We have 72 faculty in Warnell, most of whom have a joint teaching and research appointment. Twelve of our faculty have public service and outreach responsibilities as a key component of their appointment.

The Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit, housed within Warnell in Building 3, is a cooperative venture between the U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, University of Georgia, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute. Working in conjunction with its graduate students, the unit conducts research on topics covering population dynamics, ecology, and species management. Their experts partner with a variety of public and private entities to produce reports and published work that can inform management decisions, population assessments, and management guidelines.

Funding for the unit comes from the USGS and Georgia DNR; UGA provides staff, space, and support. Faculty are employed by USGS with an appointment at Warnell to conduct University-based research and to lead graduate instruction.

Visit the unit's full website

Comprised of 10 graduates from the last 10 years, members of Warnell’s Young Alumni Committee serve a 3 year term and work to support school activities and encourage alumni participation. This committee hosts the Parker Memorial Golf Tournament in October and Sporting Clays Tournament in April of each year.  Through their fundraising efforts, this committee has named the Alumni Legacy classroom, created the Young Alumni Endowment for Leadership Training, The Young Alumni Undergraduate Scholarship, and the Warnell Young Alumni Georgia Commitment Scholarship. Since 2004 they have raised over $350,000 to support Warnell. 

New Member Nominations

Nominate A New Member 

Deadline: April 1, 2024

OVERVIEW OF YAC INVOLVEMENT

Nominations for new members are accepted from Warnell alumni, faculty, and staff in the spring of every year. Eligible alumni must be within ten years of completing their last degree and should be willing to support the school's fundraising initiatives as a current donor.

The Abrams Lab at the University of Georgia is part of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. We welcome new opportunities to collaborate, new innovative research ideas, and new graduate students with interests in the social and political dimensions of sustainable resource management.

Journal Publications

• Selfa, T., V. Marini, and J. Abrams. 2021. Place attachment and perceptions of land use change: Cultural ecosystem services impacts of eucalyptus plantation expansion in Ubajay, Entre Ríos, Argentina. In Press in Ecology and Society.
• Chapin, J., J. Abrams, T. Timberlake, C. Schultz, A. Evans, and M. Fernández-Giménez. 2021. Operationalizing resilience on U.S. national forestlands: A quantitative analysis of environmental impact statements. Society and Natural Resources. doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2021.1961043
• Steen-Adams, M., J. Abrams, H. Huber-Stearns, C. Bone, and C. Moseley. 2021. Network governance of forest disturbance in the Black Hills: What roles for federal, state, county, and non-governmental partners across large landscapes? Journal of Forestry. doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab043
• Sanders, A., E. Nielsen, and J. Abrams. 2021. Does information and deliberation affect ecosystem service judgments? Evidence from tree plantation expansion in Argentina. Society and Natural Resources. doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2021.1961957
• Abrams, J., S.M. Greiner, C. Schultz, A. Evans, and H. Huber-Stearns. 2021. Can forest managers plan for resilient landscapes? Lessons from the United States national forest plan revision process. Environmental Management 67(4): 574-588. doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01451-4
• Knowlton, J.L., K.E. Halvorsen, D.J. Flaspohler, C.R. Webster, J. Abrams, S.M. Almeida, S.L. Arriaga Weiss, B. Barnett, M.R. Cardoso, P.V. Cerqueira, D. Córdoba, M.P. Dantas Santos, J.L. Dunn, A. Eastmond, G.M. Jarvi, J.A. Licata, E.E. Mata Zayas, R. Medeiros, M.A. Mesa Jurado, L.Y. Moo Culebro, C. Moseley, E. Nielsen, C.C. Phifer, E.C. Pischke, C. Schelly, T. Selfa, C.A. Silva, T. Souza, S.R. Sweitz, and C.J. Vázquez Navarrete. 2021. Birds and bioenergy within the Americas: a cross-national, social-ecological study of ecosystem service tradeoffs. Land 10: 258. doi.org/10.3390/land10030258
• Gutierrez Garzon, A.R., P. Bettinger, J. Abrams, J. Siry, and B. Mei. 2021. Forest sustainability in state forest management plans: A content analysis. Journal of Sustainable Forestry doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2021.1884575
• Abrams, J., H. Huber-Stearns, M. Steen-Adams, E.J. Davis, C. Bone, M. Nelson, and C. Moseley. 2021. Adaptive governance in a complex social-ecological context: Emergent responses to a native forest insect outbreak. Sustainability Science 16: 53-68. doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00843-5
• Timberlake, T., C. Schultz, A. Evans, and J. Abrams. 2021. Working on institutions while planning for forest resilience: A case study of public land management in the United States. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 64(7): 1291-1311. doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1817730
• Gutierrez Garzon, A.R., P. Bettinger, J. Siry, J. Abrams, C. Cieszewski, K. Boston, B. Mei, H. Zengin, and A. Yesil. 2020. A comparative analysis of five forest certification programs. Forests 11: 863. doi.org/10.3390/f11080863

Books

• Egan, D., E. Hjerpe, and J. Abrams (eds.) 2011. Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration: Integrating Science, Nature, and Culture. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Book Chapters

• Abrams, J., D. Córdoba, R. Sidortsov, C. Schelly, and H. Gorman. 2019. Power within and beyond the state: Understanding how power relations shape environmental management. Pp. 21-32 in K. Halvorsen, C. Schelly, R. Handler, E. Pischke, and J.L. Knowlton (eds.), A Research Agenda for Environmental Management. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Press.
• Charnley, S., J. Kline, E.M. White, J. Abrams, R.J. McLain, C. Moseley, and H. Huber-Stearns. 2018. Socioeconomic well-being and forest management in Northwest Forest Plan area communities. Pp. 625-713 in T.A. Spies, P.A. Stine, R. Gravenmier, J.W. Long, and M.J. Reilly (tech. coords.), Synthesis of Science to Inform Land Management within the Northwest Forest Plan Area. PNW-GTR-966. Portland, OR: U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

We focus on the population dynamics, ecology, and life history of coastal sturgeons and other marine fishes. Our research informs management and conservation efforts.

Research

• Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon Population Dynamics
• Gulf Sturgeon Population Dynamics and Habitat
• Counting Sturgeon with Side-Scan Sonar
• ... And more

Full Website (External Site) 

Publications

• Gragson, D.L, and A.G. Fox. 2022. Comparison of first and second pectoral fin rays for use in aging Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum, LeSuer, 1818). Southeastern Naturalist 21: 1-10. Link

• Fox, A.G., N.Q. Hancock, J.A. Marbury, A.J. Kaeser, and D.L. Peterson. Recruitment and survival of juvenile Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in the Apalachicola River in Florida. Fishery Bulletin, 119:243-254. DOI: 10.7755/FB.119.4.4

• White, S.L., D.C. Kazyak, T.L. Darden, D.J. Farrae, B.A. Lubinski, R.L. Johnson, M.S. Eackles, M.T. Balazik, H.M. Brundage III, A.G. Fox, D.A. Fox, C.H. Hager, J.E. Kahn, and I.I. Wirgin. Establishing a microsatellite genetic baseline for Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser o. oxyrinchus) conservation and management. Conservation Genetics, 22:977-992. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-021-01390-x

• Marbury, J. A., A.J. Kaesar, A.G. Fox, D.L. Peterson. 2021. Experimental passage of adult male Gulf Sturgeon around Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, FL. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 37:379-388. DOI: 10.1111/jai.14194

• Friess, C., S.K. Lowerre-Barbieri, G. R. Poulakis, N. Hammerschlag, J.M. Gardiner, Andrea M. Kroetz, K. Bassons-Hull, J. Bickford, E.C. Bohaboy, R.D. Ellis, H. Menendez, W.F. Patterson III, M.E. Price, J.S. Rehage, C.P. Shea, M.J. Smukall, S.W. Burnsed, K.A. Wilkinson, J. Young, A.B. Collins, B.C. DeGroot, C.T. Peterson, C. Purtlebaugh, M. Randall, R.M. Scharer, R. W. Schloesser, T.R. Wiley, G.A. Alvarez, A.J. Danylchuk, A.G. Fox, R.D. Grubbs, A. Hill, J.V. Locascio, P.M. O’Donnell, G.B. Skomal, F.G. Whoriskey, and L.P. Griffin. 2021. Regional-scale variability in the movement ecology of marine fishes revealed by an integrative acoustic tracking network. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 663:157-177. DOI:10.3354/meps13637

• Ingram, E.C., D.L. Peterson, and A.G. Fox. 2020. Abundance of endangered Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Altamaha River in Georgia. Fishery Bulletin, 118:198-204. DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10189

• Fox, A.G., and D.L. Peterson. 2019. Movement and out-migration of juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon in Georgia, USA. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 148: 952-962. DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10189

• Fox, A.G., I.I. Wirgin, and D.L. Peterson. 2018. Occurrence of Atlantic Sturgeon in the St. Marys River, Georgia. Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 10: 606-618. DOI: 10.1002/mcf2.10056

• Fox, A.G., E.S. Stowe, K.J. Dunton, and D.L. Peterson. 2018. Seasonal occurrence of Atlantic Sturgeon in the St. Johns River, Florida. Fishery Bulletin, 116: 219-227. DOI: 10.7755/fb.116.3.1

• Fox, A.G., C.E. Hill, and R.F. Young. 2012. A new method to dye-mark wild birds. North American Bird Bander, 37: 49-53. Link

• Fox, A.G., and R.F. Young. 2012. Foraging interactions between wading birds and strand-feeding bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a coastal salt marsh. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 90: 744-752. DOI: 10.1139/z2012-043

Filmography

Dr. Fox has worked as a scientific advisor for several documentary programs featuring South Carolina's strand-feeding bottlenose dolphins.

• The Hunt. 2015. Silverback Films, Bristol, UK. For the BBC.

• Dolphins: Spy in the Pod. 2014. John Downer Prod., Bristol, UK. For the BBC.

• North America. 2013. Wild Horizons, Ltd., Bristol, UK. For Discovery Channel.

• Winged Planet. 2012. John Downer Productions, Bristol, UK. For Discovery Channel.

• Earthflight. 2011. John Downer Productions, Bristol, UK. For the BBC and PBS.