Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

A close-up image of a sturgeon

Study the ecology and health of waterways—whether that's a pond, lake, river, or ocean. With Georgia's variety of habitat and aquatic life, students learn from a variety of experiences and ecosystems. Research projects span from the eastern coast to the Gulf of Mexico and up inland waterways throughout the Southeast and incorporate strong partnerships on campus and with state and federal agencies.

Faculty projects include:

  • Sturgeon
  • Mussels
  • Aquaponics and aquaculture
  • Algae and algal blooms

Graduate Degrees in Fisheries Science

Areas of concentration include fish ecology, fisheries management, population dynamics, aquaculture, fish physiology, and aquatic toxicology, and harmful algae. These areas are strongly supported by other programs on campus, including the Odum School of Ecology, the Georgia Sea Grant Program, the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, the U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division, Georgia Cooperative Fisheries and Wildlife Unit and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Students completing graduate degrees in Fisheries Science are prepared for employment in academia, federal and state agencies, and in the private sector.

CURRICULUM

Fisheries Science can be pursued under the MNR, MS, and PhD degree programs. To pursue Fisheries Science as an official area of emphasis (MNR only), the following courses are required:

  Course ID Name Hours*
Required: FISH 7360/L Fish Management 4
       
Electives: FISH 4500/L Fish Physiology 4
  FISH 6600/L Sustainable Aquaculture 4
  FISH 6650L Georgia Fishes Field Study 4
  FISH 7980 Fisheries & Aquaculture Problems 1-3
  FISH 8300 Fisheries and Wildlife Seminar 1
  FISH 8350 Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology 3
  FISH 8400 Advanced Fish Ecology & Conservation 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Total of 9 hours required for area of emphasis

Questions?

For general questions about pursuing a graduate degree at Warnell, contact a member of the graduate team:

Dr. Kyle Maurice Woosnam, Graduate Coordinator
Office: 1-301A
Phone: 864-653-0167
Email: woosnam@uga.edu

Kate deDufour, Graduate Program Administrator
Office: 1-217
Phone: 706-542-1183

Prospective students should also contact faculty members for questions specific to this disciplinary area. Please check faculty members’ personal pages for information about their individual research interests and projects to ensure that you are contacting the most relevant ones.

Related Articles

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Charting new waters: How a new public access database seeks to enhance fisheries management

A research team at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources is transforming fisheries management with the launch of FishAge, the world’s first publicly available reference database of known-age fish structures.


Closing the loop: Biochar can create lasting environmental benefits across the landscape

There’s an adage in hiking: Leave a place better than you found it.

Brookhaven mayor John Ernst is taking that sentiment a step further, launching a plan to clean runoff water as it moves through the town.

The secret ingredient in the plan? Biochar.


A fishy mystery: Student's discovery unravels hunt for source of an invasive fish

Wesley Gerrin traces lines on a computer screen with his fingers. Some lead to the left, toward the Ocmulgee River. Others cut to the right, toward the Middle Oconee.

Along them, red dots mark the GPS locations where evidence was found.


Hurricane’s effects killed about half of adult sturgeon in Apalachicola River

As hurricane Michael churned through the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall near Florida’s Apalachicola River in 2018, it left a sea of destruction in its wake.


Prehistoric fish may be poised for a comeback 

Researchers studying lake sturgeon in Northwest Georgia’s Coosa River have found evidence that the fish may be reproducing for the first time since they were wiped out in the 1970s. 

Personnel

Dr. Robert Bringolf

Professor, Fish Biology and Ecotoxicology

Major research themes explored in my lab are related to understanding the effects of environmental pollutants on fish and freshwater mussels as sentinels of ecosystem health. Current areas of research include: 1) endocrine disruption in fish exposed to agrochemicals, 2) factors and effects …

Duncan Elkins

Lecturer, Data Literacy

Adam Fox

Assistant Professor, Fisheries

Martin Hamel

Associate Professor, Fisheries Management and Ecology

My research is broadly focused on applied ecology embedded within a framework of answering theoretical questions to better understand and manage aquatic ecosystems. My general research interests are centered on the context of describing how the environment influences fish population dynamics and…

Dr. Peter D. Hazelton

Assistant Professor, Aquatic Ecosystem Health

Ecotoxicology Conservation Biology Aquatic Ecology Fish Ecology Invertebrate Biology Malacology

Dr. James Shelton

Associate Professor, Fisheries

Threatened aquatic species; water quality management in aquaculture and in fisheries biology.

Dr. Susan Wilde

Associate Professor, Aquatic Science

Ecological impacts of harmful algal blooms in freshwater and marine systems on fish and wildlife. Watershed development, stormwater best management practices, and impacts on water quality. Toxic cyanobacteria, invasive plants, reservoir limnology, and Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy. Interactions…

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