday! Many times, once we remove an alligator's satellite tag, we don't see them again, but recently, while conducting captures, we accidentally recaptured an old friend in male BDE!

BDE was the first alligator we fitted with a satellite tag at the Folkston Entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge back in 2020. He had a fairly small home range and could usually be found hanging out around the boat basin. Back when we first caught him in 2020 and again in 2021, to remove the tag, he was exactly 9ft long; however, when we captured him this time, nearly 5 years later, he was 9'9" long. Those nine inches may not seem like a lot, but for a male alligator comes with 50-75lbs of muscle, which can make a huge difference in trying to find mates. We can certainly tell that BDE has been trying to mate and find his place as he has quite a few battle scars and even a tooth mark on his snout (circled in red).

This long-term monitoring can also tell us a lot about the growth rates of alligators in the swamp versus other areas in GA. For example, while he grew 9 inches over the course of 5 years, an alligator at Ford Field and River Club that we have captured twice grew 4 inches over a single year from 10'3" to 10'7". We know that alligators on the coast grow quicker than inland alligators, as coastal alligators have access to the rich food sources of the marsh, but this really shows how vastly different the growth rates may be and highlights the importance of long-term research and monitoring.

06/07/2026

🚨 🚨Not every orange butterfly you see fluttering through the air is actually a monarch. In fact, several species across the Southeastern United States have evolved to look similar or almost identical to the Monarch butterfly, so much so that people and predators tend to mistake them for the real thing! This week, we are taking a closer look at Monarch butterflies and the butterflies that mimic their famous warning colors.

In the images below this post, there are four butterflies pictured: Viceroy (Limenitis achippus), Monarch (Danaus plexxipus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), and a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). Comment below your guess of which butterfly is the true Monarch butterfly. If you want a challenge, try to identify all four species to the correct photo.

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexxipus) is one of the most recognizable insects in North America. They are especially known for their striking orange and black wing patterns, along with their long-distance migrations across North America. But Monarchs are more than just pretty butterflies; they are flying warning signs to predators. As caterpillars, monarchs feed on milkweed plants, which contain toxic compounds called cardiac glycosides. These toxins remain in the butterfly’s body into adulthood, making Monarchs taste unpleasant and sometimes toxic to certain predators like birds.

Due to predators learning to avoid the Monarch’s warning coloration, several other insects have evolved to look similar through mimicry. One of the most common examples is the Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis achippus). For many years, scientists believed the Viceroy was a harmless species copying the Monarch for protection, but later research has shown that Viceroys may also be distasteful themselves, creating what is known as Müllerian mimicry, where both species benefit from sharing similar colors.

There are two other similar mimics to the Monarch, the Queen (Danaus gilippus) and Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). The Queen is a close relative of the Monarch that also feeds on milkweed and shares a similar coloration to the Monarch. The Gulf Fritillary, however, evolved independently from the Monarch, developing a similar color scheme due to its own toxicity from passion vine.

So, next time you spot an orange butterfly drifting through a field or garden, take a closer look; it may not be a Monarch, but rather one of nature's most convincing impersonators.

📷:Gulf Fritillary by iNaturalist user “rawcomposition”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/93940955)

📷:Monarch by iNaturalist user “philippthompson”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86045504)

📷:Viceroy by iNaturalist user “drew_baxter”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/221084939)

📷:Queen by iNaturalist user “vijaybarve”
(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/221084939)

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University Of Georgia Marine Extension
Brunswick, GA
31520

Website

https://coastalecologylab.wixsite.com/gacoast

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