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Research
Diversity
The Odum School's research programs represent considerable breadth in the
diversity of ecosystems, and the types of problems that faculty and graduate
and undergraduate students address. Research projects are diverse from
geographic, ecosystem, and 'issues' perspectives. Research is currently
being conducted in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Belize, Madagascar,
the Ukraine, China, and various parts of the U.S. This research focuses
on salt marshes, coral reefs, agroecosystems, mountain streams, large
rivers, soil ecosystems, pristine, disturbed and urban systems. Of particular
interest in the Odum School is coupling research efforts with service,
to provide answers to today's environmental problems. We currently work
with the citizens and decision making agencies in the state of Georgia,
as well as assist in environmental-problem solving in other parts of the
world. It is through our international focus and diversity of projects
that yield insight into attainable solutions for a variety of problems.
We also consider basic research as critical to understanding natural and
disturbed ecosystems and strive to be at the forefront of addressing fundamental
issues in ecology with our research.
Funding
Only a small percentage of the Odum School's operating budget comes from
the State of Georgia via the University's budget. Odum School research projects
are primarily funded through grants from federal agencies, including the
National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Strengths
In many ways, the strength of the research programs of the Odum School lies
in their sheer diversity. Yet, there are certain focal areas of research
within the Odum School that currently have particular strength. These areas
include ecosystem science, conservation biology, aquatics, and soil ecology.
The program's emphasis on ecosystem science, based on the strength of
the Coweeta
Long Term Ecological Research program as well as the growth of agroecology,
has been and continues to be a linchpin in the Odum School's research program.
Unification
A unifying theme of many areas of research in the Odum School of Ecology
is the degree to which population-level and ecosystem level studies are
integrated. "What populations DO in ecosystems" has emerged as a very
important part of how research is conducted. In addition, the Odum School
has always been a center of interdisciplinary science, serving as a focal
point for bringing together a diversity of faculty, institutions and disciplines.
Facilities and Partners
Students enrolled in graduate programs in the Odum School conduct research
with faculty on the UGA campus, with faculty at the Savannah
River Ecology Laboratory, with partnering faculty at the Coweeta
Hydrologic Laboratory, Joseph
Jones Ecological Research Center, and at the Tifton
and Griffin
Agricultural Experimental stations, among others. Each of the facilities
that faculty are associated with offer extensive access to a variety of
ecosystems and the equipment needed for research studies. On the UGA campus,
researchers have access to a wide variety of resources including the Chemical
Analysis Laboratory, the Horseshoe
Bend agroecology research facility, the McGarity
Wetlands, the Odum School's reprint
library, which are operated by the Odum School of Ecology.
Contact:
Dr. Dorset Trapnell, Assistant Director
Odum School of Ecology
University of Georgia
Ecology Building
Athens, GA 30602-2202
(706) 542-6506
Fax (706) 542-4819
dorset@uga.edu
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